ABSTRACTMotivationSNAPSHOT USA is an annual, multicontributor camera trap survey of mammals across the United States. The growing SNAPSHOT USA dataset is intended for tracking the spatial and temporal responses of mammal populations to changes in land use, land cover and climate. These data will be useful for exploring the drivers of spatial and temporal changes in relative abundance and distribution, as well as the impacts of species interactions on daily activity patterns.Main Types of Variables ContainedSNAPSHOT USA 2019–2023 contains 987,979 records of camera trap image sequence data and 9694 records of camera trap deployment metadata.Spatial Location and GrainData were collected across the United States of America in all 50 states, 12 ecoregions and many ecosystems.Time Period and GrainData were collected between 1st August and 29th December each year from 2019 to 2023.Major Taxa and Level of MeasurementThe dataset includes a wide range of taxa but is primarily focused on medium to large mammals.Software FormatSNAPSHOT USA 2019–2023 comprises two .csv files. The original data can be found within the SNAPSHOT USA Initiative in the Wildlife Insights platform.

Abstract Science communication (scicomm) shapes our world by helping people use science to make societal and personal decisions. Supporting and doing ethical scicomm requires valuing diverse perspectives and the people who do scicomm. Unfortunately, institutional hurdles ingrained in academia impede and undermine ethical scicomm. The injustices impeding scicomm stem from the prestige paradigm of academia (articulated in the present article), which reinforces hierarchical relationships in an exclusionary and exploitative system. To move academia forward, we name and review these injustices through the lens of five realms of scicomm (scientific communication, teaching scicomm, academics engaging in scicomm, scicomm research, and scicomm careers beyond academia). We then provide a novel framework, helping readers identify axes of influence and how they can leverage their intersectional, academic capital to take concrete action to remove the hurdles impeding ethical scicomm in academia.

Many species of vipers are known to use ambush sites repeatedly, a phenomenon presumably informed by chemical cues from prey. Experimentally, we limited chemical cue availability and recorded site selection in five captive-born sidewinders Crotalus cerastes during their first active season. Snakes showed individual differences among the study subjects in spatial movement across the season and repeatedly reused specific sites in their enclosures, suggesting spatial memory and individual differences in choices of resting sites. Individual variability in spatial- and object-use and associated memories suggests attention to such should be considered in developing husbandry routines for these captive individuals.

The recent increase in public and academic interest in preserving biodiversity has led to the growth of the field of conservation technology. This field involves designing and constructing tools that use technology to aid in the conservation of wildlife. In this review, we present five case studies and infer a framework for designing conservation tools (CT) based on human–wildlife interaction. Successful CT range in complexity from cat collars to machine learning and game theory methodologies and do not require technological expertise to contribute to conservation tool creation. Our goal is to introduce researchers to the field of conservation technology and provide references for guiding the next generation of conservation technologists. Conservation technology not only has the potential to benefit biodiversity but also has broader impacts on fields such as sustainability and environmental protection. By using innovative technologies to address conservation challenges, we can find more effective and efficient solutions to protect and preserve our planet’s resources.

Inquiry-based modeling is essential to scientific practice. However, modeling is difficult for novice scientists in part due to limited domain-specific knowledge and quantitative skills. VERA is an interactive tool that helps users construct conceptual models of ecological phenomena, run them as simulations, and examine their predictions. VERA provides cognitive scaffolding for modeling by supplying access to large-scale domain knowledge. The VERA system was tested by college-level students in two different settings: a general ecology lecture course (N=91) at a large southeastern R1 university and a controlled experiment in a research laboratory (N=15). Both studies indicated that engaging students in ecological modeling through VERA helped them better understand basic biological concepts. The latter study additionally revealed that providing access to domain knowledge helped students build more complex models.

