Urban Adaptations

Below are some images (from Urban Nature Group on Flickr and Project Ideas) and a caption about urban ecology. Post a comment to this page by Wednesday April 29 in which you use these and other resources for a blog about adaptations to urban environments.


In your blog discuss at least three stressors of an urban environment and choose one resource to focus the majority of your post on. Discuss some of the behavorial and physiological adaptations required for a species of animal or plant access the resource you choose in an urban environment.


By 2030 it is estimated that 60% of the global population will live in a metropolitan setting. Interactions between non-living factors, such as sunlight and water, and biological factors, such as plants and microbes, take place in all environments including cities. Concentrating humans and the resources they consume in metropolitan areas alters such things as soil drainage, water flow, and light availability. For example, sidewalks and rooftops can change an area's hydrology by increasing storm water runoff and can contribute to higher urban temperatures by storing heat energy and acting as an artificial heat sink.Urban ecology does not necessarily make value judgments about whether urban environments are 'good' or 'bad'. Some species of animals such rats, pigeons, and cockroaches, for example, are able to survive and thrive in a non-natural urban setting. Attempting to understand the factors that make some species successful in urban environments while others perish is a common topic of research.

The assignment of saying something

Ok classmates. I was kind of down on technology in my last blog. Maybe I just havn't found the online outlet for me. The thing is, that I am not going to stare at a computer screen longer than I have to for me...there are simply too many trails to hike. I want to use technology for my students. I think my focus was in the wrong place in my last blog. I am now thinking that the act of blogging has much greater value than the blog itself and that there may just be some enjoyable technology resources out there.

Thanks to this class, I have found some great online resources. But I have mostly wanted students to take that online content and present it in a non-digital way...because that is how I enjoy experiencing things. Maybe blogging is a great way for studnets to synthezie information and keep it in the digital sphere. Perhaps creating a class controlled science news blog where students must post and comment on a monthly or weekly basis is what the 21st century student needs. I found some great student blogging sites where there can be controls set on who can view and edit the content. Perhaps putting the students thoughts in the public domain, there will be greater ownership of the content and greater interest in the product. Although I may not be into asking students to read blogs, I can certainly see the value of students creating blogs.

In my searching for educational technology related information for this blog, I found perhaps my favorite educational technology: Planet Earth. I own this series and am waiting for the day I can present it to a class. For those of you who have not seen this, you have a treat in store for you. Never before have I found such beautiful, compelling, artistic and scientifically valid educational material. You know it is good when you can't stop watching and are learning with brain and your heart. Earth and its lifeforms are amazing, but it is hard to share that with a science class. Thanks to this series, the planet can be viewed like never before. In this case technology is better than the real thing; you don't have to spend a season in Antartica to see the penguins protect their eggs. This is technology I can get excited about:

Planet Earth Movies & TV SPIKE.com

Welcome to the blogosphere

My fellow classmates:


I do not like communicating my ideas over the internet. It feels too impersonal and is considerably less cathartic than speaking, moving and communicating with a real person in real space. I feel like I get lost in the technological translation. Like Bill Murray in the movie Lost In Translation, I feel like a stranger with no desire to get to know anybody or speak the foreign language.

Despite my feelings about expressing myself over the internet, I use internet communication and appreciate the usefulness of the instant media for group updates and photo sharing. I also think that technology has a strong place in the classroom, especially in today's technological climate. Most of my students will likely be better at using the internet as a form of espression and communication than I am. Although the internet is a communication tool I will never enjoy as much as the real thing, I must not allow my distaste to affect my students. It is highly likely that the students will differentiate much less between digital space and real space and may, in fact, learn better in a digital environment.

In reality, I appreciate some of the information other people find on blogs and message boards. For instnace, my boyfriend always has a great tidbit to share from the user generated news site called slashdot. However, I have reservations about using blogs for science content. I was looking at some science blogs and was not impressed - too much bias. I think I will stick with notable science websites for material to present.

I am not sure if I will ever see the internet as a fun place to be, but I am certain that I now have the tools to put this very important tool to use for me and my students. Despite the fact that I do not find joy in technology, I do find joy in student success. According to Associated Content, technology will be the vehicle for success:

Does Technology Improve Student Success?
As technology makes advances worldwide many upgrades in hardware and software are introduced into our classrooms across the United States. These advances bring many promises of unique, fun, challenging, and educational forms of learning.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/416355/does_technology_improve_student_success.html