Alternative futures studies are a valuable yet resource-intensive way in which environmental scientists try to conduct informed debates about policies for specific geographic regions. These studies require modeling what the future would look like if different stakeholder groups had their way. The modeling is carried out by applying historical trend data to future projections that are rooted in the preferences of the different groups. Alternative future studies can be controversial due to the limitations of modeling and to the extent to which the models represent fully the different possible scenarios. Yet, they can be especially valuable for decision making about which areas in the region would be most appropriate and most acceptable for the applications of different policies such as development and restoration. Through a series of hands-on classroom activities that are the culmination of a variety of field trips, case studies, and analyses of GIS data about river systems and river restoration options, the students build deep understanding about what alternative futures studies entail and what are the applications of such studies to specific rivers in the Puget Sound area.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The gut microbiome interacts intimately with its human host, both in health and in disease. A recent study examined how different states of the gut microbiome might be linked to varying degrees of disease in rats. Researchers exposed rats to different concentrations of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), a polysaccharide known to induce human-like colitis. The effects on the intestinal microbiome over time were tracked by gene profiling. The results provide some of the first experimental evidence of “alternative states” in the rat intestinal ecosystem. These are distinct microbial profiles related to markers of disease. Importantly, these alternative states were found to be tied to both the host and microbiome, rather than one or the other. That led to a conceptual model of how host inflammatory status and microbiome status interact and how the whole ecosystem may slip into and out of different states of disease..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This video provides a detailed description of the habitat of the American Pika and how this organism may serve as a climate indicator species because they have a relatively narrow ecological niche and specialized habitat.

This quarter-long project forms the basis of a third-year course for majors and nonmajors at the University of Washington, Bothell called Science Methods and Practice. Students use databases to identify novel research questions, and extract data to test their hypotheses. They frame the question with primary literature, address the questions with inferential statistics, and discuss the results with more primary literature. The product is a scientific paper; each step of the process is scaffolded and evaluated. Given time limitations, we avoid devoting time to data collection; instead, we sharpen
students' ability to make sense of a large body of quantitative data, a situation they may rarely have encountered.

We treat statistics with a strictly conceptual, pragmatic, and abbreviated approach; i.e., we ask students to know which basic test to choose to assess a linear relationship vs. a difference between two means. We stress the need for a normal distribution
in order to use these tests, and how to interpret the results; we leave the rest for stats courses, and we do not teach the mathematics. This approach proves beneficial even to those who have already had a statistics course, because it is often the first time
they make decisions about applying statistics to their own research questions.

We incorporate peer review and collaborative work throughout the quarter. We form collaborative groups around the research questions they ask, enabling them to share primary literature they find, and preparing them well to review each other's writing. We encourage them to cite each other's work. They write formal peer reviews of each other's papers, and they submit their final paper with a letter-to-the-editor highlighting how their research has addressed previous feedback.

A major advantage of this course is that an instructor can easily modify it to suit any area of expertise. Students have worked with data about how a snail's morphology changes in response to its environment (Price, 2012), how students understand genetic drift (Price et al. 2014), maximum body size in the fossil record (Payne et al. 2008), range shifts (Ettinger et al. 2011), and urban crop pollination (Waters and Clifford 2014).

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this activity, students explore how the timing of color change and leaf drop of New England's deciduous trees is changing.

The Anchoring Phenomenon Routine is the launch to student investigation around the anchoring phenomenon. This phenomenon will be the one that students will describe and explain, using disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts in investigations. The Anchoring Phenomenon Routine will encourage thoughtful consideration of the phenomenon, initial models, connections to related phenomenon, discussions about the phenomenon and the creation of the KLEWS chart used for documenting student learning.
In an Anchoring Phenomenon Routine, ​students​:
● Are presented with a phenomenon or design problem
● Write and discuss what they notice and wonder about from the initial presentation
● Create and compare initial models of the phenomenon or problem
● Identify related experiences and knowledge that they could draw upon to explain the phenomenon or solve the problem
● Construct a KLEWS Chart
● Identify potential investigations to answer the questions on the KLEWS Chart, adding the questions to the chart

Animals are an important part of the ecosystem. They help to maintain the balance of nature by providing food for other animals, by pollinating plants, and by dispersing seeds. Animals are also important to humans, as they provide us with food, clothing, and companionship.However, animals are facing a number of threats, including habitat loss, climate change, and pollution. These threats are causing the decline of many animal species, and some species are even facing extinction.It is important to conserve animals and to protect their habitats so that future generations can enjoy them.

Animals are an important part of the ecosystem. They help to maintain the balance of nature by providing food for other animals, by pollinating plants, and by dispersing seeds. Animals are also important to humans, as they provide us with food, clothing, and companionship.However, animals are facing a number of threats, including habitat loss, climate change, and pollution. These threats are causing the decline of many animal species, and some species are even facing extinction.It is important to conserve animals and to protect their habitats so that future generations can enjoy them.

This site is a searchable encyclopedia of thousands of photos, descriptions, sound recordings, and other information about individual animal species. Find out about amphibians, arthropods, birds, fishes, insects, mammals, mollusks, reptiles, and sharks. Explore special features on mammals, skulls, and frog calls. Students are invited to contribute.

Learn about the physical characteristics of environments and act out the animals that live there!

You are the next contestant on the Take the Stage game show ANIMAL SURVIVAL where you will travel in a hot air balloon to the forest of North America, the savanna of Africa, and then take a submarine ride underwater in the ocean. To play the game, you will act out an animal that would live in each environment, and then write how the physical characteristics of each environment helps your animal survive.

Learning Objective: observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities of plants and animals within an ecosystem.

