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Contents of Proceedings
> Volume 26
Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching
Volume 26
Bowling Green State University, June 8-12,
2004
Editor: Michael O'Donnell
Host: Charlene Waggoner
Laboratory Exercises in Molecular Biology and
Genetics
1. Using the Worm, Caenorhabditis elegans,
in Undergraduate Genetics and Developmental Biology Laboratories
by Jennifer Knight [abstract] [full text]
2. Teaching Western Blots with T antigen and p53
by Theodore Gurney, Jr. [abstract] [full text]
3. Case It! Case Study Learning via Simulations
of Molecular Biology Techniques by Mark Bergland
and Karen Klyczek [abstract] [full text]
4. Incorporating Original Genomics Research into
Genetics and Molecular Biology Courses by Brad Goodner
and Kathy Wheeler [abstract] [full text]
Laboratory Exercises and Workshops in Teaching
Scientific Inquiry
5. Using Microbial Eukaryotes for Laboratory Instruction
and Student Inquiry by Donna M. Bozzone [abstract] [full text]
6. “Conversion Immersion”: Working Together
to Create Investigative Labs by Mariëlle H.
Hoefnagels and Mark E. Walvoord [abstract] [full text]
Laboratory Exercises in Evolution
7. Morphological and Molecular Methods for Creating
Phylogenetic Trees by A. Daniel Johnson [abstract] [full text]
8. Allometry: Size and its consequences or…Why
aren’t there 20 foot tall ants? by Susan M.
Schenk [abstract] [full text]
9. Application of the Hardy-Weinberg model to a mixed
population of Bar and wild-type Drosophila
by Andrea Bixler and Fred Schnee [abstract] [full text]
Laboratory Exercises in Ecology and Field Biology
10. A Field Trip for Applied biology: Mark-Recapture
of White-footed Mice in a Local Woodlot by John Cummings
and T.R. Kaisa [abstract] [full text]
11. Introduction to Mark-Recapture Census Methods
Using the Seed Beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus
by Alexander E. Olvido and Lawrence S. Blumer [abstract] [full text]
12. Competition Within and Between Species of Parasitoid
Wasps by Judy A. Guinan, Christopher W. Beck, Lawrence
S. Blumer, and Robert W. Matthews [abstract] [full text]
13. Photosynthetic Strategies and their Consequences
for Plant Community Structure by K. Greg Murray,
Kathy Winnett-Murray, and Lori Hertel [abstract] [full text]
14. The Kankapot Creek Coast Guard: Public service
through water quality monitoring of a stressed stream
by Joy B. Perry [abstract] [full text]
15. Biotic Indices of Stream Macroinvertebrates
for Fun and (Educational) Profit by Joy B. Perr [abstract] [full text]
Laboratory Exercises in Physiology and Behavior
16. Touch and Temperature Senses by Charlie
Drewes [abstract] [full text]
17. Alternative Strategies to the Use of Vertebrates
in Undergraduate Physiology Labs by Flora Watson
and Charlotte Omotto [abstract] [full text]
18. Bioenergetics: Energy flow, secondary production,
and ecological efficiencies of Madagascan cockroaches
by Sheryl Shanholtzer [abstract] [full text]
Instructional Resources Workshops
19. A Toolbox for Working with Living Invertebrates
by Charlie Drewes [abstract] [full text]
20. Labwrite: Extensive web-based instruction
for helping college students write lab reports and learn science
by Miriam Ferzli and MikeCarter [abstract] [full text]
Appendix A: Abstracts of Mini Workshops [titles]
Appendix B: Abstracts of Additional Major Workshops
Presented at the 26th ABLE Conference
Appendix C: Abstracts of Additional Mini Workshops
Presented at the 26th ABLE Conference
Abstracts (Vol. 26)
Laboratory Exercises in Molecular Biology and Genetics
1 -- Using the Worm, Caenorhabditis
elegans, in Undergraduate Genetics and Developmental
Biology Laboratories
Jennifer Knight [full text]
Key words: C. elegans, genetic crosses, GFP transgenics,
developmental biology
C. elegans is easy to use, transparent, reproduces quickly,
and has a cloned genome. All of these factors make it an ideal
system for use in introductory, genetics or developmental
biology labs. This lab familiarizes students with the life
cycle, development, terminology, and common mutant phenotypes
of C. elegans. It also introduces the use of GFP
transgenic worms to visualize specific cell types in the worm.
A detailed sample experiment is included that takes students
through using genetic crosses and GFP transgenic strains to
figure out the cause of a mutant phenotype.
