"Faculty workshops in field
ecology at Archbold:
an opportunity to enrich the
teaching of ecology for your
undergraduate students"
| STETSON FIELD PROJECT | |
|---|---|
| Teaching project title | Dragon fly behavioral ecology |
| Institution | Stetson University |
| Faculty (1) Name | Cindy Bennington |
| Faculty (2) Name | Terry Farrell |
| Faculty (3) Name | Peter May |
| Abstract | |
| Identify target student audience and courses | Applicable to virtually any mode of biological inquiry. |
| Biological principals | Animal behavior; foraging ecology; concept of niche; form/function relationships; natural history; community structure. |
| Objectives | Use inquiry-based learning to introduce students to species-specific foraging behavior and its relationship to morphology, habitat characteristics, and interactions with symtopic species. |
| Key words | Odonata, resource partitioning, wing loading, active versus passive foraging, community structure, species interaction, microhabitat selection, and sexual dimorphism. |
| Period of study | |
| Location | Lake Annie since smaller bodies of water are likely to be dry in May. |
| Habitat | Lake Annie - and temporary pools, lakes, etc |
| Project design | Quantification of behavior through focal individual methodology and morphological measurements. Quantification of microhabitat parameters. |
| Field/Lab methods | Time budget measurement. Specimen collection. |
| Supplies and materials | Insect nets, stop watch, calipers, meter stick, thermometers, binoculars, field guides |
| Instrumentation | |
| Taxonomy and systematics | 1. Dunkle, S.W. 1989. Dragonflies of the Florida Peninsula, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Fl. 2. Dunkle, S.W. 1990. Damselflies of the Florida peninsula, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Fl. 3. Jim lane. 1979. Lake Annie Natural History. |
| Teaching approaches | Hypothesis generation and focused observation. Depends on level of group being instructed. |
| Final products anticipated | Extensive dataset of morphological and behavioral characteristics to analyze by correlation and two-sample analysis. |
| Evaluation methods | Lab report with standard statistical analysis. |
| Measures of success | Comprehension of methodology, scientific principles, and inductive conclusions as judged by written lab reports. |
| Problems anticipated | |