Engaging Students, Faculty, and External Professionals with a Data-Centered Group Capstone Project.

This paper presents the rationale and structure for a data-centered capstone project that provides an engaging and effective learning experience for students. Groups of students both select topics and self-direct research. Students are responsible for collecting, analyzing, and presenting data in both written and verbal forms.

Artificial wetlands as tools for frog conservation: stability and variability of reproduction characteristics in Sahara frog populations in Tunisian man-made lakes.

Amphibian populations are in decline principally due to climate change, environmental contaminants, and the reduction in wetlands. Even though data concerning current population trends are scarce, artificial wetlands appear to play a vital role in amphibian conservation. This study concerns the reproductive biology of the Sahara frog over a 2-year period in four Tunisian man-made lakes.

Effects of temperature, density and food quality on larval growth and metamorphosis in the north African green frog Pelophylax saharicus.

The ectodermic status of Amphibians explains their heavy dependence at ambient temperatures and thus their sensitivity to global warming. Temperature is likely the main factor regulating their physiology by acting on the endocrine system, with consequences on development, growth and size at metamorphosis. All these parameters control survival in the wild and performances in raniculture.