This work describes a new field research laboratory in an undergraduate animal behavior course involving the study of whale behavior, ecology and conservation in partnership with a non-profit research organization--the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation (BOS). The project involves two weeks of training and five weekend trips on whale watch…

Teachers as well as students often have difficulty formulating good research questions because not all questions lend themselves to scientific investigation. The following is a guide for high-school and college life-science teachers to help students define question types central to biological field studies. The mayfly nymph was selected as the…

Describes the coordinated study of European grasshoppers as living specimens in the field and as permanent laboratory preparations for introducing taxonomic principles. Provides details for the preparation of specimens and sample instructions provided to students. Part I of a three-part series. (AL)

Discusses the relationships of individual, population and ecosystem level approaches to ecology. Outlines how these approaches can be used in introductory college ecology courses. Emphasizes the importance of laboratory and field work and makes explicit suggestions. Outlines course sequences in the undergraduate systems ecology program at San…

Describes the use of capture-recapture techniques to estimate the population of taxis in Liverpool and demonstrates the points of similarity to animal population estimation. Considers advantages of studying taxis rather than organisms in introductory studies of the techniques. (AL)

According to Carl Sagan (1987), "Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." Field studies and undergraduate research provide students with the best opportunities for "thinking" about science, while at the same time acquiring a body of knowledge. Natural History of Tropical Carbonate Ecosystems is a…

Describes a bird-study and banding activity designed for students in urban and suburban areas. (PEB)

Suggests methods of teaching plant identification and taxonomic theory using keys, statistical analyses, and biometrics. Population variation, genotype- environment interaction and experimental taxonomy are used in laboratory and field. (AL)

Reviews the development, syllabus content and organization of field studies used within the only Scottish college to continually offer ecology as a subject for the Higher National Certificate in Biology. (AL)

Described is a course offered at Wilbur Wright College, on Chicago's Northwest Side, in which students investigate the Des Plaines River and its drainage system and relate ecological information to their lives. (PEB)

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a specific method of bacterial identification and suggests some modifications or improvements. The approach is presented as being suitable for obtaining information about the diversity of bacterial types on student fieldwork. (Author/EB)