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COURSES

BSCI 145:
The Insect Apocalypse


BSCI 389:
Wetland Restoration at Jackson Lane
​

​BSCI 467:
Freshwater Biology


ENTM 667: Aquatic Entomology
​

ENTM 735:
Sustainability

​
​ENTM 798K:
​Topic Seminars
 

BSCI 145 | The Insect Apocalypse: Real or Imagined?

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Course format: Three hours of lecture and three hours of lab per week
Availability: Offered spring semesters
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Prerequisites: None
Credits: 4 (I-Series course)

Recent course syllabus and schedule: ​Spring 2023​
Course Description: An article in the New York Times, in 2018, declared an “Insect Apocalypse” that for the first time brought the signs of general, unexplained reductions in insect abundance to the public and suggested a catastrophe awaits our planet. Scientists have long documented the loss of species of insects at a rate exceeding the extinction rates associated with the major geological events in the Earth’s history. The “insect apocalypse”, more generally called the “insect decline in abundance” among researchers, was much more surprising and potentially could lead to the demise of all terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. The course will start with the New York Times article as well as the preceding research publication by Hallman et al. (2017) that provided the evidence for the decline of insect biomass. Based on science and research, students will be provided background, and discover on their own, the diversity of the form and functions of insects, as well as how they evolved and persisted for 400 million years.
The course, designed for students of any major, celebrates the incredible variation of insect life and what they do to support life on our planet. Beneficial insects, like pollinators, natural enemies, and decomposers play important roles to maintain sustainable conditions in their contribution to ecosystem services. In contrast, injurious insects must be managed appropriately for the health and well-being of mankind without harming the environment. The course will highlight the use of scientific research to understand and respond to the global crisis, using original research articles and examples of current research. Science writing, as a way to address the public on scientific research, will be discussed and included as an assignment. The options for responding to the decline will be discussed with the inclusion of guest speakers. At the end of the course, we will again reflect on the New York Time article, and address the science of and response to the decline of insects.
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The Focal Question and Approach: The rich diversity of insect life is at risk from high extinction rates and measured losses in total biomass. How can scientific research identify and provide solutions to the problem of the insect apocalypse? In addition, how can science writers inform the public of the issue and its solution? As a lab course designed for students of any major, the course will celebrate the dominance and incredible variety of insects on our planet, as well as their value to society as providers of ecosystem services. Discussions will focus on sustainability, and the role of conservation and restoration to ensure the future of insects (and us) on our planet.
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BSCI 389 | Active Research Experience: Wetland Restoration at the Jackson Lane Preserve

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Course format: One hour of lecture and three hours of lab each week
​Availability: Offered spring 2025

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
​Credits: ​1 or 2
​
Recent course syllabus and schedule: Spring 2025 (Syllabus, Schedule)
Course description: When Europeans first settled on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, they encountered a pre-
Columbian landscape of the eastern deciduous forest dotted with shallow, freshwater wetlands. To convert the land for crops, they had to cut down the trees and drain the water off the land. Little of this former habitat remains on the Eastern Shore, yet we now realize the value of seasonal wetlands, called Delmarva bays, for their ecosystem services, such as floodwater retention following storms, nutrient and pollutant retention, habitat for endangered wildlife and plants, and carbon sequestration to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Here is an opportunity for undergraduates to actively experience the restoration of Delmarva bays at the Nature Conservancy’s Jackson Lane Preserve, and to determine the change that occurred over 22 years, from tilled corn fields to a young forest, dotted with created, restored, and preserved wetlands. Here, we return to the philosophy of Aldo Leopold for the need to a “land ethic,” to utilize the land for needed agriculture while co-existing with nature. During Spring Semester, 2025, and through research credits in BSCI 389, Dr. Bill Lamp is assembling a team of undergraduates to collaborate towards the design and implementation of a 2025 research project to evaluate the change in the macroinvertebrate communities 22 years after wetland restoration. Similar studies were completed just after restoration (2004-2006, Culler et al. 2014) and again 9 years after restoration (2012, Spadaphora et al. 2016). ​
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BSCI 467 | Freshwater Biology

