This project links networks of undergraduate ecology courses to carry out a collaborative, hands-on research project focusing on a large-scale analysis of habitat requirements for amphibians. For many students, this project is their first experience working with large data sets, and the project's methods are designed to sharpen the highly transferable skills (i.e., data integration and analysis) necessary for doing science in the digital age. Students in each course match United States Geographical Service data on amphibian populations from their own region with habitat data from Google Earth. Their data are submitted to a shared database that is analyzed to determine amphibian-habitat associations.
Intellectual merit: The project provides useful information on the effects of land use on amphibian populations in the U.S. It also augments an important public database by adding habitat and landscape data for each amphibian survey location. Broader impacts: From an educational perspective, this project provides an authentic research experience for up to 400 students from a diverse group of schools including two-year colleges, public research universities, and historically minority-serving universities. Assessment of the project focuses on the effects of a collaborative research experience on students' interest in science, student attitudes about science, and student retention in science programs.
This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts toward Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education.
