Re: [ECOLOG-L] Teaching Evolution using games and simulations
One that works well for younger children is Who wants to live a million years? http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/darwin-survive-game/ Don Dean projectamazonastree.org Join us in the Amazon in July 2015! http://ptonline.org/hol/amazon/ 2015-05-03 21:07 GMT-04:00 VOLTOLINI jcvol...@uol.com.br: Dear friends, I am teaching Ecology and I would like to use a game or a simulation software to teach how evolution (mutation rates, selection,...) works. Any suggestions? Thanks for any ideas! Prof. Dr. J. C. VOLTOLINI Grupo de Pesquisa e Ensino em Biologia da Conservação - ECOTROP Universidade de Taubaté, Departamento de Biologia Taubaté, SP. 12030-010. E-Mail: jcvol...@uol.com.br * Grupo de pesquisa ECOTROP CNPq: http://dgp.cnpq.br/buscaoperacional/detalhepesq.jsp?pesq=8137155809735635 * Currículo Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/8137155809735635 * Assessoria Estatística: http://assessoria-estatistica.blogspot.com.br/ * Fotos de Cursos e Projetos: http://www.facebook.com/ecotrop
[ECOLOG-L] Introductory Course in Amazon Ecosystems and Culture
From July 15-22, 2015, *Project Amazonas, Inc*. will host its fourth “Hands-on Amazon” course intended for teachers and enthusiasts who wish to experience rainforest ecosystems and culture and to bring the zeal for its preservation to their colleagues back home. *Project Amazonas* is a joint American-Peruvian NGO with the objectives of preserving the rainforest and its culture, as well as providing medical care to remote communities. Project Amazonas maintains two field stations in high-diversity old growth forest in the Peruvian Upper Amazon which are frequented by researchers and avid herpetologists, botanists, ichthyologists, etc. Taught jointly by science teacher Don Dean, MSET, and tropical biologist Devon Graham, PhD, participants in this course (for undergraduate, continuing education or post-baccalaureate credit) interact with the local culture and spend several days at the Santa Cruz Field Station on the Mazan River. The program includes an active reforestation project. Please pass the word along to anyone who might be interested. Many participants use this course as a jumping off point to explore other ecosystems and sites in Peru and beyond. More info here: http://ptonline.org/hol/amazon/ Thanks -Don Don Dean projectamazonastree.org Oakland NJ Schools Devon Graham, Ph.D. projectamazonas.org
Re: [ECOLOG-L] life history of medicinal plants?
David, I wouldn’t necessarily associate a secondary bioactive compound with one that can be considered medicinal for humans. Nicotine and urushiol are among the many that can be produced in short order, so I would argue that a plant’s secondary compounds can be produced rapidly and not necessarily have a human medicinal value. There are many problems with medicinals; perhaps the most important reason that they don’t reach the American market is that a natural product cannot be patented, thus there is no profit motive until it can be “isolated” and tweaked chemically. This discounts the effect of other compounds working together. In addition, there is no oversight of herbal remedies in terms of quality, safety or efficacy. Soapbox alert… I am growing many perennial medicinal plants in the Amazon although I have no need nor desire to use any of them personally. Disturbingly, ayahuasca is becoming ever more popular. A vine with mind-altering capability, it can addle the brain. While on the soapbox, I might recommend Leslie Taylor’s The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs. The author does a nice job of tying together folk lore to peer-reviewed research. Not a commercial, just a personal favorite. … end of soapbox. Don Dean Oakland NJ Schools projectamazonastree.org On Sat, Nov 8, 2014 at 6:36 PM, David Inouye ino...@umd.edu wrote: I'm wondering whether it's possible to generalize about the life histories of medicinal plants. My guess is that annual plants in general don't invest much in secondary plant compounds, so that most medicinal plants would be perennial (herbs or shrubs). Do you know of any annuals that are important as medicinal plants? David Inouye Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor Emeritus Department of Biology University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-4415 2014-15: President, Ecological Society of America Principal Investigator Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte, CO 81224 ino...@umd.edu 301-405-6946
[ECOLOG-L] Teachers' Course in the Peruvian Amazon