2 -- Teaching Western Blots with
T antigen and p53
Theodore Gurney, Jr. [full text]
Key words: Western blot, immunoblot, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis,
monoclonal antibodies, enhanced chemiluminescnence, cell culture,
SV40 T antigen, p53
Students perform Western blots with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
of detergent extracts of SV40-transformed cell lines grown
in monolayer culture. The gels are blotted onto nitrocellulose
and treated with a monoclonal antibody against SV40 T antigen
or against the tumor suppressor p53. Blots are then treated
with a secondary antibody (anti-mouse IgG conjugated to horseradish
peroxidase), and exposed to revealing chemicals and x-ray
film. I give one application: induction of p53 by ultraviolet
light.
3 -- Case It! Case Study Learning
via Simulations of Molecular Biology Techniques
Mark Bergland and Karen Klyczek [full text]
Key words: case-based learning, genetic disease, DNA analysis,
computer simulation
Case It! is an NSF-sponsored project to promote collaborative
case-based learning in biology education worldwide. This paper
describes the latest version of the Case It! simulation software
(DNA gel electrophoresis, Southern blotting, and PCR). Students
use these open-ended molecular biology computer simulations
to analyze case studies involving genetic diseases, then discuss
results with their peers at other institutions via web-based
“poster sessions.” They also use Case It! software
to gather background information, analyze DNA and protein
sequences, then create web-page posters and discuss them via
a web editor /conferencing system at the Case It! web site
(http://www.uwrf.edu/caseit/caseit.html).
4 -- Incorporating Original Genomics
Research into Genetics and Molecular Biology Courses
Brad Goodner and Kathy Wheeler [full text]
Key words: research, genomics, genetics, molecular biology,
mapping, functional genomics, gene fusions
Genomics and bioinformatics have revolutionized biology over
the past few years, but their impact on education has lagged.
A new revolution is possible in the undergraduate curriculum.
We have found novel ways to incorporate genomics research
into the laboratory components of several courses. In this
chapter, we show how we accomplish the typical skill development
goals in a genetics or molecular biology course while accomplishing
novel research, and provide the protocols for three such research
projects that can be modified to suit the course goals or
the instructor’s research interests.
Laboratory Exercises and Workshops in Teaching Scientific
Inquiry
5 -- Using Microbial Eukaryotes for
Laboratory Instruction and Student Inquiry
Donna M. Bozzone [full text]
Key words: Tetrahymena, Physarum, chemotaxis, chemokinesis,
phagocytosis, growth, development, inquiry
Because of their ease of handling, relatively fast life cycles,
modest space and equipment needs, and interesting biology,
microbial eukaryotes are excellent organisms for laboratory
instruction from the introductory to the advanced level. Information
regarding the care, maintenance, manipulation, and basic observations
of two specific microbial eukaryotes, the plasmodial slime
mold Physarum and the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena,
are described. Exercises exploring growth, development, and
behavior of Physarum and phagocytosis, chemokinesis,
and cell population growth in Tetrahymena are detailed.
Suggestions for additional avenues of investigation for both
organisms are also presented.
6 -- “Conversion Immersion”:
Working Together to Create Investigative Labs
Mariëlle H. Hoefnagels and Mark E. Walvoord [full text]
Key Words: investigative laboratories
A “Conversion Immersion” workshop was convened
to provide a forum for instructors to work together to convert
traditional “cookbook” laboratories to a more
investigative format. This paper summarizes some of the ideas
that emerged from the two sessions of the workshop, which
included labs on the following topics: chick development,
soils, antimicrobial agents, effects of pH and heavy metals
on microbial processes, DNA isolation, immunohistochemistry,
enzymes, osmosis, invertebrate diversity, plant diversity,
microscopy and cells, muscle contraction, fermentation, and
genetic engineering.
Laboratory Exercises in Evolution
7 -- Morphological and Molecular
Methods for Creating Phylogenetic Trees
A. Daniel Johnson [full text]
Key words: systematics; morphology; phylogeny; clade; synapomorphy,
principle of parsimony
In modern systematics, both morphological features and DNA
or amino acid sequences are used to determine phylogenetic
relationships. This two-week exercise demonstrates two methods
used by systematists to create phylogenetic trees. In the
first week students score morphological features of fictional
and real organisms, create data matrices showing number of
synapomorphies, and then use the matrices to draw phylogenetic
trees. In the second week they use Bio Workbench, an online
bioinformatics software package, to create phylogenetic trees
based on nucleotide or amino acid sequences. Students learn
how modern systematics helps answer questions about ecology,
evolution, and behavior.
