Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Role Cards - Description Of Roles, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Planting Day, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

The purpose of this lesson is to physically put the plants in the garden.

Safety Guidelines, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

For Lessons 5 & 6, the following Safety Guidelines should be reviewed with students, for safe handling of tools, and proper personal deportment when outside prepping the garden site for planting and then the following day on Planting Day.

Student Handout Think-Pair-Share - Garden Deliverables, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Expert Groups Research Graphic Organizer, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

To conduct research on various aspects of maintaining a garden, to ensure that all students know what needs to be accomplished in order to ensure successful garden deliverables. The research conducted will include students in each group making recommendations on their assigned topic, to the whole class. This research is critical to informing the class on how to proceed with a Garden Plan for a successful Garden. The Research covers four (4) main areas:

• Planning
• Maintenance
• Harvesting
• Distribution

Student Handout Garden Deliverables Checklist, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Garden Deliverables, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

Now that the garden is in, and the plants are planted, the hard work begins … maintaining the garden as well as assessing and preparing for garden deliverables (fruits, vegetables, flowers …). It will be important to conduct research on specific aspects related to the plants in the garden, create a plan, divide the tasks, and implement the plan. This will give students a great sense of accomplishment, as they will be a vital part in planning for stewardship of the Garden. Research has shown that this can establish a great sense of self, a connection to nature, and lays …

Lesson Plan - Maintaining The Garden Site "From Table To Farm", Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

As the Activities in Lesson 7 have set the Garden up for success, the Activities in Lesson 8 will ensure all the Maintenance Programs that have been put in place are working. A review of all the garden maintenance processes will be done in this Lesson, and additional maintenance considerations will be added to the schedule, including Pest Management, Composting, Fertilizing the Soil, Soil Coverage and Rotating Crops, for a full year-round cycle that can be followed at any garden site.

Student Handout - Long-Term Garden Maintenance Research, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

To conduct research on various aspects of maintaining a garden for a long-term duration, to ensure a successful garden year-round. The research conducted will include students in each group making recommendations on their assigned topic to the whole class, during the whole-group share-out in Activity 3. This research is critical to informing the class on how to proceed with the Master Garden Maintenance Checklist which will be created in Activity 4.

Student Handout - Master Garden Maintenance Checklist, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Attracting Pollinators, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

The purpose of this lesson is to find ways to attract pollinators.

The Effects Of Late Spring Frost On Forest And Landscape Health And Recovery Of The Black Rock Forest, New York, Caroline Eco, Oliver Imhans, Aaron Davitt, Andrew B. Reinmann

Publications and Research

Projected changes in climate are expected to increase the frequency of late spring frost events in the Northeast US. Such events can be harmful to trees because freezing temperatures that occur after leaf-out can damage or kill young leaves. The resultant defoliation typically forces a second flush of leaves, but delays canopy development, which in turn delays the onset of canopy carbon uptake and alters canopy thermal properties. In this study, we analyzed a recent freeze event that occurred on 8-9 May 2020 (DOY 129-130) at Black Rock Forest (BRF), which is in the Hudson Highlands of southeastern New York …

Some (Im)Material Girls, Living In (Im)Material Worlds, With Seeds, Stars, And Shit, Matthew Weiderspon

Theses and Dissertations

This writing situates material and gestural vocabularies cultivated in my artwork in relation to my lived experience; primarily my rural upbringing in Colorado. Scattered floor dispersals, calling sounds, and bodily movements desire reconsiderations of hope in precarity through a disorientation of place, association, scale, and language.

A Year In Syntropy: Exploring Syntropic Agriculture, Ajah Eills

College Honors Program

Syntropic agriculture is a form of sustainable agriculture that originated in Brazil around 25 years ago. Although it has since spread throughout Brazil and Australia, there has yet to be a comprehensive study of the driving scientific principles behind syntropy. For my thesis, I conducted literature research and interviews with farmers, with the goal of describing the ecological principles on which syntropy is based, including its primary goal to improve soil health. Much of my thesis contrasted syntropic agriculture with conventional agriculture as practiced in the United States today, but I also explored the differences between syntropic agriculture and other …

Investigating The Effects Of Urban Coyotes On Free-Range Cats In Culver City, California Using Occupancy Analyses Of Camera Trap Data, Rebecca Davenport, Melinda Weaver, Dr. E. Strauss

Honors Thesis

As a habitat generalist, coyotes are known to thrive in urban environments given the abundance and diversity of suitable food sources throughout the cityscape. Within Southern California, cats have been found to comprise a higher proportion of coyote diet than in other urban areas throughout the country. However, it is unclear what factors are contributing to these higher rates of cat depredation by coyotes in the Los Angeles region. While previous research suggests that coyote presence may have a negative effect on free-range cat distributions, few studies have determined whether urban green spaces affect coyote or free-range cat occurrence within …

The Potential Influence Of Abiotic Conditions On Mussel Species Abundance In San Francisco Bay, Alexandra G. Farrell, M. Christina Vasquez Dr.

