PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 16: Ecology Education
Tuesday, August 9, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Integration of stable isotopes into ecology and environmental studies courses.

Gebauer, Renate¹, ¹ Keene State College, Keene, NH, USA

ABSTRACT- Even though in the past two decades stable isotope analysis has facilitated new levels of understanding in diverse fields such as hydrology, ecology, plant physiology, environmental science, and forensic science few undergraduates have had the opportunity to learn about and have hands-on experience with this modern technique. I will present examples of how we incorporated stable isotope analysis into a non-majors environmental studies class, a sophomore and upper level ecology laboratory and in student independent research projects. I will discuss the pedagogical approach to involve students in the process of scientific investigation, and how these exercises were used to discuss important concepts and principles in the ecological and environmental field.

Key words: stable isotopes, food web, bird migration, photosynthetic pathway