... use to quantify species diversity: Simpson's and Shannon's diversity indices. With hypothetical data, we show how students can learn about and practice the calculations. We then describe an activity where students collect authentic ecological data with pitfall traps while learning some arthropod...

... totals chart ( Table 1 ) for each natural area. Species diversity was demonstrated by the number of arthropods trapped per day by sweeping through both the larger and the smaller area. In addition, the overall variation of insect orders recorded during the study period was significant. Arthropod families...

... accessible they are to educators. New pedagogies are needed so that students can generate their own data for studies of biodiversity and extinction. I present a simple indicator of species diversity that examines declines in species’ populations and whether or not these species subsequently recovered...