Charlotte E. Taylor

Re-engineering of undergraduate science curricula to emphasise development of lifelong learning skills

It is increasingly important in the twenty‐first century for graduates to be able to take their place in the changing world scene and to be adaptable and creative within the organisation that employs them. This paper describes some of the initiatives introduced into the curriculum of a first‐year science course, taken by 1300 students at the University of Sydney, that are designed to help students develop the attributes required of a professional scientist. Comprehensive online resources have been developed to facilitate independent study, and synchronous and asynchronous communications, and these are delivered via a virtual learning environment. We have enhanced students’ oral and written communication skills by using real work experiences, and developed teamwork activities within the context of the curriculum.

Do Common Mynas significantly compete with native birds in urban environments

In Australia, the introduced Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) is commonly believed to aggressively displace native birds and outcompete them for food and nest resources. However, the current paucity of scientific evidence makes it difficult to devise appropriate management strategies for protection of urban bird populations. This study investigates the way in which the Common Myna uses the urban environment and interacts with other species while foraging and nesting in Sydney, Australia. The bird community varied between habitat types along an urbanisation gradient, and the abundance of the Common Myna increased significantly with the degree of habitat modification. Surveys of the frequency of interspecific interactions revealed that the Common Myna did not initiate a significantly greater number of aggressive encounters than did other species. Focal observations of two potential native competitors showed that despite foraging in close proximity, the Common Myna rarely interfered with feeding activity. Assessment of natural tree hollow occupancy found that Common Mynas used significantly fewer tree hollows than did native species. Analysis of nest site selection indicated that Common Mynas chose to nest in more highly modified habitats, and in artificial structures rather than in vegetation. These findings suggest that, in this study area, Common Mynas have little competitive impact on resource use by native bird species in the urban matrix. The logical conclusion of these results is that the substantial efforts currently directed towards culling of Common Mynas in heavily urbanised environments is misdirected, and resources would be better directed to improvement of natural habitat quality in these areas if the purpose of control is to enhance urban bird diversity.ZusammenfassungEs wird allgemein angenommen, dass der nach Australien eingeführte Hirtenmaina die dort einheimischen Vögel aggressiv verdrängt und im Konkurrenzkampf um Nahrung und Nistmöglichkeiten schlägt. Aber der Mangel an wissenschaftlichen Nachweisen hierfür macht es schwierig, angemessene Strategien zum Schutz der in den Städten heimischen Vogelpopulationen auszuarbeiten und einzusetzen. In dieser Studie untersuchen wir die Art und Weise, auf die der Hirtenmaina in Sydney, Australien, das urbane Ökosystem nutzt und mit anderen Spezies bei der Futteraufnahme und den Nistaktivitäten interagiert. Die Vogelgesellschaft variierte zwischen einzelnen Habitat-Typen entlang eines Verstädterungs-Gradienten, und das Auftreten des Hirtenmainas nahm signifikant mit dem Ausmaß der Habitat-Veränderungen zu. Untersuchungen zur Häufigkeit zwischenartlicher Interaktionen ergaben, dass der Hirtenmaina nicht signifikant mehr aggressive Aktionen als andere Arten unternahm. Spezielle Beobachtungen zweier einheimischer, potentieller Konkurrenten zeigten, dass sich trotz Nahrungssuche in unmittelbarer Nähe zueinander der Hirtenmaina nur selten störend in die Nahrungssuche einmischte. Die Überprüfung der Belegung natürlicher Baumhöhlen ergab, dass der Hirtenmaina signifikant weniger Baumhöhlen nutzte als die einheimischen Arten. Eine Analyse der Auswahl von Nistplätzen ließ vermuten, dass der Hirtenmaina bevorzugt in stärker modifizierten Habitaten und eher in künstlichen Strukturen als in Vegetation nistet. All’ diese Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass der Hirtenmaina in dem hier untersuchten Gebiet, einem Stadtbiotop, für die einheimischen Vögel eine nur geringe Konkurrenz um Ressourcen darstellt. Die Schlussfolgerung hieraus ist, dass die derzeitigen substantiellen Bemühungen zur Ausrottung des Hirtenmainas in stark verstädterten Biotopen vergeudet sind und die Ressourcen besser in die Qualitäts-Verbesserung der natürlichen Habitate investiert werden sollten, wenn es darum geht, die Vielfalt der einheimischen urbanen Vögel zu erhöhen.

