The activities are as follows: When an animal dies, it might seem like the end of its story. But in nature, death can be the beginning of something new. Dead plants and animals slowly break down over time. As they decompose, their matter is recycled back into the ecosystem. Microbes, insects, scavengers, soil, and plants
News & Events
Grass grows where giants fall
Paul Strode visits KBS for Seminar on how he helps students think, write, and talk like scientists
On November 9th, high school biology teacher, Dr. Paul Strode, made his second visit to the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) to deliver a seminar. Paul shared his own scientific journey, and how he translates that experience to his own students. Details on the seminar are below. Paul wrote two papers that informed Data Nuggets development.
Gone fishin’ for survival
The activities are as follows: Climate change is affecting our world in many ways. Globally, we are experiencing more droughts and wildfires, shifting seasons, and rising sea levels. Species are responding as well. Some can shift their ranges to follow cooler temperatures. But what about organisms, like fish, that cannot easily move to a new
Bringing the heat
The activities are as follows: Climate change is causing Earth’s average temperature to rise, but warming is not the only change happening. Climate change can affect many parts of an ecosystem at the same time. For example, in the Rocky Mountains, temperatures are getting warmer, and the climate is also getting drier. This means that
Working together to monitor ocean acidification (draft)
Subsistence living is an important part of culture in the Chugach region of Alaska. For many people, fishing and gathering food are part of everyday life. This lifestyle has been around for thousands of years and is especially important in remote Alaska Native communities. Along the coast, subsistence living includes collecting seafood like shrimp, clams,
Time flies when you turn up the heat
Aging is a natural process that happens in all living things. As organisms get older, their cells and DNA slowly become damaged. Some of this wear and tear happens naturally as cells do their jobs. Other damage can be brought on by stressful environmental conditions, such as high temperatures. Richard is a scientist interested in
Cracks in the Arctic tundra landscape
There is a strange phenomenon found in many Arctic regions. There, the natural landscape often has large repeating patterns called ice-wedge polygons. Understanding why they exist and how they form has been a puzzle for many years. Today, scientists believe ice-wedge polygons form because of the extreme temperature swings in the arctic climate. During the cold
Flowers chasing spring
How does a plant know when to make a flower? Their phenology, or seasonal timing of growth and reproduction, can be driven by many things. When the weather warms in the spring, many plants start to make flowers when temperatures are just right. Other plants follow the number of hours with sunlight. In one very particular
Turning up the heat
The activities are as follows: Éste Data Nugget también está disponible en Español: As you step into a warm greenhouse, you can feel how the glass has captured the sun’s heat inside. Now imagine that same warmth spreading across the entire planet due to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Climate scientists predict that by the year 2100, Earth’s
Missing species: the biodiversity of prairie remnants
Illinois is called the “Prairie State.” Historically, 60% of the state was covered in different types of prairies, or open grassy landscapes with few trees. As far as the eye could see, fields were filled with colorful wildflowers, grasses, and all the species above and below ground that rely on them. However, today only 0.01% of