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Course format: Three hours of lecture and three hours of lab each week
​Availability: Offered fall semesters

Prerequisite: BSCI 160 or permission of instructor
​Credits: ​4
​
Recent course syllabus and schedule: Fall 2022
Course description: “Freshwater Biology” is designed for upper undergraduates with interests in aquatic ecology and the biology of organisms inhabiting lentic (e.g., lakes, ponds, wetlands) and lotic (e.g., rivers, streams, creeks) habitats. One feature of the course is the extensive hands-on experience through field trips during the first third of the course. This experience will provide background and reinforcement of principles and facts from lectures and discussions on the ecology of freshwater organisms, population and community ecology, and the ecosystem structure and function of freshwaters. The identification portion of the laboratory during the last two-thirds of the course will emphasize aquatic insects, which are often the most diverse and abundant group of organisms associated with freshwater habitats. Other components of freshwater ecosystems, e.g. plankton and periphyton as primary producers, and fish as higher level consumers, will be included in discussions. A second feature of the course is the use of primary research articles to introduce key ecological concepts and to generate discussion on the process and growth of knowledge within freshwater ecology.
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The biology of freshwaters is set in the context of the human landscape: our freshwater needs, our use for disposing wastes, and our transformation of our environment, especially as it disrupts the hydrologic cycle. All of these activities impact the quantity and quality of water resources for humans as well as the organisms that live in the water. The theme of sustainability of water resources for future generations underlies many of the topics of freshwater biology.
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Previous blog winners
2023: Olivia Rosen, "Life Moves Pretty Fast: Beneath the Surface of Rushing Water", pdf
2022: Yulia Lim, "O Boulder, Where Art Thou?", pdf
2021: Arthur Young, "The Cold, Dark Well", pdf
2021: Shea Buczkowski, "We All Need to Breathe", pdf
2020: Rachel Lubitz, "Flowing Stream, Waters Agleam", pdf
2020: Leo Samuels, "The Beauty in Discomfort", pdf
2019: Samantha Luitjens, "Plecoptera? More like Ple-cute-ra!", pdf
2018: Katie Stennette, "Among the Leaves, a Source of Snacks.", pdf
2017: Kimmy Okada, "Mysterious Miniature Worlds", pdf
2016: Linda Wang, "Now You See Me, Now You Don't", pdf
2015: Kristina Park, "How About a Bowl of Leaves for Breakfast?", pdf
2014: Kevin Beiter, "Bubbling Brooks and the World They Hide Beneath their Depths", pdf

 

ENTM 667 | Aquatic Entomology

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 Course format: Blended course with recorded lectures and in-person labs and field trips. Labs are 11:00-1:50 in-person on Tuesdays. Field trips are scheduled based on weather and water conditions, so consider the listing  of field trip on the schedule as “if weather permits.” If we leave on long field trips at 11:00, we can expect to return between 5:00-6:00.

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. 
​Credits: ​3
​
Recent course syllabus and schedule: Spring 2024 Syllabus and Schedule

Course Description
“Aquatic Entomology” is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduates with interests in aquatic ecology and the identification of insects inhabiting lentic (e.g., lakes, ponds, wetlands) and lotic (e.g., rivers, streams, creeks) habitats. Because of the widespread occurrence of aquatic species within the  hexapods, insects have invaded freshwater habitats many times during their evolution, in some cases multiple times within an order of insects. This evolution has resulted in a diversity of morphological and physiological adaptations. Thirteen orders of the Class Insecta and other hexapods, including approximately 145 families and 650 genera in North America, have species that are intimately associated with freshwater at least part  of their life cycle. Aquatic insects serve critical functions of freshwater ecosystems,  including organic material processing, herbivory of micro- and macrophytes, predation of invertebrates (including other insects) and vertebrates (such as amphibians and fish), and as food for higher trophic levels. Because individual taxa respond differently to  physical and chemical conditions of freshwater habitats, they are commonly used as bioindicators of environmental stresses  
caused by humans. In addition, many species of aquatic insects are important pests, such as mosquitoes and black flies. The  
course will emphasize the biology, ecology, and identification of aquatic insects (and other hexapods), as well as applied aspects of biological monitoring and pest management. 