Recent reform efforts in postsecondary science teaching have called for shifts in instructional methods to include more evidence-based instructional practices. However, a myriad of factors play a role in whether an instructor adopts these more student-centered methods. One such factor is teaching perspective. In this study, we explored the teaching perspectives of both graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants (TAs), as well as shifts in their perspectives after participation in an active-learning professional development course. Findings from this study suggest that while undergraduate TAs hold more nurturing perspectives of teaching, graduate TAs hold more apprenticeship perspectives; both groups, however, can experience perspective change through professional development and teaching experience. These findings have implications for professional developers and those who work closely with TAs. Additional informationNotes on contributorsJoshua W. ReidJoshua W. Reid (Joshua.reid@mtsu.edu) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Tennessee STEM Education Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TennesseeEmily G. WeigelEmily G. Weigel is a senior academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

We present a study that examines the effects of guidance on learning about addressing ill-defined problems in undergraduate biology education. Two groups of college students used an online laboratory named VERA to learn about ill-defined ecological phenomena. While one group received guidance, such as giving the learners a specific problem and instruction on problem-solving methods, the other group received minimal guidance. The results indicate that, while performance in a problem-solving task was not different between groups receiving more vs. minimal guidance, the group that received minimal guidance adopted a more exploratory strategy and generated more interesting models of the given phenomena in a problem-solving task.

Quantitative and computational skills are required of 21st-century biologists. While biology student abilities and attitudes toward math have been studied extensively, less is known about corresponding attitudes toward computer science (CS). It is important to understand how students perceive math and CS subjects and whether those perceptions are linked or operate contradictorily to determine instructional best practices. This study 1) determined biology students' perceptions of math and CS in biological contexts, 2) measured the linkage of those perceptions, and 3) examined additional factors affecting attitudes. Students (N = 272) were surveyed using the original and a CS-adapted version of the Math-Biology Values Instrument to determine interest, perceived utility, and perceived costs toward math and CS in biological contexts. Mixed-effects models were used to determine correlations between task values and investigate effects of exposure to topics and demographic factors. Math and CS values exhibited positive correlations, but utility and cost were more negative for CS, possibly due to less exposure to CS before college, and overall attitudes were influenced by CS background and gender. Given these findings, we make educational recommendations for CS and math exposure early, often, and embedded in the biology curriculum.

Author(s): An, Sungeun; Rugaber, Spencer; Weigel, Emily; Goel, Ashok | Abstract: Virtual laboratories that enable novice scientists to construct, evaluate and revise models of complex systems heavily involve parameter estimation tasks. We seek to understand novice strategies for parameter estimation in model exploration to design better cognitive supports for them. We conducted a study of 50 college students for a parameter estimation task in exploring an ecological model. We identified three types of behavioral patterns and their underlying cognitive strategies. Specifically, the students used systematic search, problem decomposition and reduction, and global search followed by local search as their cognitive strategies.

Growth in the use of drones has been exponential in various fields due to their adaptable and cross-disciplinary functions. Incorporating this new technology into K–12 classrooms can be useful in engaging students and expanding their understanding of technology in the scientific workplace; however, beginners may run into challenges in designing meaningful lessons. To tackle the seemingly daunting task of using drones effectively for education, this article walks a novice instructor through various self-reflective questions in order to properly introduce a drone lesson and includes a number of resources to ensure proper safety and legal measures.

Modeling is an important aspect of scientific problem-solving. However, modeling is a difficult cognitive process for novice learners in part due to the high dimensionality of the parameter search space. This work investigates 50 college students’ parameter search behaviors in the context of ecological modeling. The study revealed important differences in behaviors of successful and unsuccessful students in navigating the parameter space. These differences suggest opportunities for future development of adaptive cognitive scaffolds to support different classes of learners.

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness.

Today's rapidly changing world calls for sustainability-minded scientists who are prepared to solve complex, interconnected problems. Service learning is a pedagogical approach that allows students to engage with the needs of the community by integrating academic work with complex civic issues. Student learning was examined during a short-term service-learning experience focused on water-quality monitoring in an urban watershed to determine whether community-engaged fieldwork in an upper-level ecology lab course enhances sustainability knowledge for future biologists. We used concept map scoring methods and reflection assessments to evaluate and understand changes in the structure and content of student knowledge as a result of the experience. Students showed increases in sustainability knowledge breadth, depth, and complexity, particularly in demonstrating biological-sociological connections. Student reflections indicated most students identified at least one community-engaged serving-learning objective as a result of this experience. These results suggest that community-engaged fieldwork can illustrate ecological and sociological sustainability concepts for students and that engagement works best when we make explicit our objective of engaging communities in the learning process. Short service-learning experiences are effective, can be quickly assessed using concept maps, and can be readily incorporated in other classrooms to enhance sustainability education.