8 -- Allometry: Size and its consequences
or…Why aren’t there 20 foot tall ants?
Susan M. Schenk [full text]
Key words: allometry, evolution, natural selection, body size,
form and function, woodlice
Evolution has resulted in changes in the sizes and forms of
organisms. Everything about the biology of an animal, including
its physiology, anatomy, and ecology, is influenced by its
body size. Frequently there seem to be limits on the sizes
that different organisms can attain, even when larger size
might be thought to be evolutionarily advantageous. Often
an increase or decrease in size is correlated with a change
in proportions. Understanding the significance of a particular
morphology or interpreting the factors that underlie a particular
evolutionary trend involve studying the relationships that
exist among size, shape, and function. This lab introduces
allometry, the study of size and its consequences, using celery
and woodlice as subjects.
9 -- Application of the Hardy-Weinberg
model to a mixed population of Bar and wild-type Drosophila
Andrea Bixler and Fred Schnee [full text]
Key words: evolution, population genetics, Hardy-Weinberg,
Drosophila, behavioral genetics, Mendelian inheritance
Unlike most population genetics labs, which involve simulations
with beans or beads, this lab provides an opportunity to study
a population of living organisms. Using Bar and wild-type
Drosophila, students compare allele and genotype frequencies
to Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Because the Bar mutation in
Drosophila is sex-linked and incompletely dominant, students
can determine the exact genotype of a fly from its phenotype.
These data are evaluated to determine which (if any) of the
five Hardy-Weinberg assumptions have been violated. This real-data
approach allows students to appreciate the value of this null
model and helps the instructor to discover and correct students’
misunderstandings of the model.
Laboratory Exercises in Ecology and Field Biology
10 -- A Field Trip for Applied biology:
Mark-Recapture of White-footed Mice in a Local Woodlot
John Cummings and T.R. Kaisa [full text]
Key words: mark-recapture, Lincoln-Peterson estimate, Jolly
estimate, Peromyscus leucopus, population estimate,
field trip
Mark-recapture techniques were used to determine the size
of a white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) population
in a woodlot in Bowling Green, Ohio. Sherman live traps were
used to capture the mice, which were then marked by attaching
an ear tag. Population size estimates were obtained using
a Lincoln-Peterson method, and a Jolly method.
11 -- Introduction to Mark-Recapture
Census Methods Using the Seed Beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus
Alexander E. Olvido and Lawrence S. Blumer [full text]
Key words: population estimation, Lincoln-Petersen index,
random sampling, confidence interval
Population size, or the abundance of organisms in a study
site, is the most fundamental of the primary demographic statistics.
We present a laboratory study that introduces college undergraduates
to mark-recapture methods that estimate population size. Students
apply a simple mark-recapture method to estimate population
size in cultures of a seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus.
After completing this study, students not only will have rudimentary
knowledge of statistical methods (e.g., standard deviation
and 95% confidence limits), but will also know how to obtain
reliable estimates of population size.
12 -- Competition Within and Between
Species of Parasitoid Wasps
Judy A. Guinan, Christopher W. Beck, Lawrence S. Blumer,
and Robert W. Matthews [full text]
Keywords: competition, parasitoid wasps, Nasonia, Melittobia
Although competition plays a significant role in communities,
it is sometimes difficult to demonstrate the complexity of
competitive interactions to an introductory class. This exercise
investigates the effects of competition on reproduction within
and between two species. Students design an experiment by
placing females on a host, alone, or with conspecific or interspecific
competitors. In a subsequent lab, students gather data on
the number of offspring produced by females under each condition
and discuss implications of the results. For more advanced
students, information is included on using statistical analyses
to compare the impacts of interspecific vs. intraspecific
competition.
13 -- Photosynthetic Strategies
and their Consequences for Plant Community Structure
K. Greg Murray, Kathy Winnett-Murray, and Lori Hertel [full text]
Key words: photosynthesis, community ecology, succession,
plant physiology, plant ecology, light, environmental factors,
plant adaptations, growth rates, light gaps, forest understory,
species diversity, biodiversity
Light is often a limiting resource for plants, which can be
stimulated to higher photosynthetic rates and higher growth
rates by increasing the amount of light they receive. However,
many plants are well adapted to living in low-light environments,
like the shaded understory of a forest. In this lab, students
test working hypotheses about the photosynthetic responses
of representative pioneer and primary forest tree species
that might account for the successional patterns observed
in the forest. Students collect data on light intensity in
gap and understory patches, on growth rates of representative
pioneer and primary species, and on photosynthetic rates of
representative species under gap and understory light conditions.
