OCELOTS

Online Content for Experiential Learning of Tropical Systems

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    What is a species? Using DNA barcodes to identify species and determine insect responses to global warming
    Combining ecology, molecular tools and physiology, students investigate insect adaptation to temperatures along tropical mountains. Students integrate species concepts, DNA barcoding and thermal...

    Keywords: global warmingbeetleBiological species conceptCephaloleiacrticial thermal maximumcryptic specieselevational gradientsthermal limitstropical insectsZingiberales

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    Implementing an online module on microbe-plant interactions in the context of ecological disturbance for Microbiology and Biochemistry courses in India
    This module explores tropical forest gap dynamics and helps students develop hypotheses about climate-related changes in plant-microbial interactions and was implemented in Microbiology and...

    Keywords: data analysisscientific methoddata interpretationdisturbance ecologyexperiential learningCarbon sequestration in tropical rainforestPlant Microbial interactionsCanopy GapUndergraduate MicrobiologyNational Education Policy 2020

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    Implementing an online module about plant functional traits in the context of restoration ecology for an undergraduate class in Brazil.
    This resource describes my experience in implementing this OCELOTS module in a Functional Trait-based Restoration class for undergraduate majors in the Forest Sciences Department / Escola Superior...

    Keywords: tropical forestsbiodiversity structureAtlantic forestfunctional traitshybrid ecosystems

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    Implementing an online module about the implications of gold mining in the Amazonian rainforest for a community college ecology course
    This online module describes the implications of gold mining in the Amazon Rainforest, introduces students to ecological concepts, and explores human-environment connections. The implementation...
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    Implementing an online module about acoustic biodiversity monitoring in the tropics for use in an undergraduate course
    This implementation plan for an online module organizes activities for understanding physical concepts and biological considerations regarding acoustic monitoring, and provides a Spanish version of...

    Keywords: Biodiversityconservation biologyTropical ecologyacoustic monitoring

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    Cold blood and wet skin in hot and dry secondary forests. How do amphibian traits determine persistence in secondary forests?
    Students will synthesize information from biological and physiological traits of amphibians and characteristics of secondary forests in the tropics to form hypotheses about persistence of...

    Keywords: life historyconservation biologyphysiological ecologyamphibianland use changeEctothermsecondary foresttrait-based ecology

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    Colorful wings send messages: Why are butterfly wings colorful?
    Red postman butterflies live in tropical rainforests and have a mix of red, yellow, and black on their wings. These bright colors may warn predators or attract mates. Explore whether color alone or...

    Keywords: Quantitative reasoningadaptationpredationfield workEvolution by natural selection and mutation

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    Causes and consequences of resisting herbivory: How long-lived plants avoid damage from diverse short-lived insect herbivores
    This module guides students through decades-long studies of tropical plant-insect interactions to elucidate the ecology and evolution of plant defenses while encouraging students to consider the...
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    Between a rock and a hard place. What can turning rocks tell us about land-use change impacts on animals living in a rock outcrop?
    Unique rock outcrops in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India provide a setting that challenges students to develop a study to assess the impact of land-use change on threatened animals...

    Keywords: conservationagricultureland useamphibianstropicalbiodiversity losslateritic outcropopen natural ecosystemsreptilesrocks

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    A rainforest with a gold chain? The impacts of gold mining on the trophic web of an Amazonian rainforest of SE Peru
    The use of mercury in artisanal gold mining affects aquatic and terrestrial food webs in the Peruvian Amazon. Learn about bioaccumulation, explore data on mercury deposition in vegetation and how...

    Keywords: conservation biologydeforestationhuman healthpollutionbiodiversity losstropical land use

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    Functional trait-based restoration. Can hybrid restoration enhance invasion resistance and ecosystem services?
    A hybrid restoration experiment in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, in an area of high biocultural conservation value, that address the ecological and philosophical issues involved in conducting restoration with a...

    Keywords: Invasive SpeciesagroforestryHawaii CountyRestoration Ecologyplant functional traitstropical forest

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    Author Guidelines
    These Author Guidelines are designed to assist module authors throughout this participatory process of creating a new OCELOTS module or adapting an existing one.
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    Restoring tropical forests: Is planting clusters of trees a cost-effective and ecologically-sound strategy to restore tropical forest?
    This module (available in four languages) provides a broad introduction to both ecological and social aspects of tropical forest restoration. It focuses on a long-term study comparing three...

    Keywords: Restoration Ecologyforest restorationtropical forest

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    Sounds of the Tropics: Part 2. How are frogs responding to hurricanes, droughts, and climate change?
    This online module explores the response of a tropical frog community to hurricanes, drought, and climate change. We use acoustic monitoring and occupancy modeling to understand how frog...

    Keywords: climate changefrogsspecies distributionsdroughtnatural disturbanceshurricanesPuerto Ricooccupancy modeling

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    Sounds of the Tropics: Part 3. Can you hear me? How do dolphins in Bocas del Toro, Panama communicate in a noisy habitat?
    This online module provides background information on dolphin communication and explores how a dolphin population responds to dolphin-watching activities in Panama.

    Keywords: Dolphin-watchingecotourismdolphin acousticshuman/nature interactions

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    Sounds of the Tropics: Part 1. How can audio recordings improve tropical biodiversity conservation?
    This online module explores the terminology of sound and concepts of acoustic monitoring, the diversity of sounds produced by animals, how to study soundscapes, how humans modify soundscapes, and...

    Keywords: animal behaviorAcoustic ecologysoundscapespassive acoustical monitoring

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    Snapshot Serengeti Online Lab
    Snapshot Serengeti is a fully online inquiry-based lab that uses real camera-trap data from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to explore themes of tropical ecology and animal behavior.

    Keywords: ecologyspecies interactionscitizen scienceCommunity Ecologyanimal behaviormigration ecologyScience Communicationspecies distributionspredator-prey interactionsTropical ecologycamera trapsSerengetisavannah biome

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    Snapshot Serengeti Faculty Mentoring Network, Summer 2022
    The goal of our summer 2022 FMN was to develop a client-side interactive dashboard that allowed students to visualize and analyze data from the Snapshot Serengeti camera-trap research project.

    Keywords: Faculty Mentoring NetworkinteractiveSerengeti

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    Healing the scars: Tropical rainforest carbon cycling. Does it matter which tree species you plant?
    This online module explores how differences in traits of tropical tree species translate into differential effects on the carbon cycle, integrating ecological information across scales and the...

    Keywords: climate changecarbon cyclingtropical biology4DEE Frameworkforest restorationtropical tree speciessoil carbon

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    Wildlife Crossings in Costa Rica: Are wildlife crossing structures effective in mitigating roadkill mortality on tropical highways?
    Meet Jack Ewing, an ecotourism pioneer in Costa Rica who fought to safeguard wildlife from roadkill mortality caused by enlargement of a major highway. This module presents the topic of road...

    Keywords: Biodiversityconservation biologyland use changeRoad Ecologyecosystem managementfragmentation

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