We Are All Scientists: Student Participation in Insect Ecology Research

Overview

The recent expansion of high speed internet access into millions of homes and classrooms has enabled school students, nature enthusiasts, and professional scientists to collaborate on large science projects.

The benefits of these projects are immense. The participation of so many people in diverse geographic locations are able to create comprehensive datasets that would be impossible for few scientists to assemble. Students and non-professional scientists are able to learn about, and contribute significantly to research on some of the most important issues society is grappling with. This gives individuals, especially students, the chance to learn and participate in societally relevant research. By being part of a nationwide collaboration with other university, nonprofit, and citizen researchers, citizen science projects teach how to participate in the scientific process, through collaboration, scientific observation, data recording, data formatting, and open access data deposition. These data are then deposited it in the same format in one public, central repository.

Here, I present several ongoing citizen science projects that classroom students can contribute to. One of the longest established of these projects, the Lost Ladybug Project http://www.lostladybug.org/, records changes in population levels of native and invasive lady beetles. Lady beetles are hold a unique place in the public imagination, yet their native populations have been decimated by habitat alteration and the introduction of invasive species. This project seeks to involve the public to document changes in beetle population numbers, with the goal of better promoting the recovery of native species.

The goal of this project is to give students hands – on experience with an important insect ecology project that ties into teaching many important ecological concepts, such as trophic structure, the role of natural enemies, ecological services provided by insects, and the potentially disruptive roles of introduced species.

Additional citizen science projects that may be useful for classroom participation can be found here: http://scistarter.com/finder

Materials

1. Butterfly/sweep nets2. Beat sheet and stick (ie, http://www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/06/14/2012/diy-

insect-collecting-beat-sheet.html?interest=5&audience=2&series=17)3. Plastic vials for temporarily storing insects4. Black light5. Camera (cell phone cameras are fine)6. Pens and pencils7. Insect diversity and anatomy lesson materials

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8. Freezer or cooler with ice to BRIEFLY chill insects, just long enough so they can be photographed

9. Key to insect identification (using Discover Life and Lost Ladybug Project)

Methods

Classroom Lesson1. Overview of insect diversity, emphasizing that insects are the most abundant and

speciose class of organisms in the world

2. Discussion of the essential contributions of many insects in many ecological settings, such as predators in agro-ecosystems, pollinators, decomposers, and roles in aquatic systems

a. There are a number of videos that can be used to make this section more interesting and engaging

i. A movie called Microcosmosii. Clips from David Attenborough nature documentaries

3. Overview of the most prominent insect orders students are likely to encounter, as well as the distinguishing morphologic features

a. Introduce Coleoptera, Hymentopera, Lepidoptera, Hemipterai. For this lesson, it is important to make a specific point about the

difference between ‘true bugs’ and beetles/lady beetlesii. NCState maintains a website with good order-level descriptions

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/compendium/

4. There are several open access tools for insect identification

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5. Specific introduction to ladybug diversity, habitats, and their ecological roles in natural and agricultural systems

a. Distribute lady beetle field guides, nets, paper and pen, and collection vials

b. Discuss different techniques of insect collectionc. Emphasize the importance of field notes

Field Collections1. Go to the forest, fields, personal gardens, or agricultural production areas2. Collect insects with sweep nets

a. Carefully observe which insects have been caughtb. Place lady beetles into plastic vials for photographyc. Record ALL metadata: Time, place (latitude/longitude), habitat, method of

collectiond. Photograph beetles if they are slow enough; otherwise place on ice or in

freezer briefly, to obtain a good photographe. At the end of the collection period, return to the lab

i. Upload photos to Lost Ladybug projectii. Have all groups record metadata in the same place

iii. Discuss approach for the statistical analysis

Special considerations

This project should be safe and fun for all ages! Caution should be taken against potentially abrasive or poisonous plants (poison ivy, stinging nettles)

Analysis  

Students can gain experience with introductory statistics by analyzing the total numbers and averages of each species they collect.

Species abundance data can be summarized using basic statistics: 1. Add up the total number of lady beetles

a. Make charts that show totals2. Calculate the average and standard deviation of insects per species collected

at each habitat, day, site, etc.a. Make graphs showing means and standard deviations, and compare these

charts to the raw species counts 3. Discuss the meaning of these data!

a. Which species are most abundant in which habitat?b. Were there similar numbers of native and exotic species?c. Do the native and exotic lady beetle species perform similar ecological

roles?

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Documentation

The summaries created during the statistical analysis will document the results of the project. Insects will also be photographed, and images uploaded as vouchers to the Lost Ladybug website.

Another possible deliverable: Collaborative work towards a Ladybugs of Massachusetts Poster, similar to what has been produced by other states (displayed on the website http://lostladybug.org/identification-tools-1083.php)

Optional Additional Activities

1. DNA barcoding: Connecting Genetic and Morphological Diversity

Materials

Specimens collected during citizen science (NOT the native ladybugs!) DNA extraction Classroom miniPCR kit

Methods

Publishing a Scientific Paper

Summarizing the results of our scientific inquiry in a clear and concise way in a journal article is one of the ways scientists share our progress and advances. There are several free journals that accept submissions from high school students for publication. There are several journals that we recommend:

One we DO NOT recommend:

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Resources and Additional Related Ideas

Project summarized in this lesson plan:http://www.lostladybug.org/

Clearinghouse for citizen science projects in all fields: http://scistarter.com/finder

Other insect ecology projects:Another local project tracking population dynamics of a popular insect:https://legacy.mos.org/fireflywatch/

Two more general projects documenting insect diversity related to plant diversity:http://www.greatsunflower.org/http://www.naba.org/butter_counts.html

Discover life can be used for identification, and to record siting data:http://www.discoverlife.org/

Work towards meeting the qualifications of a ‘green school’:http://blog.nwf.org/2015/07/pennsylvania-schools-leading-the-way-to-a-sustainable-future-2/

Insect anatomy: A basic diagram is below, and this website is also helpful http://www.earthlife.net/insects/anatomy.html

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