Implementing the module “Cold blood and wet skin” about the links between species traits and conservation biology in an undergraduate Herpetology course

Overview of Module: In The OCELOTS module Cold blood and wet skin in hot and dry secondary forests. How do amphibian traits determine persistence in secondary forests? material is presented that enables students to synthesize information about biological and physiological traits of amphibians in relation to characteristics of secondary forests in Costa Rica. Students are then asked to form hypotheses about relationships between amphibian survival in secondary forests and land-use change. Summary of Implementation Plan and Teaching Notes This module was used in an upper-level undergraduate herpetology course at Missouri Western State University. One week prior to implementing the module, I selected one of the primary resources for the module (Nowakowski et al., 2017) for the students to critically read and discuss. Along with previous lectures on amphibian anatomy, physiology, and ecology, this provided a solid base on which to build with the module. With students working in pairs, we worked through the module as a class, stopping to answer questions and to discuss important points. This was followed with a student evaluation conducted under IRB No 77 through Missouri Western State University, which asked basic questions about the module (e.g, This module helped me to better understand one or more concepts discussed in the course; This module increased my understanding of, and appreciation for, tropical ecosystems.). Finally, I included questions related to this module on the next lecture exam. Reference: Nowakowski, A. J., M. E. Thompson, M. A. Donnelly, and B. D. Todd. 2017. Amphibian sensitivity to habitat modification is associated with population trends and species traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 26:700-712. Supplementary attached resources include: OCELOTS module questions and answer key OCELOTS exam questions and answer key OCELOTS module evaluation.doc Support was provided by:Agrant from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 2120141).