14 -- The Kankapot Creek Coast Guard:
Public service through water quality monitoring of a stressed
stream
Joy B. Perry [full text]
Key words: water quality, habitat assessment, stream ecology,
field lab
The Biology Department at the University of Wisconsin –
Fox Valley is carrying out a long-term project in which students
gather water quality data on a nearby impaired stream. These
data will eventually be used to help formulate a restoration
plan for the stream. This exercise follows the procedures
our students use to assess stream habitat quality, chemical
and physical parameters, and benthic macroinvertebrate diversity
and pollution tolerance. Data collection is completed in the
field using relatively simple – but informative –
techniques. Sources of supplies and equipment are provided
as well.
15 -- Biotic Indices of Stream Macroinvertebrates
for Fun and (Educational) Profit
Joy B. Perry [full text]
Keywords: biotic index, water quality, macroinvertebrates,
macroinvertebrate identification
Water quality monitoring activities can support student inquiry
into ecological concepts and pollution issues, as well as
offer insight into integrating field and lab work. This exercise
provides students with practice in identification (to order
or family level) of stream macroinvertebrates that they’ve
previously collected. Provided information indicates water
pollution tolerance of the various taxa. Students use the
data to calculate several different biotic indices for the
macroinvertebrates; these are compared to express overall
stream water quality. Ideas for possible extensions of this
activity are presented.
Laboratory Exercises in Physiology and Behavior
16 -- Touch and Temperature Senses
Charlie Drewes [full text]
Key words: Sensory perception, sensory discrimination, mechanoreceptors,
thermoreceptors, sensory fields
This investigation focuses on the sensory biology of human
touch and temperature reception. Students investigate quantitative
and qualitative aspects of touch-sensory functions in human
skin. Values for two-point discrimination are compared to
Weber’s original data. In addition, novel materials
and methods are introduced for investigating the functional
organization of cold sensory reception in human skin, including:
(a) estimation of sensory field size for single cold-sensory
fibers, (b) demonstration of the discontinuous distribution
of cold-sensory fibers in skin, and (c) estimation of the
density of cold-sensitive fibers per unit area of skin. Tactile
and thermoreceptor functions are related to underlying neuroanatomy
of peripheral and central neural pathways.
17 -- Alternative Strategies to
the Use of Vertebrates in Undergraduate Physiology Labs
Flora Watson and Charlotte Omotto [full text]
Keywords: Chara, insects, physiology, taste receptor, digestion,
thermoregulation, membrane excitation, actomyosin
There are many reasons to seek alternatives to the use of
vertebrates, including cost and concerns with use of vertebrates
in undergraduate laboratories. This major workshop explores
examples of alternatives, including: a) an exploration of
thermoregulation without using animals at all, b) an investigation
of actomyosin function and membrane excitation using giant
alga, and c) using insects to investigate taste receptors
and digestion. This workshop explores the importance of providing
good background information to vertebrate processes and connecting
the alternative experimental system to homologous physiological
processes in vertebrates. Students can appreciate the commonality
in biological processes and the importance of underlying physiological
principles.
18 -- Bioenergetics: Energy flow,
secondary production, and ecological efficiencies of Madagascan
cockroaches
Sheryl Shanholtzer [full text]
Key words: bioenergetics, energy flow, secondary production,
ecological efficiencies, ecology, ingestion rate, respiration
rate, growth rate
This lab exercise tests the ecological principle of energy
flow in a laboratory setting using roaches as an experimental
secondary producer. Energy use is measured by respiration,
energy storage by growth, and energy input as ingestion minus
feces. The laws of thermodynamics state that energy intake
should equal energy output; accuracy of measurements can therefore
be determined. Growth rates, respiratory rates, and ingestion
rates can be compared for different size classes. The exercise
lasts four weeks allowing students to take part in a structured
research project in which they must handle data and compare
results to their own hypotheses and values found in the literature.
Instructional Resources Workshops
19 -- A Toolbox for Working with
Living Invertebrates
Charlie Drewes [full text]
Key words: Invertebrate biology, field biology, do-it-yourself
gadgets, view chambers
My objective is to promote more successful collection, culture,
handling, viewing, and classroom investigation of living invertebrates
by using the ‘right tool for the right job.’ To
do this, I present ideas for building and using novel, inexpensive
tools (i.e., “gadgets and gizmos”) for efficient
collection of a wide variety of living invertebrates in the
field. I also offer new approaches, materials, and tools for
improved handling and viewing of living invertebrates in the
laboratory. A central theme is to minimize distress to organisms
and to reduce frustration for students and instructors.
