OCELOTS

Online Content for Experiential Learning of Tropical Systems

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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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    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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    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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    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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    Vegetation Greening: A Snapshot from the Andean Tropics
    This online module explores how satellite images are used to study vegetation greenness and, using Ecuador as an example, demonstrates how tropical vegetation experienced increased greenness...

    Keywords: remote sensingTime Series AnalysisEarth ObservationEarth and Space SciencesgeographyGIMMS NDVIgreening and browningtropical Andes

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    High technology to measure forest carbon stocks: How can advanced remote sensing improve biomass quantification in the Brazilian Amazon?
    A case study on the estimation of aboveground biomass using advanced remote sensors (LiDAR and hyperspectral) in the Brazilian Amazon. Students explore remote sensing (RS) data and compare RS-based...

    Keywords: climate changeremote sensinghyperspectraltropical forestsLiDAR data analysiscarbon stocks

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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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    Healing the scars: A tropical rainforest carbon cycling module implemented in a Systematic Botany course focused on the Brazilian Caatinga flora
    This resource describes my experience in implementing this OCELOTS module on tropical rainforest carbon cycling in a Systematic Botany course for undergraduate majors in Biology at Pernambuco...

    Keywords: carbon cyclePlant systematicsCaatingaTropical trees

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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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    SNAPSHOT SERENGETI: Analyzing Wildlife Ecological Relationships in an upper-level Ecology course
    Two assignments were created to develop skills in ecological hypothesis testing, data analysis and interpretation using the Snapshot Serengeti and Gorongosa camera trap data and graphical...

    Keywords: hypothesis testinggraphical analysis and interpretationsavannah biomeecological relationshipscompare and contrast to primary literature

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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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    Plant-microbial mutualisms in canopy gap recovery: How do soil microbial symbionts help tropical forests recover from treefall gaps?
    This module uses tropical plant-soil microbial interactions in canopy gaps as a lens to better understand species interactions and disturbance ecology, while showing how scientists study these...

    Keywords: forest ecologyPlant Ecologynutrient cyclingmicrobestropical forestsDisturbances

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    Restoring tropical forests: Implementing an online module about restoration and succession in an advanced undergraduate ecology course
    “Restoring tropical forests” was implemented, using restoration as an example of variation in successional pathways, in an undergraduate course at Arizona State University. New versions of the...

    Keywords: resourcesimplementationRestorationtropical forestssuccession

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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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    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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    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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    Restoring Tropical Forests: Implementing a module in an undergraduate majors’ course in forest ecology in Costa Rica
    This publication describes implementation of a module on tropical forest restoration in Costa Rica for an upper-level undergraduate course in forest ecology at the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa...

    Keywords: forest ecologyRestorationfield course

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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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    Restoring Tropical Forests: Implementing an online module in an undergraduate biology course in Indonesia
    This resource describes my implementation of a module on tropical forest restoration in Costa Rica for an undergraduate Ecology course at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia....

    Keywords: RestorationEcosystem Servicesforest restorationtransdisciplinary researchsocial forestryhuman well-beingcommunity-based

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