Search Results for: lter

The original blog post can be found on the KBS LTER website here.

Each year the KBS LTER program awards graduate students summer fellowships. Here Elizabeth Schultheis and Melissa Kjevik, now both postdoctoral researchers with Michigan State University, describe the project their summer fellowship supported.

Today it is apparent that students and the public continue to struggle when faced with data and its interpretation. When asked to make sense of data taught in their science classrooms, gathered during classroom inquiry projects, or found in the news, students are unable to connect quantitative information to explanations of the way the world works. Without exposure and practice, a large dataset or complicated graph can seem insurmountable. In collaboration with K-12 teachers, the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) GK-12 program, BEACON, and the LTER, we created Data Nuggets to help students overcome roadblocks when working with and interpreting data.

Data Nuggets are targeted classroom activities focused on developing quantitative skills for K-16 students. They are created from recent and ongoing research, bringing cutting edge science into the classroom and helping scientists share their work with broad audiences. The standard format of each Data Nugget provides background information about a scientist and their research, along with how they became interested in their research questions and system that they study. Each Data Nugget includes a real dataset for students to graph, interpret, and use to construct an explanation.

Scientist Mélanie Banville searching for reptiles in the Central Arizona-Phoenix LTER. Her and Heather Bateman’s Data Nugget, “Lizards, Iguanas, and Snakes! Oh My!”

LTER Data Nuggets

The collaboration between Data Nuggets and the LTER is a mutually beneficial fit. LTER scientists help strengthen the Data Nuggets project by increasing the diversity of data and research available to students. In turn, Data Nuggets provide an avenue for LTER scientists to share their work and findings with a broad audience of students, teachers, and fellow scientists. Sharing research findings with the non-science public is an important part of the science process, yet is often one of the most challenging to achieve. With broader impacts a factor in most grants, finding effective methods of communication and transmission is key. Researchers who create Data Nuggets must dig deep to uncover the core messages of their research and think back to the big question that got them passionate about the research in the first place. Also, by creating a Data Nugget and practicing communicating research to a 6th grader, scientists can rest assured that at their next conference they’ll be better able to discuss their work with collaborators and those outside their field!

Researcher Sam Bond taking Sediment Elevation Table measurements in Plum Island Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research site. For more information on this research, check out Anne Giblin’s Data Nugget, “Keeping Up With the Sea Level”.

Most importantly, a great outcome of using LTER data to create Data Nuggets is that teachers and students will directly benefit from additional resources that highlight the importance of data and science in an authentic context. Activities aiming to improve quantitative skills are more effective if they’re grounded in real world situations that students can relate to. Connecting science to a student’s experiences and local ecosystems makes the content more accessible, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse students. These connections also allow students to envision a place for themselves in science. To assist with place-based learning, each Data Nugget is categorized and searchable by the location where the study occurred, allowing teachers to connect data to their students’ environment. In this way, LTER Data Nuggets have the potential to increase interest and engagement with science and data, in both students and the public.

Robert Buchsbaum, from Mass Audubon, preparing his team for a morning of salt marsh bird surveys. Find out more about his research on the endangered Saltmarsh Sparrow in his Data Nugget, “Does Sea Level Rise Harm Saltmarsh Sparrows?”

Working with LTER Scientists and Educators

This past summer (2015), we received support from the LTER Summer Fellowship program. This support allowed us to continue our work with Data Nuggets, and to strengthen their connection to the vast stores of data available through the LTER, including the KBS site and the other 24 sites in the LTER Network. While the LTER Network has conducted over three decades of amazing research, spanning diverse ecosystems and taxa, LTER education and outreach specialists are still finding creative new ways to share this important research with the public. Data Nuggets can breath new life into long-term

datasets, opening them up to the public and future scientists. These funds were used to support training workshops at the LTER All Scientists Meeting (ASM) in Estes Park, CO in August and at KBS in July. These two workshops supported early and late career scientists (graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and REUs) and many LTER education and outreach specialists looking to broaden the impact of the LTER’s research and improve their communication skills. In addition, at the LTER ASM we participated in a poster session to reach out to those who were unable to attend our workshop. Our outreach efforts strengthened the connection between Data Nuggets and the LTER, and resulted in the creation of nine (and counting!) new Data Nuggets based on LTER research. Additionally, in August, we spoke to the teachers working with the KBS K-12 Partnership, connecting them with the LTER Data Nuggets and the vast pool of LTER data, freely available online.

When reflecting back on this summer, it was so great to work with a diversity of LTER scientists across the network. We enjoyed learning new science stories and are very happy to now include coastal, urban riparian, and other ecosystems in the Data Nuggets collection. Please feel free to contact Melissa or Elizabeth if you would like more information or to get started creating your own Data Nugget! For a list of all the Data Nuggets created by LTER scientists and outreach leaders, click here!

Sharing research findings with the non-science public is an important part of the science process, yet is often one of the most challenging to achieve. With broader impacts a factor in most grants, finding effective methods of transmission is key. Data Nuggets, a GK-12 initiative from the Kellogg Biological Station is a practical, high-impact solution to this conundrum. If you need to increase broader impacts for your research and want to further develop your communication skills, come to our hands-on workshop and create a Data Nugget based on your research!

