Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America最新文献

These photographs illustrate the article “Experimental species removal reveals species contributions to positive pollinator-mediated reproductive interactions” by Cheng Bi, Øystein H. Opedal, Ting Yang, Erliang Gao, and Zhigang Zhao published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4455

These photographs illustrate the article “Complementarity and sensitivity of benthic state indicators to bottom-trawl fishing disturbance” by P. Daniël van Denderen et al. published in Ecological Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3050

The interrelations between education at all levels, including K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and adult education, and the field of ecology are multiple, come from both domains, often relate to social change (Wright and Hill, 2021), and build on the expansion of the field of ecology education over the past 30 years. Discussions at the crossroads of ecology and education are particularly important to all those interested in better understanding how ecology can foster change among educational institutions. In this context, this article offers a review of key discussions on how education and ecology, as distinct domains of study and application, inform each other and support transformational shifts among educational institutions at all levels. It is shown that the teaching and learning of ecology among educational institutions have been key concerns for ecologists historically and that educational philosophers and theorists have been finding it important to increase awareness of our interconnectivity with natural systems through education.

These photographs illustrate the article “FRUGIVORY CAMTRAP: A dataset of plant-animal interactions recorded with camera traps” by Pablo Villalva, Blanca Arroyo-Correa, Gemma Calvo, Pablo Homet, Jorge Isla, Irene Mendoza, Eva Moracho, Elena Quintero, Francisco Rodríguez-Sánchez, and Pedro Jordano published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4424

Teaching ecology is the primary way of communicating the current knowledge in the discipline to future generations. Besides general tools (e.g., lectures, videos, simulations, and having students read published literature), experimenting and field practices are two principal ways to teach ecology. However, funding shortages along with the fact that some phenomena occur in large spatial and long temporal scales, hinder the use of experiments and fieldwork in pedagogy. Computer-based games are interactive digital tools that were initially designed to be entertaining and engaging. In addition, they are effective motivational educational tools that are already being used in the pedagogy of various majors. Still, few studies have assessed the application of games in teaching ecology. Although those studies reported positive feedback from the students, they reported that making these games is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, educators would benefit from using free and globally accessible games. Here, I introduce the application of online multiplayer games in teaching ecology. Recently, I explored a snake game in which its environment resembles artificial ecosystems. Each player (i.e., each snake) can be regarded as an individual of a population or a species within a community. Then, a couple of general ecological rules, phenomena, and analyses can be easily inferred from these games. I asked the undergraduate students to play these games, collect the data, and write a report on their analysis. The students deduced different ecological phenomena from their in-game experience and reported these games are useful and fun to play. Many games have been produced to increase global awareness of human actions on the environment. These games are geared toward various age groups, including children, young adults, and adults. Two obstacles hinder the use of these games in pedagogy. First, most of the games are not globally accessible, and second, their effectiveness in teaching has not been assessed yet. I envision a future where online games are integrated as part of the pedagogy in ecology. These games are globally accessible, therefore, no barriers exist to test the application of these games. I encourage the readers to conduct a global survey on their usefulness. This might be a step toward reaching a globally inclusive pedagogy in ecology.

These photographs illustrate the article “In a grain of sand: an overlooked over-summering habitat of macroalgae” by Yusuke Horinouchi, Kosei Mochizuki, Kensuke Ichihara, and Tatsuya Togashi published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4447

These photographs illustrate the article “Beyond pollination: Ants and camel crickets as double mutualists in a non-photosynthetic plant” by Suetsugu and Hashiwaki, published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4465

This photograph illustrates the article “An integrative paradigm for building causal knowledge” by James B. Grace published in Ecological Monographs. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1628

These photographs illustrate the article “Climate and topography control variation in the tropical dry forest–rainforest ecotone” by Jonathan A. Walter, Jeff A. Atkins, and Catherine M. Hulshof published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4442