OSBORN, D.A.; PEARSE, J.S.; ROE, C.A.; HEFFINGTON, J.B.; KEEDY, K.D.: Seymour Intertidal Monitoring Program We are developing site-specific protocols of the rocky intertidal of central California that can be used by high school students and other volunteer groups for long-term monitoring. Vertical transects establish zonation patterns that would change as sea level changes. Abundance and […]

WORCESTER, Suzanne E.*; WOOD, Swarup E.; PERRY, Ren�e R.; KIBAK, Henrik: Retaining Students In Biology: Enriching Introductory Courses With Ecological Restoration Projects Many students interested in becoming biologists become discouraged by core science courses. These courses present a large amount of detailed content that appears to have no relevance to students’ interests. In addition introductory […]

BOUDRIAS, Michel A. *; BOLENDER, James P.: Field Reseach at the Core of an Interdisciplinary Science Course An Honors course called “Pollution in the Sand” was designed to integrate a student-directed research project into an upper division interdisciplinary science course. Many of the interdisciplinary science courses offered within the Honors Program at USD provide our […]

RYAN, W.L.: Experimental Design in the Teaching Lab: Prey Density and Feeding Stimuli in the Sea Anemone Aiptasia The current trend in science education is to enhance the experience of students by providing opportunities for scientific inquiry. The project reported here expanded this by providing a series of related questions for students to analyze as […]

WHEATLY, M.G.*; WOOD, T.: DNA Isolation: Making an Introductory Biology Lab Universally Accessible. Creating Laboratory Access for Science Students (The CLASS Project) is an NSF-funded initiative to train educators in the thought processes that are required to develop lab exercises and field trips that are universally accessible. In an attempt to reach a broader audience, […]

SCHAR, D.W.*; KRUG, P.J.; ZIMMER, R.K.: The scent of danger: Chemical alarm signals and escape from cannibalism in newts Larvae of the California newt exhibit a chemically mediated anti-predator defense, demonstrating escape behavior and increased refuge use after detecting a cue from cannibalistic adults. Stream water collected near adults was tested in non-recirculating flow-through chambers, […]

COWART, J.D.: Sometimes It’s Good to Taste Bad: Palatability of Pteraster tesselatus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) Adults and Offspring This study investigated secondary metabolites as chemical defenses in Pteraster tesselatus adults and offspring. Members of the Pterasteridae rapidly secrete copious amounts of mucus over their aboral surface when attacked. This mucus secretion is an effective anti-predator mechanism […]

MEAD, K.S.; WILEY, M.B.: How Do Benthic Crustaceans Trace Odor Plumes In Waves?: Integrating Fine-Scale Odor Structure With Animal Behavior. Like many crustaceans, stomatopods rely on their sense of smell to find food. Odors in their marine environment are present as filamentous plumes, which the animals have to trace to find the source. Stomatopods sample […]

RIORDAN, JR., T.J.; LINDSAY, S.M.*: Functional labeling of peripheral sensory cells in the spionid polychaete, Dipolydora quadrilobata Our integrated investigation of chemoreception in deposit-feeding polychaetes has identified and described putative sensory structures on the feeding palps of several spionid polychaete species and shown that chemical cues bound to glass beads stimulate feeding in the spionid […]

COHEN, J.H.*; FORWARD, JR., R.B.: Alteration of the shadow response in a larval crab by ctenophore kairomones Zoeal larvae of the estuarine crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii display negative phototaxis upon sudden decreases in light intensity. This photobehavior participates in a predator avoidance shadow response which functions in the avoidance of non-visually orienting surface predators such as […]