Integrating tropical research into biology education is urgently needed

Ann E Russell; T Mitchell Aide; Elizabeth Braker; Emilio M Bruna; Carissa N Ganong; Rebecca D Hardin; Karen D Holl; Sara C Hotchkiss; Jeffrey A Klemens; Erin K Kuprewicz; Deedra McClearn; George Middendorf; Rebecca Ostertag; Jennifer S Powers; Sabrina E Russo; Jennifer L Stynoski; Ursula Valdez; Charles G Willis

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001674

Integrating tropical research into biology education is urgently needed

PLoS Biol. 2022 Jun 16;20(6):e3001674. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001674. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Ann E Russell¹, T Mitchell Aide², Elizabeth Braker^{3

4}, Emilio M Bruna^{5

6}, Carissa N Ganong⁷, Rebecca D Hardin⁸, Karen D Holl⁹, Sara C Hotchkiss¹⁰, Jeffrey A Klemens¹¹, Erin K Kuprewicz^{12

13}, Deedra McClearn⁴, George Middendorf¹⁴, Rebecca Ostertag¹⁵, Jennifer S Powers¹⁶, Sabrina E Russo^{17

18}, Jennifer L Stynoski¹⁹, Ursula Valdez²⁰, Charles G Willis²¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Natural Resource Ecology & Management, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
² Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
³ Biology Department, Occidental College, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
⁴ Organization for Tropical Studies, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
⁵ Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
⁶ Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
⁷ Department of Biology, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, Missouri, United States of America.
⁸ School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America.
⁹ Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America.
¹⁰ Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
¹¹ Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
¹² Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, Institute of the Environment, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America.
¹³ Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America.
¹⁴ Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington DC, United States of America.
¹⁵ Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i, Hilo, Hawai'i, United States of America.
¹⁶ Departments of Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior and Plant & Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America.
¹⁷ School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America.
¹⁸ Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America.
¹⁹ Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
²⁰ School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell, Washington, United States of America.
²¹ Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America.

Abstract

Understanding tropical biology is important for solving complex problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and zoonotic pandemics, but biology curricula view research mostly via a temperate-zone lens. Integrating tropical research into biology education is urgently needed to tackle these issues.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Biodiversity*
Biology
Climate Change*
Tropical Climate

Grants and funding

Support was provided by grants from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 1919640 and 2120141). Funding program website: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/research-coordination-networks-undergraduate-biology-education-rcn-ube AR received funding, and all authors are participants in the research coordinated network that this grant funds. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.