This project was prepared as part of a BioQUEST faculty development workshop entitled BioQUEST Summer Workshop 2006: Exploring Complex Data Sets at Beloit College in June 2006. The BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium is committed to the reform of undergraduate biology instruction through an emphasis on engaging students in realistic scientific practices. This approach is sometimes characterized as an inquiry driven approach and is captured in BioQUEST's three P's (problem-posing, problem-solving, and peer-persuasion). As part of this workshop groups of faculty were encouraged to initiate innovative curricular projects. We are sharing these works in progress in the hope that they will stimulate further exploration, collaboration and development. Please see the following links for additional information:

Upcoming events               BEDROCK Problem Spaces

 
Green Scum Up the Bay:Using Linear Modeling to Analyze Algal Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay
  
 
Authors          Audiences          Overview           Materials          Resources           Future Directions
  

 


Authors

  
 
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Possible Audiences:

BioQUEST participants  

 
 


Brief Overview:

Poster presented during early days of BioQUEST workshop. We used data from the Investigative Case Based Learning case "Back to the Bay" and techniques of analysis from Danny Kaplan's workshop on Multivariate Statistics to analyze the relationship between algal growth (as indicated by chlorophyll levels) and several measures of water quality (dissolved oxygen, water temperature, salinity, pH, & clarity).  

 
 
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Project Materials:

** Larry Leibovitch ** was an important member of our team - but not on the participant list to select for the project.  

 
 


Resources and References:

Online data from "Back to the Bay" links
Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Eyes on the Bay (water quality data)
Chlorophyll data with animation
R statistical software (free download)  

 
 
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Future Directions:

We will probably not develop this project directly, however, the strategy of finding data online and using it as the basis of a solid analysis is likely to be developed in other projects.