Data Nuggets are targeted classroom activities that emphasize developing quantitative skills for K-16 students. They are created from recent and ongoing research, bringing cutting edge science into the classroom and helping scientists share their work with broad audiences. The standard format of each Data Nugget provides a brief background to a researcher and their study system along with a dataset from their research. Students are challenged to answer a scientific question, using the dataset to support their claim, and are guided through the construction of graphs to facilitate data interpretation.

We are currently seeking to add to our collection of Data Nuggets to showcase science done at LTER sites across the country. See examples of LTER Data Nuggets and learn more about our project by clicking on our LTER tag. During the workshop we will walk you through our templates for experimental and observational data, and help you identify a proper dataset, scientific question, and hypothesis for students of many ages. In order to finish a Data Nugget within the allotted time, participants must come to the workshop with a dataset already selected and analyzed.

• Workshop info can be found here.
• Organizers: Mary Spivey, Elizabeth Schultheis, and Melissa Kjelvik
• Monday, August 31st – Working Group Session II

When the days grow shorter and the landscape is blanketed in snow, it might seem like nature has gone dormant. Trees stand bare, ponds freeze over, and many animals disappear from sight. But winter is a critical time for many species. Researchers brave the cold to study how organisms survive and even thrive in winter’s harsh conditions.

For many species, winter isn’t an obstacle—it’s a necessity. Some organisms have evolved incredible adaptations to endure the cold. Insects use snow as an insulating blanket and even plants rely on winter conditions, with some seeds requiring a cold period before they can sprout.

But winter isn’t what it used to be; Climate change is altering seasonal patterns, leading to shorter, warmer winters. These changes disrupt the delicate balance that many species depend on. Snow cover is disappearing earlier, and fluctuating temperatures cause unpredictable freeze-thaw cycles, which can be harmful to plants and animals alike.

Postdoctoral researcher associate Rosemary Martin (Rosie) studies how cold temperatures affect the development of organisms, particularly dragonfly larvae. These larvae spend their early lives underwater before emerging as winged adults, and rather than hibernating in winter, they remain active. Understanding how temperatures shape their development is crucial, especially as climate change alters seasonal temperature patterns.

To investigate this, Rosie and her colleagues conduct lab experiments with six species of dragonflies. They expose them to different pre-winter temperatures before placing them in bio chambers at 4°C—mimicking the temperature of water beneath the ice. By measuring metabolic rates and analyzing fat and protein levels, they aim to uncover how different pre-winter conditions influence their health and survival. If larvae grow faster or slower due to higher pre-winter temperatures, it could impact the entire food web, from the predators that rely on dragonflies to the insects they eat.

“They actually stay active through the winter,” Rosie explains. “You can imagine how having built up resources—and still burning through them during the winter—affects their body condition in the spring. That’s what we’re trying to understand.”

Despite the cold temperatures, Rosie notes that “this is the part that I enjoy the most. […] Part of the reason I got into winter ecology is because I wanted an excuse to get outside into the field all year round.” Winter ecology does come with its unique challenges though. It is often understudied as it doesn’t line up with the usual academic schedule. “There’s also the danger of working on ice,” Rosie mentioned, “especially during the shoulder seasons when it’s less stable. And, of course, a lot of people just don’t think about winter as a biologically active season. […] But in these mid-latitude to high-latitude environments it is obviously a really impactful environmental filter.”

One surprising fact Rosie often shares is that many people don’t realize dragonflies have an aquatic stage at all. “First, I have to explain that, and then I get to the fact that they’re active through the winter—which surprises not just the general public but even some ecologists.”

A Data Nugget on Rosie’s research will be published shortly! 

Getting Students Involved in Winter Science

For educators or students interested in exploring winter science, Rosie offers creative ideas. “If you have access to a refrigerator—and don’t mind keeping live insects in there—it can serve as a great proxy for an aquatic winter environment at 4°C,” she suggests. A mini bio chamber with LED lights and a timer can simulate winter conditions.

For those exploring the outdoors, Rosie recommends digging under the snow to examine leaf litter insects. “Try warming them up and see how long it takes for them to resume activity—that can give you insights into their overwintering strategies!” Other ideas include observing animal tracks, studying winter-active birds, and comparing how different types of trees handle the cold.

Bringing Winter Science to Your Classroom With Data Nuggets

Winter offers countless opportunities to engage students in real-world science. Data Nuggets provides resources to explore seasonal changes, including lessons on:

• How road salt affects freshwater ecosystems
• The importance of snow cover for insect survival 
• How climate change is shifting winter conditions
• How animals adapt to survive freezing temperatures

These lessons use real data collected by scientists, allowing students to analyze patterns and draw their own conclusions. By bringing winter science into the classroom, you can help students see that research doesn’t stop when the temperature drops—it simply takes on a new form.

So, this winter, bundle up and explore the science happening all around you! Whether it’s tracking animal footprints in the snow, investigating how ice forms, or analyzing real-world data, there’s no shortage of discoveries waiting to be made.

External Links: 

Life under the Ice

Dragonfly larvae