The study of biomimicry and sustainable design promises great benefits in design applications, offering cost-effective, resourceful, non-polluting avenues for new enterprise. An important final caveat for students to understand is that once copied, species are not expendable. Biomimicry is intended to help people by identifying natural functions from which to pattern human-driven services. Biomimicry was never intended to replace species. Ecosystems remain in critical need of ongoing protection and biodiversity must be preserved for the overall health of the planet. This activity addresses the negative ramifications of species decline. For example, pollinators such as bees are a vital work force in agriculture. They perform an irreplaceable task in ensuring the harvest of most fruit and vegetable crops. In the face of the unexplained colony collapse disorder, we are only now beginning to understand how invaluable these insects are in keeping food costs down and even making the existence of these foods possible for humans.

This interactive shows the extent of the killing of lodgepole pine trees in western Canada. The spread of pine beetle throughout British Columbia has devastated the lodgepole pine forests there. This animation shows the spread of the beetle and the increasing numbers of trees affected from 1999-2008 and predicts the spread up until 2015.

Research reveals that if students are presented with negative information about environmental issues and they are not also provided with a plan for action, they often manifest denial on many levels. This exercise is designed to get students to directly address the emotions they face when learning about environmental issues and to make an action plan to address them in their individual lives.

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Learners research the effects of melting sea ice in the Bering Sea Ecosystem. They create research proposals to earn a place on the scientific research vessel Healy and present their findings and proposals to a Research Board committee.

If you’re a coastal engineer, ecologist or planner, then this is the course for you. You already know that engineering and ecological principles are not enough to realize nature-friendly solutions in practice. You need people on your side!

In this course you will learn how to build a relevant coalition of stakeholders to support the design and implementation of ecosystem-based hydraulic infrastructures. After learning basic stakeholder mapping and game theory techniques, you will apply Social Design Principles to a Building with Nature ecosystem-based design case. This will equip you to identify promising collaborative arrangements for your engineering or planning practice.

The course builds on the previous Building with Nature MOOC, which explored the use of natural materials and ecological processes in achieving effective and sustainable hydraulic infrastructure designs, distilling Engineering and Ecological Design Principles. In this course, the missing element of Social Design Principles are developed and taught.

You’ll learn from renowned Dutch engineers and international environmental scientists, who work at the technical- governance interface. Iconic examples such as the Maasvlakte II expansion to Rotterdam Harbor and the Delfland Sand Engine Mega-nourishment serve as study material. The challenges in designing and implementing these nature-friendly hydraulic infrastructures are explored by the eminent professors who were responsible for their genesis.

Join us in becoming one of the new generation of engineers, ecologists and planners who see the Building with Nature integrated design approach as critical to hydraulic engineering, nature and society.

This is a collection of five short videos that show how climate change is affecting fishing, native populations and access for the oil and gas industry in the Arctic. The videos include personal reflections by writers Andrew C. Revkin and Simon Romero, scientists, and residents about their experience of the impacts of the climate change in the Arctic.

Patterns of diversity, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Emphasis is on the Tree of Life and how its members are distributed and interact. Partial Course.

Short Description:
The aim of this book is to build a bridge between conservation theory and practice. The narrative is focused specifically on Canada. This permits an integrated treatment, where conservation theory is presented in the context of the social and institutional framework responsible for its implementation. Special attention is given to topics that are the subject of debate or controversy, as they provide valuable insight into the practical aspects of conservation. The result is a comprehensive synthesis of applied biodiversity conservation, tailored to the needs of conservation students and practitioners in Canada.

Long Description:
Conservation is often portrayed as an applied science—a body of knowledge about how ecological systems function, how they are threatened, and how they can be maintained. Conservation is also a form of management. It entails working with people to achieve desired ecological outcomes, grappling with conflicting land-use objectives, and making optimal use of available conservation resources. The aim of this book is to build a bridge between these two perspectives, linking theory with practice.

