In the past 30 years, leaders in undergraduate education have called for transformations in science pedagogy to reflect the process of science as well as to develop professional skills, apply new and emerging technologies, and to provide more hands-on experience. These recommendations suggest teaching strategies that incorporate active learning methods that consistently increase learning, conceptual understanding, integration of subject knowledge with skill development, retention of undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, and inclusivity. To gain insight into current practices and pedagogy we surveyed members of the American Society of Mammalogists in 2021. The survey consisted of both fixed-response questions (e.g., multiple-choice or Likert-scale) and open-ended questions, each of which asked instructors about the structure and content of a Mammalogy or field Mammalogy course. In these courses, we found that lecturing was still a primary tool for presenting course content or information (x¯= 65% of the time); nonetheless, most instructors reported incorporating other teaching strategies ranging from pausing lectures for students to ask questions to incorporating active learning methods, such as debates or case studies. Most instructors reported incorporating skill development and inclusive teaching practices, and 64% reported that they perceived a need to change or update their Mammalogy courses or their teaching approaches. Overall, our results indicate that Mammalogy instructors have a strong interest in training students to share their appreciation for mammals and are generally engaged in efforts to increase the effectiveness of their teaching through the incorporation of more student-centered approaches to teaching and learning.
Rodents use direct and/or indirect cues of predators to assess predation risk. The responses to these cues are well studied with regard to mammalian predators, but less understood with regard to reptilian predators. These responses are of particular importance in tropical and subtropical regions where reptile diversity is high and the likelihood of establishment of invasive reptilian predators also is high. We hypothesized that rodents would respond to direct scent cues of snake predators and that rodents would show greater aversion to scents of native snake predators than non-native snake predators. To assess this, scents of three snake species, two native and one non-native, and a non-snake control odor were distributed in Sherman live traps using a randomized block design. A total of 69 rodents representing four species were captured. Responses varied by species reinforcing that some species utilize indirect cues to assess predation risk, whereas others use direct cues. Moreover, one species (Neotoma floridana) showed a preference for non-native Python scent, indicating a lack of the appropriate anti-predator behavior, suggesting that some native rodents are more at risk of attack from invasive snakes than other native rodents.
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