This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Phytoplankton communities play major roles in global biogeochemical cycles and marine food webs. However, the complex phytoplankton communities in polar vs. non-polar oceans haven’t been well characterized. To address this gap, researchers recently profiled the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of eukaryotic microbes and associated prokaryotes from the chlorophyll A maximum layer at 11 sites in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Within each ocean, adjacent sampling sites had 51–88% of their MAGs in common, but the Arctic and Atlantic MAGs were clearly differentiated. Most species associations were between Prasinophytes and Proteobacteria. In addition, eukaryotic MAGs were more diverse in the Arctic, while prokaryotic MAGs were more diverse in the Atlantic. For both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, 70% of the detected protein families were shared between Arctic and Atlantic MAGs. but eukaryotic MAGs had more Arctic-only protein families, whereas prokaryotic MAGs had more Atlantic-only protein families..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students explore the relationships between genetics, biodiversity, and evolution through a simple activity involving hypothetical wild mouse populations. First, students toss coins to determine what traits a set of mouse parents possesses, such as fur color, body size, heat tolerance, and running speed. Next they use coin tossing to determine the traits a mouse pup born to these parents possesses. These physical features are then compared to features that would be most adaptive in several different environmental conditions. Finally, students consider what would happen to the mouse offspring if those environmental conditions were to change: which mice would be most likely to survive and produce the next generation?

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In Greek, the word _eudora_ means “she of good gifts”. It was the name given to various mythological sea nymphs, patrons of, among other things, sailing and bountiful catches. Now, Eudora also refers to a group of newly discovered bacteria from the ocean that promise similar rewards. A recent study reveals that _Candidatus_ Eudoremicrobium holds the genetic blueprints for producing an array of natural products with potential applications in medicine and biotechnology. And they’re likely not the only ones. Numerous microbes yet to be characterized across the vast ocean could harbor similar treasures. The key to finding them lies in applying the tools of microbiomics. Microbiomics refers to the study of microbiomes using tools like DNA sequencing to reconstruct the genomes of microbes directly from the wild. This approach is becoming popular among scientists whose job is to mine the natural world for medically or technologically important compounds, such as antibiotics. One big reason why is access..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this biology field experience, students will explore trees of Minnesota. Working in cooperative groups, students will discover biodiversity of trees and determine populations of tree species through observation and use of dichotomous keys.

This module focuses on the population of mountain gorillas living in the central highland area of Africa. The module looks at human activity around the gorilla habitat and how that activity is threatening the survival of the remaining gorillas.

In this lesson, students will be amateur mycologists--collecting and analyzing various mushrooms. Through observation and discussion, students will gain knowledge of the basic anatomy of mushrooms, their life cycle, and their method of reproduction through spores. Students will learn to create spore prints of mushrooms and label and preserve their spore prints, just like a mycologist. Students also will learn that by comparing spore prints, they can identify different mushroom species.

Of all the animals in the oceans, the hammerhead shark may be one of the strangest looking. The exact purpose of the wide, flat head is a mystery, but several theories abound. In this video, we travel to the shark-infested waters of the Galapagos in Ecuador and to a research station in Hawaii to learn about the unusual habits of these sinister-looking sharks. Jonathan swims in schools of hundreds of hammerheads, and yet the sharks ignore him. What are the sharks up to? Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Recognized by the distinctive white ring around its eyes, the Adélie penguin is only one of two species of penguin whose only home is Antarctica. While Adélie numbers have been observed to decline in some regions amid a changing climate, the truth is surprisingly little is known about the penguins’ actual distribution along Antarctica’s coastline. A 2015 land-and-air survey explored previously unreported colonies of Adélie here, in a cluster of ice-choked islands called the Danger Islands. The discovery could mark an important technological turning point in species tracking that would have clear implications for preserving biodiversity. Researchers conducted their survey from aboard a research vessel and on the grounds of several of the Danger Islands—only one of which had ever been inspected for Adélie penguins. They counted nests [manually], [from panoramic photos], and [from imagery captured by drones]. In all, the team tallied 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins in the Danger Islands..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Recognized by the distinctive white ring around its eyes, the Adélie penguin is only one of two species of penguin whose only home is Antarctica. While Adélie numbers have been observed to decline in some regions amid a changing climate, the truth is surprisingly little is known about the penguins’ actual distribution along Antarctica’s coastline. A 2015 land-and-air survey explored previously unreported colonies of Adélie here, in a cluster of ice-choked islands called the Danger Islands. The discovery could mark an important technological turning point in species tracking that would have clear implications for preserving biodiversity. Researchers conducted their survey from aboard a research vessel and on the grounds of several of the Danger Islands—only one of which had ever been inspected for Adélie penguins. They counted nests [manually], [from panoramic photos], and [from imagery captured by drones]. In all, the team tallied 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins in the Danger Islands..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The Ocean Health Index is a new, comprehensive measure of the ocean’s overall condition – one that treats people and nature as integrated parts of a healthy system. The ocean touches nearly every aspect of our lives – making it essential to the economic, social, and ecological well-being of everyone, everywhere. Evaluated globally and by country, the Ocean Health Index presents 10 public goals that represent the wide range of benefits that a healthy ocean provides to people. Each country’s overall score is the average of its 10 goal scores. Overall scores and individual goal scores are directly comparable between all countries. All scores range from 0 to 100.

