Background/Question/Methods We were part of a group of upper-level undergraduate students who participated in two Squirrel-Net modules in our Behavioral Ecology lab at Agnes Scott College, a small liberal arts college in the Southeast. We started the Fall semester 2020 with the Behavioral Observations module. Since we were remote, we performed these observations at different locations across the United States, rather than on a single college campus. We asked questions about squirrel foraging behavior such as how feeding behavior changes depending on the proximity to humans. We worked within groups to answer our research questions using the networked databases available through Squirrel-Net. We then presented our questions and findings to the class. For the second module, we used the Giving Up Density module to study squirrel foraging decisions, asking research questions based on Optimal Foraging Theory. We designed experimental approaches within our small groups and worked in our individual locations to collect data. We again worked within our groups to analyze the collected data from our individual experiments and and presented our findings to the group during our final lab meeting. Results/Conclusions During this presentation, we will share our experiences and reflections as undergraduate students completing these modules with a particular focus on our development of scientific research skills. Overall this course based research experience provided us with a deeper understanding of how to craft our own research questions and how to carry out independent research, even with limited resources.
