Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify the macronutrients needed by prokaryotes, and explain their importanceDescribe the ways in which prokaryotes get energy and carbon for life processesDescribe the roles of prokaryotes in the carbon and nitrogen cycles

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss the biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfurExplain how human activities have impacted these cycles and the potential consequences for Earth

Students explore the concept of biodegradability by building and observing model landfills to test the decomposition of samples of everyday garbage items. They collect and record experiment observations over five days, seeing for themselves what happens to trash when it is thrown "away" in a landfill environment. This shows them the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable and serves to introduce them to the idea of composting. Students also learn about the role of engineering in solid waste management.

Ecology For All! Is an ecology text designed in modules so that instructors can choose the pieces that make sense to assign in their context. This book has been in development for several years and is a collaborative effort of authors at Gettysburg College, Franklin & Marshall College, and University of Pittsburgh. The textbook covers a wide range of topics including Introduction to Ecology, Evolution, Adaptations to the Physical Environment, various ecological communities, Population Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Species Interactions, Ecological Succession, Biogeochemical Cycles, Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, and Human Impact on Global Climate among others. The authors have presented on it at the Ecological Society of America meeting and the book continues to evolve.

The following six figures represent electron transport chains functioning within the processes of nitrification and denitrification within the nitrogen cycle, and methanogenesis within the carbon cycle. Each figure is included with and without a legend. Figure 1 represents oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, the first phase of nitrification. Figure 2 represents oxidation of nitrite to nitrate, the second phase of nitrification. Figure 3 represents reduction of nitrate to molecular nitrogen through denitrification. Figure 4 represents oxidation of ammonia to nitrous oxide by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Figure 5 represents reduction of nitrate to nitrous oxide by incomplete denitrification. Figure 6 represents reduction of carbon dioxide by hydrogen gas to produce methane.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Terrestrial fungi are well known as decomposers, breaking down dead matter to return nutrients to the soil. However, the roles of fungi in the ocean are less well understood. Oceanic fungi occur with other microbes throughout the water column, where they break down carbohydrates. A recent study examined the role of these marine fungi in recycling proteins, which represent more than half of living and dead marine biomass. Researchers performed a multi-omics analysis of all oceanic fungal-affiliated enzymes that break down proteins (peptidases). They found that the abundance, diversity, and expression of fungal peptidases increased with ocean depth, similar to fungal carbohydrate-degrading enzymes (CAZymes). This indicates a strong link between the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the open ocean. In-depth analysis of the most widely utilised fungal proteases revealed that the majority of pelagic fungal communities are dominated by saprotrophy rather than parasitism..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Glaciers and ice sheets may seem dead and empty to the naked eye, but the dust that coats them, cryoconite, is a hotspot for microbes and microbe-driven biogeochemical cycling. However, little is known about the geographical diversity in cryoconite microbial communities. Most cryoconite research focuses on polar microbial communities, and reports on Asia’s high mountain glaciers are rare. A recent metagenomics study found key metabolic and light harvesting differences between polar and Asian alpine cryoconite microbiota. The Asian cryoconite community had more abundant genes for denitrification, suggesting that denitrification is enhanced there compared to polar regions. While Asian cryoconite is dominated by multiple cyanobacterial lineages that possess phycoerythrin, a green-light harvesting protein, polar cryoconite is dominated by a single cyanobacterial species (_Phormidesmis priestleyi_) that lacks phycoerythrin..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students learn about energy and nutrient flow in various biosphere climates and environments. They learn about herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, food chains and food webs, seeing the interdependence between producers, consumers and decomposers. Students are introduced to the roles of the hydrologic (water), carbon, and nitrogen cycles in sustaining the worlds' ecosystems so living organisms survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

Students use everyday building materials sand, pea gravel, cement and water to create and test pervious pavement. They learn what materials make up a traditional, impervious concrete mix and how pervious pavement mixes differ. Groups are challenged to create their own pervious pavement mixes, experimenting with material ratios to evaluate how infiltration rates change with different mix combinations.

Students will participate travel from station to station modeling how nitrogen cycles through an ecosystem. This is relevant for students to understand how the matter on earth is finite (conservation of matter), but it can be transferred from place to place and in different forms. Nitrogen is a vital component of life and how we live.

Hank describes the desperate need many organisms have for nutrients (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) and how they go about getting them via the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.

Chapters:
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria
Nitrifying Bacteria
Denitrifying Bacteria
Phosphorous Cycle
Lithosphere
Plants
Animals
Decomposers
Aquatic & Marine Ecosystems
Sedimentation & Weathering
Synthetic Fertilizers
Review

Engineers design and implement many creative techniques for managing stormwater at its sources in order to improve and restore the hydrology and water quality of developed sites to pre-development conditions. Through the two lessons in this unit, students are introduced to green infrastructure (GI) and low-impact development (LID) technologies, including green roofs and vegetative walls, bioretention or rain gardens, bioswales, planter boxes, permeable pavement, urban tree canopies, rainwater harvesting, downspout disconnection, green streets and alleys, and green parking. Student teams take on the role of stormwater engineers through five associated activities. They first model the water cycle, and then measure transpiration rates and compare native plant species. They investigate the differences in infiltration rates and storage capacities between several types of planting media before designing their own media mixes to meet design criteria. Then they design and test their own pervious pavement mix combinations. In the culminating activity, teams bring together all the concepts as well as many of the materials from the previous activities in order to create and install personal rain gardens. The unit prepares the students and teachers to take on the design and installation of bigger rain garden projects to manage stormwater at their school campuses, homes and communities.

This brief investigation has students observe the phenomena of fish illness in the Chesapeke Bay and make predications based on data on the cause of the illness and the connection to the greater environmental issue at hand. AP Content Connection:  Living WorldB. Natural Biogeochemical Cycles (Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, water, conservation of matter)

How nitrogen is recycled in our biosphere in the nitrogen cycle, including nitrogen fixation.