Blog Archives
Tweet roundup. Ecology (EES-152), Fall Semester 2017.
Some of my favorite course-related tweets in Fall 2017…. another semester of fun!
https://twitter.com/oliviaisbl0nde/status/902232917971226624
https://twitter.com/michaelaott28/status/903266799223001088
https://twitter.com/michaelaott28/status/904828384055873536
https://twitter.com/AvaScally/status/907339717599006721
https://twitter.com/michaelaott28/status/907388654854832133
https://twitter.com/ab_Cees/status/909847818948538369
https://twitter.com/kjm813701/status/909868781564055552
https://twitter.com/mikaylajch/status/913173646792937472
https://twitter.com/michaelaott28/status/914933675199991808
https://twitter.com/Psy220Yun/status/917501157207040002
https://twitter.com/mikaylajch/status/917461401354063874
https://twitter.com/EESCharlesI/status/917458494042836993
https://twitter.com/mikaylajch/status/919226679477919744
https://twitter.com/nikhitaEES/status/922524717491376129
https://twitter.com/Psy220Yun/status/922528978124132352
https://twitter.com/nikhitaEES/status/922539133091893248
https://twitter.com/michaelaott28/status/922536709425901568
https://twitter.com/mikaylajch/status/923245002792296448
https://twitter.com/AvaScally/status/923647046309109766
https://twitter.com/EESCharlesI/status/925068846435852288
https://twitter.com/michaelaott28/status/926922155085897728
State of the Lehigh Experimental Forest, 2017
General ecology (EES-152) students have finished resurveying aΒ portion of the Lehigh Experimental Forest, assessing changes in species mortality and recruitment since 2013. A total of 1174 trees were inventoried and measured from across the forest the last two years, representing more than 1/2 of allΒ trees originally tagged in 2013. In the four Β years sinceΒ 2013, 167 of these 1174 trees have died (~14%) and only eleven new trees have established in the study area (<1%). Β Data for the dominant tree species are shown in the plot below.
Abundance, mortality, recruitment, and the net percentage change of tree/shrub species in the Lehigh University Experimental Forest, 2013-2017. Relative frequency data are from 2013 (M. Spicer, MS thesis 2014) and indicate the percent of each species present (based on a total of 1174 trees). Total mortality and recruitment for each species with greater than 10 individuals are shown as percentages. Species are arranged from those undergoing substantial declines in abundance at the top to those that have increased in abundance on the bottom.
We will use these data to discuss processes controlling forest dynamics as the semester progresses. Β However, for now, students should answer the following questions:
- What factors might have caused the differences in mortality among species?
- Develop a hypothesis to explain the lack of recruitment for most tree/shrub species. Then do some research on the two tree species that have successfully recruited and those species that have not. Are there species traits that are common to successful and unsuccessful recruiters? Are these traits consistent (or inconsistent) with what you might predict from your hypothesis?
- What does the pattern of mortality and recruitment suggest about the future of the Lehigh Experimental Forest? Assuming the rates of total tree recruitment and mortality are representative of future years, when will there be less than 100 trees in this forest? Β In 2013, there were ~2000 trees in the forest so you can use that as your starting number. Show your work and describe how you arrived at your estimate. Β Do you thinkΒ this scenario is likely? Β Why or why not?
Smelling your way down the redox ladder: wetland ecology in a bottle
“The act of smelling something, anything, is remarkably like the act of thinking. Immediately at the moment of perception, you can feel the mind going to work, sending the odor around from place to place, setting off complex repertories through the brain,Β polling one center after another for signs of recognition, for old memories and old connection.” – Lewis Thomas
Students experiencing olfactory “thrills” while measuring dissolved oxygen and redox potential of soil microcosms after flooding. The rotten-egg odor was intense in several of these samples.
