PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #51: Education: Undergraduate I.
Thursday, August 8. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

The scaling of carbon dynamics from molecules to ecosystems: A model investigation in an integrative biology curriculum.

Eckhart, Vincent^*,1, Jacobson, Peter¹, Robertson, Diane¹, ¹ Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

ABSTRACT- Advances in biology depend increasingly on cross-disciplinary integration. Grinnell College is attempting to train students to integrate biological disciplines, from biochemistry to ecology, via the introduction of a two-semester series of sophomore-level courses, in which concepts, systems, and data developed in the first semester are revisited and applied in the second. Here we present findings and assessments of a model investigation. Students studied carbon dynamics in tallgrass prairie (using 9 focal species) as they evaluated: (in semester 1) biochemical and environmental controls of leaf gas exchange; and (in semester 2) growth, allocation, competitive performance, and ecosystem carbon pools and fluxes. Student groups designed investigations to test hypotheses about the scaling of carbon dynamics. Though students successfully predicted some findings, small-scale factors (e.g., leaf chlorophyll concentration) often failed to explain significant variation at larger scales (e.g., relative growth rate). These "failures" compelled students to incorporate realism and complexity (e.g., the concept of trade-offs) into their understanding of linkages between scales. Costs of this curriculum include increased preparation time for instructors and support staff. An expected benefit, based on evaluations of student research activities elsewhere in the curriculum, is increased student self-confidence in research. Longitudinal studies are in place to assess student understanding of integrative concepts.

KEY WORDS: integrative biology, undergraduate education, carbon dynamics, scaling