20 -- Labwrite: Extensive
web-based instruction for helping college students write lab
reports and learn science
Miriam Ferzli and MikeCarter [full text]
Key words: writing, lab reports
LabWrite, funded by the National Science Foundation (award
#: DUE-9950405 and DUE-0231086), is a structured set of online
materials developed as an alternative to typical lab report
instruction. LabWrite provides extensive resources designed
to lead college students through the entire lab experience,
beginning with questions that help students comprehend the
essential elements of the lab before they start the procedure
and ending with advice for improving their performance on
the next lab report. The primary goal of LabWrite is to better
enable students to take advantage of the potential that writing
lab reports offers for learning science. In a control-group
study of students in the biological sciences, those using
LabWrite demonstrated significantly greater understanding
of the science of the labs and a greater ability to apply
formal scientific reasoning to the labs than did students
receiving the typical instruction in writing lab reports.
Mini Workshops and
Posters
- Modeling Scientific Thinking through Controversy:
An example using plant chemical warfare (allelopathy)
by Meeghan E. Gray, Natalie K. Marioni, and Christie J.
Howard [full text]
- Active Learning Formats for Botany Field Trips
by Almuth H.Tschunko [full text]
- Incorporating Inquiry-Based Laboratories in a
Large First-Year Biology Course: Problems and solutions
by William R. Huddleston and Heather D. Addy [full text]
- T. rex Can't Jump; or could it? A biomechanical
inquiry lab by William Beachly [full text]
- Fishery Simulation: Growth, harvest, and management
of a hypothetical fish population by Christine
Beauchamp [full text]
- A Lesson in Prairie Conservation: An example of
collaborative science outreach by Darla G. French
and Susan J. Karcher [full text]
- The ESA21 Project: Environmental science activities
for the 21st century by Matthew Laposata and John
Pratte [full text]
- Building an Ecosystem with a Semester-Long Lab
Writing Project by Craig Moretz, Katherine Thorington,
Jill Awkerman, and A. Daniel Johnson [full text]
- Using Herps (snakes, lizards, frogs) to Demonstrate
Genetic Principals in the Classroom by Eileen M.
Underwood [full text]
- The Phylum Masquerade and Other Games
by Donald Cronkite, Lori Hertel and Kathy Winnett-Murray [full text]
- Exploring Weight Regulation using Stella Modeling
Software by Bob Kosinski [full text]
- The bioMovies Project: Developing interactive
digital video for active learning environments
by M, Niedzlek-Feaver, B. L. Black, and H. Heatwole [full text]
- Combining Inquiry- and Service-Learning Activities
by Ralph W. Preszler [full text]
- Educating Teachers for the Future: A roundtable
discussion on biology lab curriculum for pre-service elementary
and middle school teachers by Kelly E. Bohrer [full text]
- Bringing Students out into the World-Wide Laboratory:
Reflections on a study abroad biology course by
Ruth E.Beattie [full text]
- A Web-Based Simulation for Students Learning to
use a Compound Microscope by Robert Ketcham and
Becky Kinney [full text]
- Chromatophores and Color Change in Killifish (Fundulus
heteroclitus) by Seung M. Hong and Malcolm H. Taylor [full text]
- Concept mapping as a learning strategy in introductory
biology laboratories by Amy Marion and Ralph Preszler [full text]
- Integration of Computer Lab and Wet Lab Without
Loss of Functionality: Computer-augmented wet labs
by Brenda Leady and Dale Leady [full text]
- A Quantitative Genetics Exercise by Paul
Willing [full text]
- Interactive Computer Keys: Tools for understanding
biodiversity by Mandy L.Heddle [full text]
- Adaptation to an Abrupt Environmental Change
by Mary Puterbaugh Mulcahy [full text]
- The Value of Field Experiences in a Non-Major
Marine Biology Course by Catherine Teare Ketter [full text]
- Science 101: Development and Assessment of an
Investigative Interdisciplinary Science Course for Education
Majors by Michelle Edgcomb, Shari L. Britner, Jean
Marie Grant, Kelly D.M. McConnaughay, and Robert J. Wolffe
- Using Adenine-Requiring Mutants of Saccharomyces
cerevisae to Study Mutation by Cherld L. Emmons
- Soda Fermentation: Botany meets microbiology
by Cheryld L. Emmons and Jean C. Cardinale
- The Field as the Laboratory: The Costa Rican hands-on
experience in biodiversity by Jacqueline S. McLaughlin
- Cells and Organic Molecules: The first two labs
in Principles of Biology II by Ruthanne B. Pitkin
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