Improvement of a Laboratory Course in Aquatic Biology

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This award contributes funds to the Department of Animal Ecology at Iowa State University to provide Modern instrumentation and technology which will improve instruction for undergraduate majors in their principal laboratory course in aquatic ecology. (1) Microvideo technology will be used to do a more effective job of teaching students how to study microscopic organisms, how to make quantitative measurements of plankton populations, and how to use scales and otoliths for aging fish. The major instrumentation to be purchased includes a microscope equipped with a color video camera, a VCR, and a color video monitor. (2) Students will be introduced to the concept and use of instruments interfaced with computers. As an example one procedure will use an electronic digitization board linked to a computer for measurements of lake morphometry and for calculating growth rates of fish from measurements of annual marks on hard parts of fish. (3) Students will gain experience in using microcomputer techniques for analyzing and presenting limnological and fisheries data. A statistical package combined with a microcomputer will be used to increase the efficiency of exercises on data processing, analysis, and presentation. The grantee is matching this award with non- Federal sources.