[ECOLOG-L] current news stories for use in ecology lectures

[David Inouye]

For the past several years I've tried to open each lecture in 
undergraduate courses with a few slides about topics in the news 
since the last lecture that are relevant to course I'm 
teaching.  Students have responded well to this, as it helps to 
demonstrate to them why the course content is relevant to life 
outside the classroom and campus.  I also see this as a way of 
educating future (if not current) voters so they'll understand the 
science for environmental issues they encounter on ballots in the 
future.  It's occurred to me that others teaching similar courses 
might either be doing the same, or be interested in the slides I put 
together.  I'm exploring some options for how to facilitate sharing 
such resources (and am open to suggestion about how best to do 
this).  In the meantime, if you're interested in 3 slides I just put 
together about the story today on All Things Considered about pythons 
in the Everglades, contact me.  The data are from a new paper in 
PNAS: 
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/01/23/1115226109.full.pdf+html?sid=82c4ba20-d5de-4abb-9cde-78798bc1c20f

David

Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor
Associate Chair, Director of Graduate Studies
Dept. of Biology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-4415

Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory
PO Box 519
Crested Butte, CO 81224

ino...@umd.edu
301-405-6946