An open invitation to join my colleague, tropical biologist Dr. Devon Graham and me for a course in the Amazon this summer. The course is intended for teachers of all subjects to experience the culture of the Amazon and its flora and fauna and bring back an excitement to share with students. The experience includes several nights in a forest preserve with a diversity that draws world-class herpetologists, fish collectors and plant and animal biologists. In addition to exploring the culture and pressures on the rainforest, there will a planting of native fruit and timber trees in a reforestation project, as well as a visit to a village school. Graduate or undergraduate credit is available. The syllabus is flexible and can be tailored to customize the experience. Below is a generic description and here is a short blog from last year's course: http://projectamazonastree.org/category/educators-and-students/ As a favor, I'd be pleased if you would pass this on to anyone you think might be interested. Many thanks. -Don .. The Heritage Institute, in conjunction with Antioch University and Project Amazonas, Inc., is offering a summer travel study course: *Hands-on Amazon.* The course runs from July 23-30 and is limited to 15 participants. Participants may wish to continue their travel in Perú to Machu Picchu or onward - advice is available. For more information and to see if this course is right for you, please visit the link below and/or contact me. http://ptonline.org/hol/amazon/ Based in the Upper Amazon near Iquitos, Peru, the course is available for graduate credit, undergraduate credit, or continuing education credit for educators or students in all disciplines. It is particularly well suited for environmental science, social studies, sustainable agriculture or Spanish language specialists. Positions are available for non-credit volunteer opportunities. Amazon travel is more accessible than one might think - there really is no need to worry about being devoured by flesh-eating piranhas. In the course, participants will get first-hand experience with the flora, fauna, people and culture and bring the experience home and to the classroom. Participants are also encouraged to volunteer in a service project in rainforest preservation or in helping local communities. Don Dean Oakland NJ Schools Project Amazonas Reforestation and Environmental Education
Re: [ECOLOG-L] voucher tags
I've had some success with REVLAR papers of varying thickness from RELYCO. The paper holds up well in the Amazon and should do OK in formalin, but I don't know if the preservative will dissolve the ink you use. Good luck! Don Dean projectamazonastree.org On Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 3:11 PM, Bruno Ghersi Chavez b.m.ghe...@gmail.comwrote: Dear ecologers: I'm planning to start trapping small mammals in the peruvian amazon and I'm looking for voucher tags to use when placing the vouchers in Formalin. can anybody recomend me a webpage or source to get this? last time I bought ones they desintegrated. thanks a lot Bruno Ghersi NAMRU-6 Lima, Peru
Re: [ECOLOG-L] PA high school to host bizarre swim meet - in fracking fluid
Best I've seen so far today! Do check out Google Nose. -Don Don Dean Oakland NJ Schools Project Amazonas Reforestation and Environmental Education projectamazonastree.org Join us in the Amazon in July! On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 11:08 AM, David Burg david.b...@gmail.com wrote: If the fluid is that safe, why do fracking companies still lobbly to make sure the fracking fluid ingredients remain secret? They have so far been successful in blocking any legal requirement for requiring such disclosure. David Burg President, WildMetro On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 9:51 AM, Michael Halpern mhalp...@ucsusa.org wrote: http://blog.ucsusa.org/pennsylvania-high-school-to-host-bizarre-swim-meet-in-fracking-fluid/ In what one concerned parent is calling outrageous, the Pennsylvania Department of Environment is allowing two eastern Pennsylvania high schools to stage a bizarre boys swim meet this coming Friday-in a swimming pool filled with fracking fluid. The event is being held to demonstrate the safety of the fluid, a byproduct of the oil and gas extraction method of hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking. Some politicians have pulled similar scientifically questionable stunts to reassure the public that fracking fluid is benign. Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO), for example, went so far as to drink a glass of the fluid http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/gov-john-hickenlooper-drank-fracking-fluid-hydraulic-fracturing_n_2674453.html in 2012. snip -Michael Michael Halpern Center for Science and Democracy Union of Concerned Scientists Follow me on Twitter @MichaelUCShttps://twitter.com/michaelucs Read my most recent blog postsblog.ucsusa.org/author/michael-halpern Call me at 202.331.5452
[ECOLOG-L] Amazon Rainforest for Teachers this Summer
*Project Amazonas* is a joint American-Peruvian NGO that focuses on humanitarian, education, research and conservation work in the Peruvian Amazon. Each July, Project Amazonas sponsors a graduate-level course for educators based in the city of Iquitos, Peru and at one of its field sites in primary rainforest on the Mazan River. Although it is intended as an introduction to the rainforest and its relationship to modern culture, the enrollment is open, and there are also opportunities to attend as a volunteer in a reforestation and sustainable farming project. The field site is frequented by field biologists and is lauded by world-class herpetologists as among the richest in diversity. A short description is here: http://ptonline.org/hol/amazon/ As well as a teachers’ blog: http://projectamazonastree.org/ Thank you, best wishes, Don Dean Oakland NJ Schools Project Amazonas Reforestation and Environmental Education projectamazonastree.org
