The Milkweed Adaptation Research and Education Network: Designing distributed research to advance education and answer questions about phenology and herbivory

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Emily Mohl, Elsa Anderson, Ben Anderson, Miranda Lentz, Alex Lien, Sheridan Ash, Bethany Tritz and Christiana Cholakis, Biology, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Background/Question/Methods
Course-based research helps students understand the nature of science and improve data-analysis and scientific-argumentation skills. Distributed research experiments replicated at many sites can quantify the importance of spatial context on ecological processes. How can we design distributed course-based research projects that generate useful data and meet the goals of diverse educators? We are developing a distributed research project to engage students in grades 6-16 in investigations of common milkweed plants and their interactions with herbivores, motivated by widespread interest in monarch population declines. Students make data-driven arguments about the impacts of milkweed phenology on species interactions and generate predictions about the impacts of climate change or milkweed translocation for restoration. Students test hypotheses that shifts in milkweed phenology (advanced or delayed development) impact the risk to herbivory by measuring herbivore abundance and quantifying leaf damage on plants concurrently displaying different phenological stages. To evaluate the utility of the protocols for research and education, we invited 6 educators from diverse contexts to practice them and provide feedback. We also used the protocols in an introductory college biology lab and as part of a research course.
Results/Conclusions
Current protocols are posted at marenweb.com. Students collected data in the fall that contradicted our hypothesis: nonsignificant trends point to greater leaf damage and more frequent seed predators on milkweed plants displaying more advanced seed pod development. Differences in replicated student measurements suggest that college students needed additional support identifying some herbivores and scoring relative phenology. Educator-reviewers reported needing more preparation and training, protocols that can be completed in shorter time periods, more visual directions and streamlined data entry, and easy access to milkweed. They were able to identify curricular connections readily. In response to the feedback, we are developing an experimental bioassay option that involves outplanting cohorts of seedlings into the field in the spring. If we can generate effective, usable protocols that educators are able to use widely and students can implement reliably, even in remote learning, then combined data collected from multiple sites will allow us to answer otherwise difficult questions about the distribution of milkweed herbivory across space and time.