Students are exploring the effects of varying environmental stimuli on plant and animal systems with the assistance of two new Conviron E15 Plant Growth Chambers acquired through this project. The controlled environmental chambers are complementing the Department's greenhouse and nature preserve in ways that improve the laboratories in five courses -- as well as expanding undergraduate research options. The chambers are making it possible to conduct experiments at the cellular, organismal and population level on the effects of varying temperature, light and humidity. A new array of questions now can be asked in the undergraduate lab courses, the answers to which are providing students with a more complete understanding of how an organism functions in its native environment, and how abiotic factors affect the physiology and behavior of all living things.
