1.
CONNECTING SCIENCE TO
LOCAL KIDS:
ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES
Cleo Warner
Eckerd College
Shoestring Crew

2.
Objectives
 Fertilization effects on leaf litter arthropod
communities
 Student reactions when experiential
learning is incorporated into the science
classroom

3.
Background - Arthropods
 Play key role in
decomposition
 Dictate effects on other
trophic levels

4.
Hypothesis
 Greater population numbers as well as
increased species richness will be found in
fertilized plots as compared to control plots

5.
Collection and Sorting Methods
 Extract 16 litter samples in Oe from each plot
in all 13 stands

6.
Collection and Sorting Methods
 Place samples in Tullgren funnels to dry
 Store extracted arthropods in jars containing
70% isopropanol

7.
Collection and Sorting Methods
 For each plot, sift and filter arthropods to >1mm
and <1mm
 Separate into 2 80ml jars
 For >1mm samples take 7 subsamples of 1.5 ml
and sort to order under microscope

8.
Results
Stand C6
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
NP N P Control
Other
0
50
100
150
200
250
NP N P Control
Collembola
0
50
100
150
200
250
NP N P Control
Mites and Ticks

9.
Objective - Students
 Give students a purposeful hands-on
learning experience

10.
Classroom Methods
 Visit A. Crosby Kennett Middle School
 Explain project
 Have three 7th grade classes help sort the
bugs extracted from the leaf litter
 Give students take-home survey

11.
Student Response Results
I am highly interested in
science
I prefer school projects
where I have to figure
things out for myself
I want to learn more about
the New Hampshire
forests
I would feel comfortable
designing and conducting
my own experiments in a
science class
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagre
e
Strongly
Disagre
e

12.
Student Response Results
Would you like to participate again?
Yes
In Between
No
Do these projects interest you?

13.
Future Goals
 Continue sorting
 Weigh leaf litter
 Student summer volunteers to help sort

14.
Acknowledgments
 Rick Biche
 A. Crosby Kennett Middle School 7th graders
 Michael Hallworth
 Cheryl Bondi
 Shoestring Crew

15.
Works Cited
 Chen, B., Wise, D., 1999. Bottom-Up Limitation of Predaceous Arthropods in Detritus-Based
Terrestrial Food Web. Ecology, 761-772.
 Dewey, J., 1910. How We Think. “Chapter Four: School Conditions and the Training of Thought”
D.C. HEATH & CO.
 Dewey, J., 1910. How We Think. “Chapter One: What is Thought?” D.C. HEATH & CO.
 Hairston, N., Smith, F., Lawrence, S., 1960. Community Structure, Population Control, and
Competition. The American Naturalist, 421-425.
 Jenkins, L., L., 2011. Using Citizen Science Beyond Teaching Science Content: A Strategy for
Making Science Relevant to Students' Lives. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 501-508.
 Admiraal, W., Breure, A., Gessner, M., Hunting, E., Kampfreeth, A., Kraak, M.,Mulder, C., 2012.
DECOTAB: a multipurpose Standard Substrate to Assess Effects of Litter Quality on Microbial
Decomposition and Invertebrate Consumption. Freshwater Science, 1156-1162.
 Tilman, D., 1999. The Ecological Consequences of Changes in Biodiversity: A Search For General
Principles. Ecology, 1455-1474.
 Whitford, W.,G., Parker, L., W., 1989. Contributions of soil fauna to decomposition and
mineralisation processes in semiarid and arid ecosystems. Arid Soil Res Rehab, 199–215.
 http://rivers.snre.umich.edu/www311/MacroinvertLab/Photos/
 http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/861-03350554/Deer-Tick-adult-Ixodes-
dammini--the-vector-for-the-Lyme-Disease-pathogens.-LM-X8
 www.creaturespot.commain2011120dustmite.htm
 http://arthropodecology.com/tag/hymenoptera/
 http://www.savalli.us/BIO385/Diversity/12.Arachnida.html
 http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=JW13ozo6QhM&page=1

16.
Student Survey Quotes
 Do these projects interest you?
“They do because I love science and the way nature works.”
“Yes, they are fun to work on and I am interested in finding
results.”
“Yes because it was something completely different than what
we did in other grades.”
“Because of our area, these interest me. I mean, we should be
the Tree state or Leaf state.”
“I don’t necessarily love the projects, but they are better than
normal school work.”