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Statistical Question on Temperature Profiles
I should know more, but my experience is limited and old. As part of a field methods course including counting soil insects, we collected raw numbers in a whole lot of categories, then input them into a multivariate analysis program (SAS, at the time). We came up with a few interesting correlations, although none would probably hold up under better data collection methods. You could throw the data into a MVA program and see what comes out, then come up with a focus. -Don Don Dean Oakland NJ Schools Project Amazonas Reforestation and Environmental Education projectamazonastree.org Join us in the Amazon in 2013! On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 4:15 PM, Christopher Brown cabr...@tntech.eduwrote: Ecologgers, I have a master's student who is examining thermal preferences of two species of scorpions in the Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona. She has gathered some field temperature data as part of her thesis, but we are unsure how best to analyze the data (or perhaps more specifically, what data to analyze). I've given some details below, if you have some insight for us! The short version of the experiment: these scorpions are found under rocks during the day, and we have determined thermal profiles for 15 rocks under which scorpions were found and 15 rocks under which scorpions were not found. For both sets of rocks, we measured length and width and selected a range of sizes based on binning the rocks into three categories (small, intermediate, and large) and then choosing 5 rocks in each size range. Each rock had an iButton placed under it, and temperatures were recorded every 30 minutes for 48 hours. Her basic question is then, do the thermal characteristics of chosen rocks differ from the thermal characteristics of non-chosen rocks? Our problem is, what data should we use? Our first though is at a simple level: we could calculate mean temps for the two rock categories and compare them with a t-test, and/or we could compare variances or ranges (max-min) with a t-test to determine if variability differs between rocks. We've found a couple of different variations of this kind of analysis in the literature, but we'd like to know if this is the best (or best) way to analyze the data, or are there more sophisticated techniques that involve analysis of the whole profile? If we do use a fairly simple analysis based on some type of summary variable, what is the best summary variable to use (mean? Variance? Range? Something else?) and the best analysis to do? If anyone has any experience in analyzing this type of data and has some suggestions, we'd be happy to hear from you! Thanks, CAB *** Chris Brown Associate Professor Dept. of Biology, Box 5063 Tennessee Tech University Cookeville, TN 38505 email: cabr...@tntech.edu website: iweb.tntech.edu/cabrown
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Biodiversity database for a biological field station
I haven't done this yet, but am on a slow path to do it at our Santa Cruz field station near Mazan (Iquitos) Peru. Right now I only have scant anecdotal reports and a couple of spreadsheets - very infantile, yet already unmanageable. Over the next couple of months, we have a volunteer starting to collect geo info (mainly to map the trails), but we would also add observation data. The fellow has expertise with ArcView and we're hoping that he can start to tie a few of the pieces together. Colleague of mine has cataloged some of the trees he's planted in the Upper Amazon - nice little search engine with pictures. http://www.caminoverde.org/resources - then to the tree database As for a biodiversity survey, I have a nice report of what's sold in the Belen (Iquitos) Market. The idea was to set a baseline for future study. I did a basic translation and Devon Graham reconciled many of the species with scientific names. If you or others are interested, email me offline. -Don Don Dean District Science Coordinator, Oakland NJ Schools Project Amazonas Reforestation and Environmental Education projectamazonastree.org Join us in the Amazon in 2013! On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Paul Foster pfos...@bijagual.org wrote: Hi folks, Has anyone developed a biodiversity database for a biological field station? Ideally the database would support an iPod/ tablet app that could display georeferenced sightings, images, sounds, and other data with a search feature. I’ve explored Filemaker – Bento and Access, but if someone’s already developed something similar I may not need to. Thanks, Paul Foster Bijagual Ecological Reserve Costa Rica www.bijagual.org