Housing shortages in urban regions: aggressive interactions at tree hollows in forest remnants.

Urbanisation typically results in a reduction of hollow-bearing trees and an increase in the density of particularly species, potentially resulting in an increased level of competition as cavity-nesting species compete for a limited resource. To improve understanding of hollow usage between urban cavity-nesting species in Australia, particularly parrots, we investigated how the hollow-using assemblage, visitation rate, diversity and number of interactions varied between hollows within urban remnant forest and continuous forest. Motion-activated video cameras were installed, via roped access to the canopy, and hollow usage was monitored at 61 hollows over a two-year period. Tree hollows within urban remnants had a significantly different assemblage of visitors to those in continuous forest as well as a higher rate of visitation than hollows within continuous forest, with the rainbow lorikeet making significantly more visitations than any other taxa. Hollows within urban remnants were characterised by significantly higher usage rates and significantly more aggressive interactions than hollows within continuous forest, with parrots responsible for almost all interactions. Within urban remnants, high rates of hollow visitation and both interspecific and intraspecific interactions observed at tree hollows suggest the number of available optimal hollows may be limiting. Understanding the usage of urban remnant hollows by wildlife, as well as the role of parrots as a potential flagship for the conservation of tree-hollows, is vital to prevent a decrease in the diversity of urban fauna, particularly as other less competitive species risk being outcompeted by abundant native species.

Learning Science through Writing: Associations with Prior Conceptions of Writing and Perceptions of a Writing Program.

Students in a large undergraduate biology course were expected to write a scientific report as a key part of their course design. This study investigates the quality of learning arising from the writing experience and how it relates to the quality of students’ preconceptions of learning through writing and their perceptions of their writing program that led to their report. Closed‐ended questionnaires investigating student conceptions and perceptions of writing, and approaches to writing, were completed by 121 students. Significant associations were found amongst qualitatively different prior and post conceptions of writing, approaches to writing and achievement. The results of the analyses suggest that the effective support of student experiences of writing reports requires teachers to be aware of the type of conceptions that students bring to their course and the perceptions they hold about the purpose of the writing program in which they are engaged.

Does the presence of grevilleas and eucalypts in urban gardens influence the distribution and foraging ecology of Noisy Miners

Abstract Noisy Miners have been described as a ‘reverse keystone’ species, aggressively excluding many bird species from an ever-increasing range of human-dominated landscapes. Understanding the factors influencing the distribution of Noisy Miners is therefore an important research priority. To determine whether a relationship exists between the distribution of Noisy Miners and the vegetation composition of suburban gardens, birds were surveyed according to a factorial design defined by the presence or absence of grevilleas and eucalypts. Contrary to popular expectation, there was no significant association between the abundance of Noisy Miners and the presence of hybrid grevilleas. However, there was a highly significant relationship between the abundance of Noisy Miners and the presence of eucalypts. Analysis of foraging time budgets showed that Noisy Miners consistently spent 25–30% of their foraging time feeding on grevilleas (only in sites in which they were present). Similar amounts of time were spent foraging in eucalypts or in flowering callistemons (when available), and the presence of grevilleas did not result in a reduction in overall commitments to foraging. Noisy Miners also spent substantial amounts of time foraging on open ground. This study does not support the notion that hybrid grevilleas have played a causal role in the spread of Noisy Miners across many suburban areas of eastern Australia. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that it is the proliferation of lightly-treed open areas that favours the Noisy Miner.

