Implementing an online module about carbon cycling in a tropical stream in an undergraduate majors ecology course

Use of open-access online modules is one way of demonstrating practical applications of ecological concepts such as carbon cycling, as well as a way of introducing students to ecosystems that are unfamiliar to them. I implemented a module focused on the importance of, and ways to quantify, the inputs and fates of carbon in tropical streams. To implement this module in approximately an hour of lab time in a sophomore-level ecology class, I selected part of the material to focus on and provided a handout of questions for students to fill out as they worked through the module in pairs. Overview of the Module: The module’s Learning Objectives are to: (1) discuss the role of streams and rivers in the global carbon cycle (2) understand techniques to measure in-stream carbon fluxes, and (3) determine CO2 inputs to streams and the fates of those inputs. Summary of implementation plan and teaching notes. I implemented part of the material in the above module in approximately 1 hour of a 200-level ecology lab. Working in a computer lab, students read the assigned material and worked together to complete a handout involving six questions about the module (“Tropical stream CO2 cycling module questions,” attached). Support was provided by: A grant from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 2120141).