Honors Thesis

Climate change has negatively altered seawater conditions, which may have severe implications for marine ecosystems. Mussels are susceptible to environmental changes since they are primary consumers and filter-feeding bivalves. Two species of particular interest to the West Coast of the U.S. are Mytilus galloprovincialis and M. trossulus. M. trossulus is native to the California Coast and was historically prevalent from Southern California to Washington. However, with increased shipping and rising seawater temperature, M. galloprovincialis, an invasive species from the Mediterranean, pushed the species range of M. trossulus poleward. M. trossulus is more tolerant of cold seawater with variable salinity while …

Chloroplast Genomes In Populus (Salicaceae): Comparisons From An Intensively Sampled Genus Reveal Dynamic Patterns Of Evolution, Jiawei Zhou, Shuo Zhang, Jie Wang, Hongmei Shen, Bin Ai, Wei Gao, Cuijun Zhang, Qili Fei, Daojun Yuan, Zhiqiang Wu, Luke R. Tembrock, Sen Li, Cuiha Gu, Xuezhu Liao

Aspen Bibliography

The chloroplast is one of two organelles containing a separate genome that codes for essential and distinct cellular functions such as photosynthesis. Given the importance of chloroplasts in plant metabolism, the genomic architecture and gene content have been strongly conserved through long periods of time and as such are useful molecular tools for evolutionary inferences. At present, complete chloroplast genomes from over 4000 species have been deposited into publicly accessible databases. Despite the large number of complete chloroplast genomes, comprehensive analyses regarding genome architecture and gene content have not been conducted for many lineages with complete species sampling. In this …

Predator-Prey Interactions Between Escherichia Coli Strains And Caenorhabditis Elegans At Various Temperatures And Resource Levels, Elizabeth Haynes Whitaker

Honors Theses

Predation is an important component of both evolutionary and ecological interactions across nature. The predator-prey relationship can be altered by differential species’ responses to changes in abiotic factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of temperature, resource levels, and their potential interactions using two strains of Escherichia coli prey and a Caenorhabditis elegans predator. It is concluded that an interaction exists between temperature and resource level on this predator-prey relationship however further testing must be done to confirm results due to contamination in the results.

Lesson Plan: Sounds Of Your Study Site, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students will conduct a survey of noise in the study site. They will begin to explore the idea that noise has an impact on the ecosystem and its inhabitants. In small groups, they will use a decibel meter, data sheet and aerial photograph of the study site to collect data on a section of the site. Students will then share this information with classmates to create a map of the noise of your schoolyard. Then students will listen to prerecorded bird songs against urban noise. They will compare the bird songs and the characteristics that make them …

Student Pages - Sounds Around Your Study Site: Conducting A Noise Survey, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The goal of this lesson is to conduct a survey of noise at your study site. In small groups, you will use a decibel meter, data sheet and an aerial photograph of your site to collect data on a particular section. You will then share this information with your classmates to create a map of the noise of your schoolyard.

Student Pages - Answer Key - Sounds Around Your Study Site: Conducting A Noise Survey, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Behavioral Plasticity, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In the previous lessons, students learned about the importance of noise in the urban environment. In response to urban noise as well as other characteristics of urban ecosystems, organisms modify their existing behaviors to maximize their fitness and likelihood of survival. This lesson focuses on behavioral plasticity, which is the idea that organisms’ behaviors are flexible and can be modified in response to their environment. Students complete an activity in which they investigate the plasticity of their own behaviors. The class then discusses how this analogy is similar and different compared to urban species as well as how the plasticity …

Structure Cards, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

Species constantly engage in a variety of behaviors or activities that help increase their chance of survival. For example, a bird may build a nest or a coyote might communicate to other coyotes through howling. In this activity, you are going to explore the plasticity of behaviors – the ability of an organism to change or modify its behaviors based on the external conditions. Specifically, you will examine your own behaviors, but then consider how your behaviors would be similar or different from other species. You will then consider how the plasticity of an organism’s behaviors impacts its chance of …

Student Pages - Answer Key - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students examine their data and construct an argument that answers their original research question. Students apply what they have been learning about behavioral adaptations to make sense of their bioacoustics data. After analyzing their data in groups and writing up their arguments, they present their research studies to the class, including their research question, methodology, and conclusions from their data. As part of these presentations, the class will discuss the validity of the different groups’ claims and whether they are supported by the data collected from the field as well as the various science concepts they have …

Presentation Template, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The purpose of this lesson is for students to compare their findings to that of other similar studies. The goal of the lesson is two-fold. First, students should understand the big idea that organisms living in urban ecosystems have modified their behavior in response to the impacts of the humans that live there. Second, this lesson should reinforce the concept of sample size as well as help students understand that we still have many gaps in our understanding of animals in cities.

Student Pages - Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.