Classroom Resources

This Click & Learn shows that keystone species exist across a variety of ecosystems and can exert their influence in different ways.

In this Click & Learn, students explore mathematical models that describe how populations change over time and apply these models to the invasive lionfish population in the Bahamas. They also use data from other species to learn how density-dependent factors limit population size.

In this video, ecologist Tony Sinclair takes us through the steps of how he uncovered that the eradication of an infectious disease in cattle led to a boom in the Serengeti’s buffalo and wildebeest numbers.

This film explores the foundational research in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, that uncovered many of the ecological principles that govern how animal populations and communities are regulated.

This activity explores images of bats with an infectious fungal disease, which serve as phenomena for learning about population dynamics and disease impacts.

This activity supports using the citizen science platform WildCam Gorongosa in the classroom. It engages students in calculating species richness, evenness, and the Shannon diversity index for various habitat types using data from trail cameras in Gorongosa National Park.

This interactive simulation allows students to explore two classic mathematical models that describe how populations change over time: the exponential and logistic growth models.

In this activity, students model trophic cascades using cards of organisms from seven different habitats. The activity is designed to illustrate the species relationships in a food chain and the effect of predators on the trophic levels below.

In this video, ecologist Brian Silliman explains how he uses manipulative field experiments to study salt marsh ecosystems. His approach revealed that these systems are under top-down control from consumers and predators.

This video follows ecologist Mary Power, who is studying the Eel River in Northern California to decipher the connection between river flows and biodiversity.

This video follows the work of scientists conducting the first census of African savanna elephants in over 40 years and the methods they are using to obtain accurate, up-to-date numbers across the continent.

This interactive module explores methods used to survey large animal populations, and what they have revealed about the current state of the African elephant population.