This Ology website for kids focuses on Biodiversity. It includes activities, things to make, quizzes, interviews with working scientists, and more to help kids learn about Biodiversity.

Patterns Biology is the culminating course in the 3-year high school Patterns Science sequence. Patterns Biology focuses on three-dimensional (3D) learning through culturally responsive, phenomena-based storylines that intertwine the disciplinary core ideas of biology with the scientific and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts as described in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

The Patterns High School Science Sequence (https://hsscience4all.org/) is a three year course pathway and curriculum aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Each course utilizes:
- Common instructional strategies
- Real world phenomena
- Design challenges to engage students and support their learning.

For more information, contact us at info@pdxstem.org.

The curriculum is a combination of teacher-generated and curated open-content materials. The Teacher-generated materials are shared freely under a Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike Creative Commons License.

Each mp3 voice recording accompanies a PowerPoint slide or set of slides. These two files were bundled together with a transcript of the mp3s (mainly for people with hearing disabilities) and a printer-friendly pdf of the slides.

Each set of files is organised into topics, which are set out in two ways. For linear learners they are set out in a suggested order. For non-linear learners they are organised via an interactive “mind map”, which is a diagram showing how the different sub-topics fit together into the main topic. A printable version of the mind map is also made available. All this is done within WebCT. Learners were told to go through the files in place of traditional lectures. This allowed them to go through the material in their own time and in an order determined by them. It enabled portability: learners could, if they wished, download the mp3 files, transcripts and/or the visual aids and study them at any time and in any place they chose. The learners were also asked to read one or more journal articles from the recent literature (within the last two years). In the contact time, class discussions about recent papers of note were held instead of lectures. The aim is to enhance these discussions in future using audience-response systems.

This video segment adapted from the NOW-RAMP 2002 Expedition documents a research expedition to Pearl and Hermes Atoll in Hawai`i. Watch as biologists assess the bird and plant populations and then work to eradicate invasive species.

One of the greatest challenges facing society today is protecting and restoring biodiversity in the oceans. Join Dr. Nancy Knowlton, director of ScrippsŐs Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation as she describes how CMBC research activities are helping us rise to this challenge. (59 minutes)

A 2nd grade STEM unit on biodiversity. Students will learn about habitats and their biotic and abiotic components and needs to create and implement a plan/device to increase the biodiversity of the urban school garden.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Soil-dwelling animals play critical roles in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the importance of these animals, little is known about their microbiomes. To address this, a recent study systematically characterized the microbiomes of ecologically important soil dwelling invertebrate groups across China. Each taxon of invertebrates had diverse microbiomes that contained ‘unique’ microbial taxa that were not found in surrounding soils. Both random effects and deterministic ones, like host selection, played a role in the microbial community assembly. The researchers also found several unidentified microbial taxa and evidence that this ‘microbial dark matter’ played potentially important ecological roles. When moving up the food web, the microbial diversity, the number of ‘unique’ taxa, and the ecological role of unknown taxa increased..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

What effect do interactions between species have on the sizes of the populations involved? Learn about the dynamics of predator and prey populations, and how they can influence one another’s patterns of growth and decline.

Students learn about Lythrum salicaria, commonly referred to as purple loosestrife, and use their new knowledge, maps and their observation skills to identify changes to the land. They also identify threats to the ecosystem because of those changes, including biodiversity of native species, ecosystem functioning, and economic issues.