The impact of urbanisation on avian species: The inextricable link between people and birds

This study investigates the impact of urbanisation on birdlife in a major city. Line transects and point counts were used to survey birds in three habitat types: parkland, residential areas and business/industrial areas. Abundance, richness and diversity of assemblages were determined for all bird species and for those birds native to the area. Behaviours of birds, and of human residents in relation to birds, in these urban areas were documented, including all instances of avian aggression. Bird species, including a subset of native bird species, have greater abundance and richness in parklands. Overall species diversity is greatest in residential habitat types, but native diversity is greatest in parklands. Introduced species are most abundant in business/industrial habitat types. The most frequent aggressive encounters were initiated by noisy miners Manorina melanocephalas, one of the four most common species throughout all habitat types (other common species include the rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus, rock dove Columba livia and common myna Sturnus tristis). Other behaviours involved birds utilising food and roost resources and were classified as being caused by active and passive human behaviours. These outcomes indicate that local changes to the environment can impact the bird species by providing different food and roost resources. Human residents and local governments have a range of tools to modify the diversity of urban areas. Further research is needed to determine alternative definitions of modification, such as defining it as open space, and investigating the health of the avian populations in urban areas.

Computational scientific inquiry with virtual worlds and agent-based models: new ways of doing science to learn science

In this paper, we propose computational scientific inquiry (CSI) as an innovative model for learning important scientific knowledge and new practices for “doing” science. This approach involves the use of a “game-like” virtual world for students to experience virtual biological fieldwork in conjunction with using an agent-based computer model to enable computational inquiry activities. After an overview of literature into learning about scientific inquiry and the use of virtual worlds and game-like systems for learning science, we provide a description of the technology systems we developed and the methods of the study. The results are reported of a two-week intervention involving the use of a CSI approach in two eighth-grade classes that found significant learning gains by students. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and a consideration of CSI more generally for learning important and difficult scientific knowledge and practices.

Distribution of tree-hollows and hollow preferences by parrots in an urban landscape

Abstract The number of hollow-bearing trees, and associated hollows, in urban habitats continues to decline as cities expand. Remaining hollows may be unsuitable for species of parrot that have specific preferences or requirements for certain characteristics of tree-hollows. To determine the distribution of hollow-bearing trees and tree-hollows in Sydney, Australia, we surveyed 264 sites within parks, streets, golf courses, patches of remnant vegetation and continuous forest. To determine whether species of parrot were associated with specific hollow characteristics, motion-activated video-cameras were installed to monitor use of hollows in remnant vegetation and continuous forest. The number of both hollows and hollow-bearing trees varied significantly among habitats, with all urban habitats having significantly fewer hollow-bearing trees than did continuous forest. There was no significant difference in the number of hollows within remnant vegetation and continuous forest. Hollow visitation by Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus), Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) and Australian King-Parrots (Alisterus scapularis) was significantly associated with particular hollow characteristics, most importantly type of hollow, orientation of hollow and species of tree. Knowledge of the distribution of hollow-bearing trees throughout landscapes, as well as the characteristics of hollows that are associated with particular species of parrot, is crucial to conserve populations of hollow-dependent bird species in urban areas.

The Effect of Student Prior Experience, Attitudes, and Approaches on Performance in An Undergraduate Science Writing Program

Designing a program to teach writing within the science curriculum may not be effective if we do not understand what factors influence success in the writing process. We therefore collected data to create a profile of the characteristics of our incoming undergraduate science students with reference to their prior experiences, attitudes and approaches to writing. Significant correlations were found between the extent of prior experience, positive attitudes and type of approach to writing. Comprehensive prior experience and a positive attitude correlated strongly with subsequent success in the first semester writing program in biology. Students without these characteristics may therefore be entering our program with a clear disadvantage. The data were used to propose changes to the writing program particularly in the areas of preparation, practice and feedback phases of the cycle of learning. These curriculum changes are designed to create a more positive student perception of the teaching and learning context so that students can adapt a more effective approach to writing in the sciences and hence improve the quality of their learning outcomes.

University Student Conceptions of Learning Science through Writing.

First-year undergraduate science students experienced a writing program as an important part of their assessment in a biology subject. The writing program was designed to help them develop both their scientific understanding as well as their written scientific expression. Open-ended questionnaires investigating the quality of the experience of learning through writing were distributed to 165 students. Interviews with six tutors on the writing program were also completed. Key results included that if students were not aware of the potential of learning science through writing, they tended to focus on superficial aspects of the writing experience, such as grammar, rather than the scientific knowledge that underpinned the experience. The results have important implications for the integration of writing experiences into university subjects and tutor approaches to writing tuition.