Scanning electron micrograph of
Milnesiumsp.
A new species for North America for this
genus.
Welcome
to the Species Distribution Project.
This project was
designed by a high school biology teacher
and a university biology professor as a
way to encourage students to integrate
laboratory skills and scientific discovery
in an active research project. We also
hope to foster a working relationship
between research scientists at Illinois
Wesleyan University and secondary schools
across the nation.
We are
excited about the possibility of working
with you to discover new information about
tardigrades. This project involves
examination of live specimens, scientific
protocols, and the world wide web to
locate, describe, and record the
distribution of species of tardigrades in
the student's hometown
In the
Distribution Project section of the the
web site we have included information to
assists you in your hunt for water bears.
Use the Site Navigation to follow methods
for finding and identifying tardigrades.
The Key and Glossary pages will provide
information on the structure of
tardigrades. We have also included a
Lesson
Plan for
Biology teachers.
Primary
objectives of this project are to assist
students with an essential part of a the
educational experience----hands-on
experience and to encourage a deeper
understanding of the scientific process
and a greater interest in learning.
The
scientific goal of the project is to map
the United States distribution of the new
species water bear recently found in
Bloomington, Illinois. Students exploring
their own communities can send sample to
us for confirmation and have their
contributions added to our distribution
map.
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