All living things depend on healthy ecosystems for survival. Here on Earth, there are a limited number of resources, and what happens in one ecosystem often impacts others, sometimes reaching all the way across the globe.

MATERIALS

 Garden trowel

SAFTEY TIPS & HINTS

— Don’t set traps where people are likely to step in them.

PROTOCOL

STEP 1: Select a spot for your pitfall trap. Gardens and areas near trees and plants are good places to sample arthropod populations.

STEP 2: Use a trowel to dig a hole a little deeper than your collection container. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Dig a hole for your container.

STEP 5: For a protected trap, set rocks around the edges of the container and place a lid on top to make an elevated roof for your trap. This will protect whatever falls into the pit from drowning if it rains. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2: Cover the trap with a raised lid.

STEP 6: Check your trap daily to see what falls in. Gently shake what you catch onto a white cloth or towel. (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3: See what falls in the trap.

STEP 7: Observe each arthropod with a magnifying glass. Record its approximate size and draw it in your science notebook. Set the arthropods free where you caught them. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4: Observe the creatures you catch.

CREATIVE ENRICHMENT

Set pit traps in a wooded area, an area with tall grass, weeds, and wildflowers, and a manicured grass lawn to compare how the arthropods you catch differ.

MATERIALS

 Clear jars or bowls

SAFTEY TIPS & HINTS

— Never leave young children unattended near water.

PROTOCOL

STEP 1: Fill several jars or bowls halfway with chlorine-free water. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Pour the chlorine–free water into jars.

STEP 3: Take small samples of water or objects from the areas you chose and add them to the jars of water. Add sugar to each of the jars to speed the growth of algae. (Fig. 2, 3)

Fig. 2: Take water samples.

Fig. 3: Take more water samples.

STEP 4: Loosely cover or leave the lids off the jars and let them sit in a covered area for several weeks, checking for algae growth. Add more bottled water if they start to dry out. Record algae growth and the color of the algae from the different sources. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4: See where algae grows.

CREATIVE ENRICHMENT

Many metals hinder the growth of algae and other microscopic organisms. Create your own experiment, using one of your algae cultures to test different metals (e.g., coins) to see whether they slow the growth of the algae. Be sure to have a control sample and record everything in your science notebook.

MATERIALS

 Tape measure

SAFTEY TIPS & HINTS

— In areas with poisonous snakes, use caution when lifting rocks and logs.

PROTOCOL

STEP 1: Hunt for an area containing isopods, such as pill bugs and sow bugs. Look under rocks and logs. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Hunt for an area with isopods under rocks and logs.

STEP 3: Lift up a rock or log inside the area, collect any isopods you see, put them in a container, and count them. Record the total number of isopods in your notebook. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2: Lift up rocks to find isopods.

STEP 4: Gently mark each isopod with white correction ink or nail polish. (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3: Mark isopods with white ink or nail polish.

STEP 6: After a few days, resample the same area, recording the total number of isopods you find and how many of them are marked with white. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4: After a few days, resample the same area to see how many marked isopods you find.

CREATIVE ENRICHMENT

Design a capture-mark-recapture experiment for a national park, including details about the population you want to study, how you will tag or label the animals, how long you will wait to recapture them, and how the information you glean could be used.

MATERIALS

 Guide to local wildlife and star map

SAFTEY TIPS & HINTS

— Walk in a group and dress for the weather.

PROTOCOL

STEP 1: Will you be walking in a prairie, at the seashore, or in a forest? Is it summer or winter? Research which animals you might see and hear at night. Look at a star map or a star app to find out what constellations you might spy.

STEP 2: Put on bug spray and comfortable shoes, and hit the trail when the sun goes down. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Hit the trail as the sun goes down.

STEP 3: Walk quietly, stopping frequently to listen. It can take half an hour for your eyes to completely adjust to the dark. Do night sounds change as it gets darker? (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2: Your eyes will adjust to the dark.

STEP 4: In summer, listen for crickets. Count how many chirps you hear in fourteen seconds and add forty to get the temperature in Fahrenheit. To calculate the temperature in Celsius, count the chirps in twenty-five seconds, divide by three, and add four. Compare your number to the temperature on your thermometer or phone. It should be pretty close! (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3: Close your eyes and listen.

STEP 5: Close your eyes and breathe in. Does the air smell different at night? (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4: Take a nature walk on a night when the Moon is full.

CREATIVE ENRICHMENT

Bring a UV/black light flashlight on your night walk to look for fluorescent fungi and fauna, including certain lichens, scorpions, and millipedes that will glow under the beam.

MATERIALS

 4 stakes or ice pop sticks

SAFTEY TIPS & HINTS

— Avoid placing your quadrat where there is poison ivy or poison oak.

PROTOCOL

STEP 1: Choose the area you want to sample. A lightly wooded area works well for amateur ecologists.

STEP 3: Measure a spot about 3 feet (1 m) away from the stake and place another stake in the ground. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Measure out a grid.

STEP 5: Place another stake about 3 feet (1 m) away from each of the first two stakes to form a square. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2. Place stakes at the corners.

STEP 6: Use the string to connect the stakes, marking off an area of about 3 feet (1 m). This is called a quadrat. (Fig. 3, 4)

Fig. 3: Tie strings between stakes.

Fig. 4: Mark off about 3 feet (1 m) with string.

CREATIVE ENRICHMENT

1. Design and build a rigid quadrat using wood or metal.