July 2009 Institute Question Brainstorm

On behalf of the teachers in our July Vital Signs Teacher Institute, I present to you an incredible list of essential questions drummed up during a spirited brainstorming session. They are grouped loosely by learning standard or key concept.

Biodiversity
Is this biodiversity the same or different in three different ecosystems?
How does the biodiversity change over time? (track a single species over time)
What is the diversity like in my local environment?
How do humans impact biodiversity?
How do populations change over time?
Do transition zones/ edges/ ecotones have higher biodiversity?

Adaptations
What are the internal & external structures that help a species establish a population in a new area?
How do plants adapt to new environments (introduction...establishment... reproduction)?

Species
What species live here?
Are there invasive species in our local environment?
Why is this species here or not here?
Why is this species over there and not over here?

Ecosystems
What is an ecosystem?
What are the abiotic and biotic factors in our local ecosystem?
How do abiotic factors affect the biotic factors, and vice versa?

Ecosystem health
How healthy is my local ecosystem?
Is this place healthier than that place? Why? How can we tell?
How do invasive species interventions/management practices affect ecosystem health (herbicides, biocontrol)?

Climate conditions
How does summer rainfall impact species in a specific habitat (USGS stream flow data, state rainfall data)
How does climate change impact communities? (target species at the northernmost edge of its range)
How does ice-out data relate to the species that are here?
What climate conditions allow this species to live here and not there?

Myth busters/ Pop culture
Is the farmer’s almanac really correct?
Is Mrs Jones right that if it rains on the last day of May it’ll rain all summer long and you shouldn’t
Are slugs sensitive to copper? Will they spark if you throw some pennies
Is the length of the wooly bear's stripe an accurate predictor of annual precipitation?

Population genetics
Which species - native or invasive - has the bigger reproductive advantage?
How do reproductive strategies compare between native and invasive species?
Internal/external structures – what is the genetic advantage that allows an invasive species to out-compete a native species?
What different reproductive strategies do each have?
Seed counts?
Life cycles?
How does the presence of an invasive species change a native species?
Shorter necks of soft shell clams due to green crabs
Natural selection from Darwin’s point of view? Darwin’s finches
Walking stick population in VS – female will mate with different males, different structures to select the genetically-strongest sperm?