The instrumentation requested will strengthen experimental approaches to environmental biology. The automated toxicity bioassay using bioluminescent bacteria and the computer controlled respirometer requested will bring recent advances in environmental research capability into the undergraduate laboratory. Introductory biology students will operate in small research groups and play an active role designing the experimental approach used to answer meaningful scientific questions and thus gain a larger sense of what it means to do modern science. Once introduced to advanced instruments as freshman, students can employ them with increasing sophistication in intermediate and advanced courses. Toxicity tests on heavy metals provide the context for examination of general dose response curves and synergistic effects of other environmental variables on toxicity. Respiration measurements will allow freshmen to explore the effects of temperature on metabolism. Advanced students will conduct an intensive investigation into physiological responses of estuarine animals to hypoxia and anoxia, simulating low oxygen levels typically found in the Chesapeake Bay.