Incorporating multiple senses into the learning process is a hallmark of experiential learning, and has long been viewed as a successful education strategy.Β In a classroom setting, combining activities like observing, listening, speaking, writing, and drawing can help students to acquire, synthesize, and reinforce their knowledge of the world.Β In a field course, the senses of smell and even taste can also inform and enrich the educational experience. Smelling the twig of a black birch, the leaves of spicebush, the flowers of skunk cabbage, or the wonderful rotten-egg aroma of a salt marsh are ecological observations that lead to questions of “why?” and “how?” Β Furthermore, the sense of smell seems to be strongly linked to memory, albeit in poorly understood ways (i.e., the Proust effect). Β Incorporating these sorts of sensory experiences into laboratory and lecture-based courses is challenging. However, I recently discovered a laboratory activity that was developed to explicitly appeal to the students’ sense of smell. Β Well, perhaps “appeal” is the wrong word here. Β The activity nicely demonstrates some important aspects of wetland biogeochemistry, a topic that my wetland ecology students often struggle with, and it does this whileΒ providing some considerable olfactory “thrills.”
Setup of two experiments. Each experiment included six microcosms, flooded for different lengths of time. Six experiments were done in total, allowing us to assess the influence of sulfate and organic matter quality and quantity on biogeochemical changes induced by flooding.
The lab was developed for a soil science class by R.S. Dungan, B.D. Lee, and C. Amrhein. It can be downloaded here. Β A set of microcosms are created by the students, each containing a soil which is flooded for a different length of time. A simple gaslock is used to prevent oxygen from entering the microcosms. We used six microcosms, representing flooding durations of 20 minutes, 1 day, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 35 days. Β In the original activity, the soils were amended with a small amount of gypsum (for a source of sulfate) and nitrogen-rich organic matter (alfalfa). Β Students then measure changes in dissolved oxygen, iron, nitrate, and the presence of hydrogen sulfide.
We modified and expanded the lab for an upper-level wetland science course. Β For example, we ran experiments with and without an added sulfate source, approximating the chemical environments of a salt marsh versus a freshwater wetland. Β Within each of these environments, we also tested the effect that organic matter quality and quantity had on the biogeochemical changes induced by flooding. Β To do this, one set of microcosms contained no added carbon (i.e., only the carbon that was present in the soil), one was amended with alfalfa (low carbon:nitrogen ratio), and one was amended with Sphagnum moss (high carbon:nitrogen ratio). In addition to measuring dissolved oxygen, iron, and nitrate, we also measured sulfate, redox potential, and pH. Β Changes in concentrations were plotted against time and redox potential.
Photographs of the microcosms, after 35 days, for the different experimental setups.
The results were fantastic, and some are summarized in the video and figures below. Β I learned a few things by doing this lab; in particular, I think that with a little practice I could estimate redox potential using only my nose. Β Certainly that would be a great skill for a wetland delineator to have!
The short video includes repeat photographs of a single flask, and provides a nice visual summary of the observed changes. Too bad you can’t send smells through the internet…
Figure showing all the data collected by the class, with concentrations plotted against redox potential measurements. Below are student comments along the redox potential gradient.
Biogeochemical changes with soil flooding, showing selected data from the class. Soils included a small amount of gypsum as a sulfate source, and the three lines indicate the results with organic matter of varying quality and quantity.
Biogeochemical changes with soil flooding, showing selected data from the class. No sulfate source was added, and the three lines indicate the results with organic matter of varying quality and quantity.
Questions for the students
A. Write a paragraph for each of the following questions, citing the appropriate figures:
- Describe the sequence of biogeochemical changes that occured after soil flooding. What chemical transformations take place? Β Why do these changes occur?
- Explain the observed differences between the experiments with and without the added sulfate source. Why did these differences occur? What implications do these results have for understanding energy flow in salt marshes and freshwater wetlands?
- What is the likely effect of organic matter quality and quantity on the pattern and rate of biogeochemical changes after flooding? Why?
B. Write a sentence (or Β equations) for each of the following questions:
- Hydrogen sulfide was produced in the experiment that reached a highly negative redox potential. What other gases were likely produced first?
- What visual changes occurred in the experiment (added sulfate, low C:N) between day 15 and 20 (see video)? What caused these changes?
- Why does nitrate increase in the first few days? What process is taking place?
- If we allowed these experiments to continue longer, what gas might be released eventually?
- Write the chemical equations for the redox transformations involving oxygen, nitrate, iron, and sulfate.
Literature Cited
Among The Stately Trees 