Genetics and evolution are interconnected topics — evolutionary change requires inheritance and correspondingly, genetic variation is required for selection to have any impact on a population. However, misconceptions and naive ideas of both genetic and evolutionary concepts can fundamentally impact a student’s understanding of biology. It is therefore important to understand what information students obtain in various courses at the undergraduate level, and how knowledge of concepts in one course might impact learning in another course. This is particularly important with respect to genetics concepts, as Genetics courses are often a prerequisite to Evolution courses and serve frequently as students’ introduction to the basic concepts that underlie evolution. This study compared student performance related to key genetics concepts after taking both Fundamental Genetics and Evolution courses to taking Fundamental Genetics alone and tracked student performance as they progressed through the Genetics-Evolution course sequence. We created a 16-question assessment, developed from published literature on these topics, and administered the survey at three timepoints: the end of Fundamental Genetics, the beginning of Evolution and again at the end of the Evolution course. Our data suggest students do complete Fundamental Genetics with a few misconceptions related to genetic information pertinent to evolution, and that these concepts are varyingly corrected by taking Evolution. This research highlights the advantages of both tracking and comparing students as they progress through a Genetics-to-Evolution course sequence, particularly with respect to how faculty can leverage course sequencing to improve student performance.

Sensory systems function under the influence of multiple, interacting environmental properties. When environments change, so may perception through one or more sensory systems, as alterations in transmission properties may change how organisms obtain and use information. Humic acids, a natural and anthropogenically produced class of chemicals, have attributes that may change chemical and visual environments of aquatic animals, potentially with detrimental consequences on their ability to locate necessary resources. Here, we explore how environmental disturbance affects the way threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) use visual and olfactory information during foraging. We compared foraging behavior using visual, olfactory, and bimodal (visual and olfactory) information in the presence and absence of humic acids. We found evidence that humic acids reduced olfactory-based food detection. While visual perception was not substantially impaired by humic acids, the visual sense alone did not compensate for the loss of olfactory perception. These findings suggest that a suite of senses still may not be capable of compensating for the loss of information from individual modalities. Thus, senses may react disparately to rapid environmental change, and thereby push species into altered evolutionary trajectories.

The intelligent research assistant, VERA, supports inquiry-based modeling by supplying contextualized large-scale domain knowledge in the Encyclopedia of Life. Learners can use VERA to construct conceptual models of ecological phenomena, run them as simulations, and review their predictions. A study on the use of VERA by college-level students indicates that providing access to large scale but contextualized knowledge helped students build more complex models and generate more hypotheses in problem-solving.

Abstract. Procedural memory allows animals to solve previously encountered tasks over weeks, months, or years efficiently. Although thoroughly documented in vertebrate clades such as mammals and birds, studies of procedural memory in squamate reptiles are lacking. Filling the gap in knowledge regarding procedural memory in squamates is important to understanding the degree to which procedural memory is unique to birds and mammals, as it is related to their unique cognitive abilities. We tested for memory of a problem-solving task in two species of monitor lizard (Varanus spp.) and a beaded lizard (Heloderma sp.) after a 20-mo hiatus in exposure, representing approximately 25% of their ages at the time of testing. All the monitor lizards had lower initial latencies to solve the task upon re-exposure posthiatus than they had as naïve individuals during the prehiatus trials and reached minimum latencies in fewer trials than when previously tested. Our results indicate procedural memory of puzzle-solving behaviors on the time scales of years. Our results add to an emerging literature suggesting that squamate and other nonavian reptiles share a number of cognitive traits with birds and mammals, suggesting that such traits are far more widespread across taxa than previously recognized. We also discuss a framework for studying cognition in squamates that would allow tests of cognition across a great diversity of body forms and ecologies.