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A growing body of evidence has shown that active learning has a considerable advantage over traditional lecture for student learning in undergraduate STEM classes, but there have been few large-scale studies to identify the specific types of activities that have the greatest impact on learning. We therefore undertook a large-scale, curriculum-wide study to investigate the effects of time spent on a variety of classroom activities on learning gains. We quantified classroom practices and related these to student learning, assessed using diagnostic tests written by over 3700 students, across 31 undergraduate biology classes at a research-intensive university in the Pacific Northwest. The most significant positive predictor of learning gains was the use of group work, supporting the findings of previous studies. Strikingly, we found that the addition of worksheets as an active learning tool for in-class group activities had the strongest impact on diagnostic test scores. This particular low-tech activity promotes student collaboration, develops problem solving skills, and can be used to inform the instructor about what students are struggling with, thus providing opportunities for valuable and timely feedback. Overall, our results indicate that group activities with low barriers to entry, such as worksheets, can result in significant learning gains in undergraduate science.

Animal-borne logging or telemetry devices are widely used for measurements of physiological and movement data from free-living animals. For such measurements to be relevant, however, it is essential that the devices themselves do not affect the data of interest. A recent meta-analysis reported an overall negative effect of these devices on the birds that bear them, i.e. on nesting productivity, clutch size, nest initiation date, offspring quality, body condition, flying ability, foraging behaviours, energy expenditure and survival rate. Method of attachment (harness, collar, glue, anchor, implant, breast- mounted or tailmount) had no influence on the strength of these effects but anchored and implanted transmitters had the highest reported rates of device-induced mortality. Furthermore, external devices, but not internal devices, caused an increase in 'device-induced behaviour' (comfort behaviours such as preening, fluffing and stretching, and unrest activities including unquantifiable `active' behaviours). These findings suggest that, with the exception of device-induced behaviour, external attachment is preferable to implantation. In the present study we undertake a meta-analysis of 183 estimates of device impact from 39 studies of 36 species of bird designed to explicitly compare the effects of externally attached and surgically implanted devices on a range of traits, including condition, energy expenditure and reproduction. In contrast to a previous study, we demonstrate that externally attached devices have a consistent detrimental effect (i.e. negative influences on body condition, reproduction, metabolism and survival), whereas implanted devices have no consistent effect. We also show that the magnitude of the negative effect of externally attached devices decreases with time. We therefore conclude that device implantation is preferable to external attachment, providing that the risk of mortality associated with the anaesthesia and surgery required for implantation can be mitigated. We recommend that studies employing external devices use devices that can be borne for long periods, and, wherever possible, deploy devices in advance of the time period of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolutionary causes of variation in metabolic rate within and among species are a topic of enduring interest. Variation between individuals is the raw material on which natural selection acts, and so recent years have seen an increase in the number of studies that examine the consequences of inter-individual differences in metabolic rate for organismal performance. A minimum requirement for a trait to evolve is that it must differ consistently between individuals, and these differences must be heritable. The time constancy of a trait is assessed by estimating its repeatability, which represents the ratio of the between-individual component of phenotypic variance to total phenotypic variance. A previous meta-analysis of repeatability concluded that metabolic rate is, on average, repeatable. Here, we expand on this earlier analysis by including extra data published in the intervening years and demonstrate that the repeatability of metabolic rate decreases as the interval between measurements increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal-borne logging or telemetry devices are widely used for measurements of physiological and movement data from free-living animals. For such measurements to be relevant, however, it is essential that the devices themselves do not affect the data of interest. A recent meta-analysis reported an overall negative effect of these devices on the birds that bear them, i.e. on nesting productivity, clutch size, nest initiation date, offspring quality, body condition, flying ability, foraging behaviours, energy expenditure and survival rate. Method of attachment (harness, collar, glue, anchor, implant, breast-mounted or tailmount) had no influence on the strength of these effects but anchored and implanted transmitters had the highest reported rates of device-induced mortality. Furthermore, external devices, but not internal devices, caused an increase in 'device-induced behaviour' (comfort behaviours such as preening, fluffing and stretching, and unrest activities including unquantifiable 'active' behaviours). These findings suggest that, with the exception of device-induced behaviour, external attachment is preferable to implantation. In the present study we undertake a meta-analysis of 183 estimates of device impact from 39 studies of 36 species of bird designed to explicitly compare the effects of externally attached and surgically implanted devices on a range of traits, including condition, energy expenditure and reproduction. In contrast to a previous study, we demonstrate that externally attached devices have a consistent detrimental effect (i.e. negative influences on body condition, reproduction, metabolism and survival), whereas implanted devices have no consistent effect. We also show that the magnitude of the negative effect of externally attached devices decreases with time. We therefore conclude that device implantation is preferable to external attachment, providing that the risk of mortality associated with the anaesthesia and surgery required for implantation can be mitigated. We recommend that studies employing external devices use devices that can be borne for long periods, and, wherever possible, deploy devices in advance of the time period of interest.