MCHC Final Paper Professor Adams Golden Niche Introduction When most people think of New York City, they usually think about the incredible diversity of the people who live in and visit the city. One thing that usually doesn’t cross their minds is the teeming wildlife that lurks beneath the surface of the city. The wildlife of New York is just as diverse, if not more, than its citizens. Specifically, it was the invertebrates that live out of sight that piqued our interests. Invertebrates are technically defined as animals without backbones (A.K.A the vertebral column). These are not the fish, turtles, horses, birds, squirrels, dogs, cats, or mice that we are familiar with. In fact, the animals we usually think of tend to have an exaggerated importance, mainly due to the fact that they are quite large and make themselves known. Invertebrates, in contrast are the animals that we are least familiar with: ants, spiders, flies, butterflies, cockroaches, and bed bugs (All examples of Arthropods). They are small and reclusive. Surprisingly, they make up 97% of the documented species on planet earth, and they play a pivotal role in the biosphere. Vertebrates and Invertebrates The differences between vertebrates and invertebrates lie deeper than the fact that one group has a backbone and the other does not. Vertebrates evolved relatively recently in the evolution of species, while invertebrates have been around for much longer in our history. Vertebrates have a shared body plan (a blueprint for the organism’s shape and structure), while invertebrates do not have a shared body plan and instead, they feature over 30 body plans, all of which are fundamentally different from each other. The examples given above are just a small subset of the diversity to be found among the invertebrates. The focus in this paper will be on the invertebrates most likely to be found in the parks and natural spaces of New York City. These will be the arthropods (examples given above) and the annelids (such as earthworms). Biological Processes All organisms share the need to do things that will keep them alive. The same way that people must nourish themselves with food and water on a periodic basis, so must all animals. An animal does not cease the progress of its internal machinery until the moment it is dead. The following are just some of the things an animal must do to survive: Locomotion: Animals must be able to move or at least have moving parts such that they can search for food and escape from predators. The many various forms of locomotion found among animals stem from the body plan of the animal and the medium through which it moves (by land, by sea, or by air). Some animals happen to be sessile (attached to a surface) at one point or another in their life cycle; these animals have moving parts that they can use for feeding. Feeding: The vital task of eating and digesting food is coordinated by sensory receptors that feed an animal information about the environment and the physical mechanisms required to move or to eat. As it is consumed, food is not immediately ideal for incorporation into the cells of the body and as a usable source of energy. It must first be broken down by the action of digestive fluids secreted into the digestive system. Almost all animals have internal cavities to carry out digestion. Some animals, like the earthworm, have a simple tube running from the mouth to the anus, while others are more complex. Citizen Science and Education Scientists are not the only ones who can contribute to the growing amount of scientific knowledge. Amateur scientists and enthusiasts, also known as citizen scientists, can also take part in the data collecting stage of a scientific experiment. Several key questions arise regarding the accuracy of measurements obtained by citizen scientists. How reliable is the data? In some fields, data collection may not be so difficult that the volunteers aren’t able to do it. With the proper training, anyone can contribute to scientific research. Because enthusiasts and hobbyists do not have the same knowledge and experience as researchers, it’s best to limit what they are asked to do. By having less to do, but being more precise about it, citizen scientists can be of real use to science. Citizen Science was used to conduct research into the invertebrates of New York City. Members of our team met up on weekends and visited different parks in the city to look for invertebrates such as spiders, centipedes, pillbugs, ants, ladybugs, slugs, and earthworms. The expeditions were fairly successful and a good number of animals were found in each visit. It is likely that more would have been found during the warmer months as compared with those found in late Fall. Our group uploaded its findings to the online community site iNaturalist through an iPhone app. The purpose of this is two-fold: it documents our groups’ travels and it also allows other members of the online community to identify unknown specimens. The specific project to which uploads were sent is named New York is Wild!. An additional component to citizen science is the educational aspect. Volunteers learn more about science as they go about collecting data. The important ideas surrounding science education may be found in Surrounded by Science and are characterized by 6 learning strands. The first learning strand is “Sparking Interest and Excitement”. It encompasses the motivational aspect of science learning. Citizen Science accomplishes this strand directly by putting the learner in direct contact with the natural world. It turns out that the emotions associated with interest are the same ones that help people learn, remember, and retain information. This strand is one of the strengths of informal science learning. The second strand is “Understanding Scientific Content and Knowledge”. This is best accomplished by accompanying the science learner with a science educator who has prior knowledge in the field. Sophomores of the Macaulay Honors College took part in the 2013 BioBlitz in Central Park, where they were tasked with identifying different organisms. An expert accompanied each team. The expert not only assisted with making correct identifications, but also functioned as a facilitator of knowledge for the students by introducing new concepts and ideas as they came up during the event. This strand is usually categorized as the content portion of science, focusing on connections between scientific ideas. The third strand is “Engaging in Scientific Reasoning”. As the search for invertebrates in New York City went on, members of our group came to their own conclusions about invertebrate life, such as their lifestyles, as well as their eating, moving, and reproduction habits. These deductions came naturally during the park visits, and expanded our ability to think and reason about the natural world. Many times, the observations and conclusions we made in the field corresponded with published scientific research. At other times, scientists were able to study these creatures for longer and make more sophisticated summaries of their habits and habitats. In more succinct words, scientific reasoning allows one to think like a scientist by creating theories and sharing them with other like-minded individuals. The fourth strand is “Reflecting on Science”. It is about the ways in which new evidence leads to the re-evaluation of old ideas. Research shows that people generally do no have a good idea of how scientific understanding grows and evolves. In fact, a lot of ideas deemed true by scientists may turn out to be completely wrong, as was the case with the luminiferous ether, the fictional medium through which light was once thought to propagate. Documentaries do a good job at presenting the story behind scientific discoveries, like the physics series A Mechanical Universe, which combines rigorous physical formulations with expository historical reenactments. The strand is ever-present in all of science, which is why the abstract is usually one of the first things to appear in a research article. The penultimate strand is “Using the Tools and Language of Science”. During the BioBlitz, citizen scientists (the students) were presented with an example of what they would be looking for under the stereoscopic, or dissecting microscope. Later on as they were looking for different species, the scientists accompanying them would identify the species by the correct scientific name. The way that the students interacted with each other and the scientific language that they were exposed to are tools that are universal to science and understanding of the world. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to express our ideas to each other, and scientific endeavors would not be as successful as they are. Using the tools and language of science further allows learners to identify with science, which is the sixth strand: “Identifying with the Scientific Enterprise”. Most children growing up identify the scientist as a solitary middle-aged Caucasian man in a white lab coat toiling away in a laboratory somewhere. This mindset evolves over time, and proponents of informal science learning believe that one of the best ways for kids to mold an identity around science and scientific inquiry is through citizen science projects and other informal learning opportunities. These experiences may lead to interesting hobbies or even careers in the fields of science and applied science. The goals of our groups’ research were in part to learn more about the invertebrates of New York City, but more importantly to design learning experiences around the six strands that others can enjoy and appreciate. A mini-documentary was conceptualized and produced, as well as a museum exhibit.