Field Investigations: Bug Biodiversity and Ecosystem Benefits

In these field investigations, students explore the effects of biofuel crop production on invertebrate diversity and the effects those organisms have on pollination rates and weed seed predation. Teachers can choose from a suite of six field-sampling methods for investigations of school-yard biofuel plots, agricultural fields or existing natural communities. To help students see connection to real-world problems and research questions, combine field investigations with the Entomology Detectives research story and the Farming for Beetles Bees and Biomass data analysis activities.