Students are introduced to the classification of animals and animal interactions. Students also learn why engineers need to know about animals and how they use that knowledge to design technologies that help other animals and/or humans. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly serious threat to global public health. New resistance mechanisms reduce our ability to treat common infectious diseases. Although microorganisms possessing AMR genes are thought to have emerged from natural habitats, better understanding is needed. A new study sought to examine the consequences of introducing antimicrobials into natural environments. Using lichen – a model for well-defined micro-ecosystems consisting of hundreds of microbial species – researchers evaluated changes in microbial communities following exposure to different antimicrobials. They found that the native lichen microbiome comprises highly diverse and low-abundance intrinsic antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) to cope with antimicrobial pressure. Antimicrobial-specific shifts occurred in the structure and function of the microbiome following 10 days of exposure to antimicrobials..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Applied ecology is a framework for the application of knowledge about ecosystems so that actions can be taken to create a better balance and harmony between people and nature in order to reduce human impact on other beings and their habitats.

About this book
Origin story
I (Erin) began this book project after participating in the Open Pedagogy Incubator hosted by the NC State University Libraries in 2020, with the goal of making my course materials – and information about Applied Ecology – more broadly accessible to students, educators, and the general public. Rather than impose my sole voice, perspective, and biases, I restructured my course assignments to enable student creation of the content you will encounter in this book. The assignments are open-ended and open-world, motivating students to collaborate with each other and to seek knowledge beyond the classroom, and thus embody core characteristics of the discipline of Applied Ecology as well as Open Education and Universal Design for Learning. I hope that by centering student voices and by highlighting diverse scientists, research systems and ecosystems, this work empowers the reader and highlights the relevance of Applied Ecology in our everyday lives.

Intended use
This book is formatted to provide information about key ecological principles, concepts, and processes, explored and applied across various contexts. The text can be used as a foundational or supplementary text for ecology courses, or as a standalone reference for students in formal academic settings or beyond.

The Vocabulary terms at the beginning of each chapter are listed in the order that students will encounter them while reading the blog-style summary for that chapter. The Glossary lists all terms in the entire book in alphabetical order, for quick reference as needed.

We have provided an appendix with skeletal outlines that students can use to guide their notetaking. I also intend to compile a companion volume for educators, containing templates for each assignment used to guide the student works presented here.

Accessibility
We use sans-serif fonts to facilitate readability in digital format and by readers who are neurodivergent. We also support screen readership through alt-text images.

Living Atlas Indicators of the Planet provide the user with up-to-date data, maps, graphs, charts, animation and other visuals to explore the science of climate and environmental change. 18 indicators from Air Quality to Women in Parliament can be explored.

Learn about the effects of a changing climate on the Arctic ecosystem and four of its well-known mammals: the polar bear, the walrus, the Arctic fox and the beluga whale.

This video segment from Wild Europe: "Wild Arctic" explores the struggle for survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn some of the impacts climate change is having on the Arctic, hear youth perspectives about the impacts of climate change, and write their own personal climate stories.

SCIENTIST NOTES: Students are instructed in this lesson on the effects of climate change on the Arctic region. Temperature increases are hastening the melting of permafrost, glaciers, and sea level rise. This has an effect on the polar ecosystems and human populations. The contrast between how climate change affects the northern and southern regions of the Arctic is also covered in the lesson, along with suggestions for how students may learn and share their experiences to promote climate action. This lesson passed our science review process after all the materials were fact-checked.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in any middle school writing class and tailored to the specific skills the class is working on.
-This lesson helps students connect climate change to people.
-This lesson highlights a local community in the Arctic and demonstrates the impact storytelling can have.
-This lesson encourages students to participate in the writing process, including the planning and publishing stages.
-This lesson allows teachers to integrate skills specific to their students.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-The Inquire section gallery walk is about the student-made infographics from the previous lesson. Alternatively, teachers can use the infographics from the Teacher Slideshow.
-Students should understand the basics of writing a story. This includes, but is not limited to, characters, setting, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
-When teaching this lesson teachers should have a baseline understanding of how climate change works and understand some of the impacts in the Arctic.
-In this lesson the term, “story” is consistently used, despite one of the primary standards referring to the term, “narrative.” If students ask to clarify the difference, one way a middle school ELA teacher can differentiate personal narratives from stories is that a personal narrative is a true story whereas a story can be fictionalized.
-For their writing, students will need a basic understanding of the ways climate change is affecting their own communities.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-The final draft of the writing can be used as a summative assessment for this lesson.
-It may be helpful to share a map and show where the Arctic is located if students are unfamiliar.
-Students may need more specific and individual guidance when planning out their writing. Rubrics can be customized for individual students and their learning goals.
-Teachers can give students more time for writing the personal climate story.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems host an array of macrofauna, including many invertebrates. These animals adapt to the extreme conditions by forging endosymbiotic relationships with chemoautotrophic bacteria. Phages, viruses that infect prokaryotes, can fundamentally affect endosymbiotic bacteria, but their specific roles in deep-sea vent endosymbionts are not yet known. A recent study utilized metagenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to examine the endosymbiotic phages associated with the deep-sea vent snail Gigantopelta aegis. These phages infected methane- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, and there was evidence of both lysogenic and lytic lifecycles. The genomes also showed evidence of an arms race between bacteria and phages, with the bacteria encoding defense systems like CRISPR–Cas to break down phage DNA and the phages encoding their own anti-defense mechanisms. The phages also had horizontally acquired auxiliary metabolic genes, which could benefit replication..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Using Landsat 8 imagery from before and after the 2015 wildfire season in Glacier National Park, Montana, learners calculate the damage using a Normalized Burn Index, digitize the burn area, and publish to ArcGIS Online.