- The Expedition
- Meet the Team
Explore the fascinating world of caterpillars to see how they protect themselves and respond to changes in their habitats.
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana — Hurricane Katrina dramatically changed the cultural and natural history of Louisiana and it will take years before we fully understand its impact. Dr. Lee Dyer has been compiling data on the effects of extreme weather events on caterpillar populations for more than a decade. Now, New Orleans has had an extreme weather event that allows a direct test of his predictions about decreases in parasitoid populations and resulting increases in caterpillar populations—along with resulting effects on various plant species. As a volunteer on this Expedition, you’ll be at the cutting edge of science’s understanding of how global climate change affects biodiversity in a given region.
In more general terms, this research enriches our understanding of caterpillars as important regulators of plant biodiversity and as an important food source for other animals. The more you help uncover about caterpillars and the species that prey on them, the more resource managers can see them as indicators of ecosystem health in areas where they are desired, and the more farmers and others will be able to employ non-toxic measures to contain their populations in areas where they are unwelcome.
Find out more about this expedition.
RESOURCES
Earthwatch expedition briefing
Essential information for the expedition - daily schedule, research area details, project conditions etc.
Photo gallery from the expedition.
General:
Climate Change resources
Education Resources from the EPA
The GLOBE Program - International Environmental/Science Education Program
Computer simiulations of GLobal CO2 Emisions
NOAA education resources
Center for Instruction, Staff Development and Education
North American Associate for Environmental Education
Recommended reading:
Childhood and Nature by David Sobel
Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities, With Index by David Sobel and James Tylor and The Center for Ecoliteracy
Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education (Nature Literacy Series, Vol. 1) (Nature Literacy) by Sobel David
Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years by David Sobel
Children's Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood (The Child in the City Series) by David Sobel
Research site specific:
Dr. Lee Dyer's Caterpillar website - caterpillars.org
Dr. Dyer's homepage on the
Tulane website
“Can Global Warming Cause Caterpillar Outbreaks” in National Geographic News
“Build Your Own Caterpillar” interactive simulation developed in collaboration with Scholastic Explorers
Follow our blogs as we experience our Earthwatch expedition Climate Change & Caterpillars in New Orleans April 17-27 2010.
This Live From the Field program and educator fellowships are made possible by generous funding from HSBC in the Community.
This site is the result of collaborative efforts from the members of this Earthwatch project
and the support of Earthwatch Institute.
Meet the Teachers
Holly Lee
Iao Intermediate School
Wailuku, HI
Blog: Lee.earthwatchblogs.org
Jane Hall
Humbolt Secondary School
Saint Paul, MN
Debra Armstrong
Humbolt Secondary School
Saint Paul, MN
Carrie Lombardi
Jamestown Elementary
Arlington, VA
Blog: www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/Lombardi
Kate Larson
East Des Moines High School
Des Moines, IA
Blog: Larson.earthwatchblogs.org
Meet the Scientist
Lee Dyer, Ph.D., is an ecologist who has worked with a variety of organisms in the tropics for more than a decade and in temperate areas for the past 15 years. He received a B.S. in Biochemistry and English from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After four years of research on the effects of water diversions on the Mono Lake ecosystem, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he received a Ph.D. in ecology. His thesis work examined interactions between plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies and included work in Costa Rica, Colorado, and California. Dyer was a professor for 5 years at Mesa State College in Colorado where he established the Western Colorado Center for Tropical Research and received the distinguished faculty scholar award. Dr. Dyer has been a faculty member in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Tulane University since 2001.
| Nassau, The Bahamas |
Earthwatch Expedition Briefing
Earthwatch Classroom Earth Case Study
Photographs from the expedition
Year on Earth. Video clip overview of environmental issues facing the coral reefs and various tools used to survey the reefs as told by three students volunteering on the Bahamian Reef Survey expedition.
Blogs from previous teams:
Heather Brown
Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School
Jamaica Plain, MA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/brown/
Sherrill Dappan
Saint Helena Elementary School
Napa Valley, CA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/dappen/
Denise Deghi
San Mateo Park School
San Mateo, CA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/deghi/
Sarah Hahn
Community Academy of Science and Health
Hyde Park, MA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/boston/
Grace Hancock
Hanover Park High School
Florham Park, NJ
Blog: http://hornetunderwater.blogspot.com
Sarah Mitchell
Johnson Middle School
Bradenton, FL
Blog: http://xit.manatee.k12.fl.us/?blog=SMitchell
Shea Pickelner
City Academy
Salt Lake City, UT
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/pickelner/
Karen Stein
Ridgedale Middle School
Florham Park, NJ
Blog: http://mrsstein.blogspot.com
Consuela Taylor
Charles R. Drew Charter School
Atlanta GA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/taylor/
Kristina Willmarth
Lydia Hawk Elementary School in
Lacey, WA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/willmarth/
Map