Major topic areas include the history of conservation, the social and scientific foundations of conservation, threats to biodiversity, applied conservation methods at both the species and ecosystem levels, the accommodation of climate change, and structured decision making. Special attention is given to topics that are the subject of debate or controversy, as they provide valuable insight into the practical aspects of conservation. The narrative is focused specifically on Canada. This permits an integrated treatment, where conservation theory is presented in the context of the social and institutional framework responsible for its implementation. The result is a comprehensive synthesis of applied conservation, tailored to the needs of conservation students and practitioners in Canada. Learning is supported by an engaging and clear writing style and 196 colour illustrations.

Word Count: 160462

ISBN: 978-1-55195-494-3

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Developed for the second grade. A biodome is a self-sustaining habitat for plants. Students will make a biodome in a recycled soda bottle and watch as their seeds grow. Students will observe and understand how the water in the biodome continues to recycle itself through condensation and evaporation.Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project. The teaching ideas on this page have been found, refined, and developed by students in a college-level course on the teaching of biology at the elementary level. Unless otherwise noted, the lesson plans have been tried at least once by students from our partner schools. This wiki has been established to share ideas about teaching biology in elementary schools. The motivation behind the creation of this page is twofold: 1. to provide an outlet for the teaching ideas of a group of college educators participating in a workshop-style course; 2. to provide a space where anyone else interested in this topic can place their ideas.

Students explore the biosphere's environments and ecosystems, learning along the way about the plants, animals, resources and natural cycles of our planet. Over the course of lessons 2-6, students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems - exploring energy and nutrient flows, basic needs of plants and animals, and decomposers. Students learn about food chains and food webs. They are introduced to the roles of the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles. They test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration. Students are introduced to animal classifications and interactions, including carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, predator and prey. They learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of new products. As everyday applications are interwoven into the lessons, students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence within ecosystems can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our communities.

In this multi-day activity, students explore environments, ecosystems, energy flow and organism interactions by creating a scale model biodome, following the steps of the engineering design process. The Procedure section provides activity instructions for Biodomes unit, lessons 2-6, as students work through Parts 1-6 to develop their model biodome. Subjects include energy flow and food chains, basic needs of plants and animals, and the importance of decomposers. Students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence of an ecosystem can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our own communities. This activity can be conducted as either a very structured or open-ended design.

This video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!" shows the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems.

This graduate course will introduce students to the processes controlling phytoplankton, zooplankton, heterotrophic bacterial and benthic infaunal growth and abundance. We'll do a broad-scale survey of patterns of productivity and abundance in the coastal zones, upwelling centers, gyres, and the deep sea. We'll briefly survey ecosystem simulation models, especially those applicable to the Gulf of Maine. Readings will be from the primary literature and a few book chapters. The effects of anthropogenic effects on marine communities will be stressed throughout. Calculus will be used throughout the course, but there is no formal calculus requirement.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

A systematic study of the structure, function, ecology and evolution or organisms including bacteria, protists, fungi, plants and animals.
Chapter I. Evolution and the Origin of Species
Chapter II. The Evolution of Populations
Chapter III. Viruses
Chapter IV. Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea
Chapter V. Protists
Chapter VI. Fungi
Chapter VII. Introduction to Animal Diversity
Chapter VIII. Invertebrates
Chapter IX. Vertebrates
Chapter X. Plant Form and Physiology
Chapter XI. Plant Reproduction
Chapter XII. The Animal Body: Basic Form and Function
Chapter XIII. Animal Nutrition and the Digestive System
Chapter XIV. The Nervous System
Chapter XV. Sensory Systems
Chapter XVI. The Endocrine System
Chapter XVII. The Musculoskeletal System
Chapter XVIII. The Respiratory System
Chapter XIX. The Circulatory System
Chapter XX. Osmotic Regulation and Excretion
Chapter XXI. The Immune System
Chapter XXII. Animal Reproduction and Development
Chapter XXIII. Ecology and the Biosphere
Chapter XXIV. Population and Community Ecology
Chapter XXV. Ecosystems
Chapter XXVI. Conservation Biology and Biodiversity

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the role of fungi in the ecosystemDescribe mutualistic relationships of fungi with plant roots and photosynthetic organismsDescribe the beneficial relationship between some fungi and insects