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ENTM 735 | Sustainability

Course format: Online, one recorded lecture + zoom call + assignments per week
Availability: Offered summers

Credits: 3
Part of the Online Masters in Entomology Program

Recent course syllabus and schedule: Summer 2021
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Course Description     
Sustainability requires integration of environmental, economic, and sociological factors towards a common goal of durability.  Beneficial insects play important roles for sustainable conditions in their contribution to ecosystem services.  In addition, injurious insects must be managed appropriately for the health and well-being of mankind.  This course will apply the concept of sustainability to both ecosystem services provided by beneficial insects, as well as to the management of injurious insects.  Ecological functions of insects in natural and managed landscapes will be illustrated and discussed.  In addition, case histories and discussions will focus on themes of sustainability in successful IPM programs, as well as specific practices that lead to sustainable practices.  In the context of current surprising findings of the decline of insect species and populations, the course will conclude with a discussion of sustainable approaches for conserving and restoring insects in the landscape.

 

ENTM798K | Topic Seminars

Dr. Lamp offers topic seminars most semesters. The following is a description of the seminar for Spring Semester, 2023:

Challenges and Prospects for Sustainability in Agriculture: 
Contribution of Plant Diversity on Insect Biodiversity and their Ecosystem Services

Recent course syllabus and schedule: Spring 2023
We can all appreciate the need for sustainability in the face of global change on our planet.  Agriculture has not really risen to the challenge although there is a lot of lip service for ecological responses to agricultural intensification – think current foci on pollinator health and conservation biological control.  And there is a rising recognition of the value of biodiversity, especially insects, for maintaining our planetary ecosystem.  Here I ask a simple question: how can agriculture become more sustainable?  The seminar is designed to answer the question with an equally simple answer: the addition of plant diversity to farms.
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I have been lucky to become part of a transdisciplinary effort to significantly impact sustainability on farms through what we call the RESILIENCE CAP, or RCAP for short.  The ENTM 798K Topic Seminar has been developed to aid education of graduate students with regard to the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Systems grant entitled, “Fostering Resilience and Ecosystem Services in Landscapes by Integrating Diverse Perennial Circular Systems (RESILIENCE CAP).”  The overall hypothesis of the grant is based on diverse, perennial, circular systems: these three practices, to be explained at the first meeting of the seminar, are hypothesized to increase biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as improve soil health. 
 In turn, these environmental benefits will help lead to climate resilience and improved socioeconomic benefits.  The seminar is designed to focus each semester on a topic that can be addressed with a coordinated approach, centered on performing a review of a major question.  I include a summary of the grant at the end of this topic seminar description.
The seminar for this spring is open to all entomology graduate students, and has a focus on understanding the role of plant diversity to increase ecosystem services on farms provided by arthropods. It is a simple concept: increasing plant diversity on any farm will lead to increased arthropod biodiversity, ecosystem services, soil health, and environmental and socioeconomic benefits.  We will define plant diversity at the start of the seminar, then explore ways in which plant diversity interacts with arthropods, in both positive and negative ways.​
The seminar will start with background on the RESILIENCE CAP grant and defining “plant diversity on farms”, scaling from within crops (genetic and plant species diversity) to the farmscape (crop diversity, habitat diversity on a farm) to regional diversity (crop diversity, habitat diversity, managed vs unmanaged areas).  We will also list and describe ecosystem services on farms, focusing on pollination, natural enemies, decomposition, but also consider the value of other types of services by arthropods. From there, we can start weekly discussions of papers contributed by students. My goal, eventually, is to prepare a review paper on the topic with all students as authors. ​
At the Entomological Society of America annual meeting in November, 2023, Dr. Lamp presented about ENTM798K and its progress! The title of the presentation was "Does management of plant diversity enhance arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes?" Below is the link to the presentation.
ESA Presentation PDF
File Size: 2859 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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