Inclusive and active pedagogies reduce academic outcome gaps and improve long-term performance.

We assessed the impacts of the implementation of inclusive and active pedagogical approaches in an introductory biology sequence at a large, public research university in the northeast United States. We compared academic performance between these sections with other sections of the same course where didactic approaches were used over a five-year period. We also compared this five-year period (2014-2018) with the previous five years of the same courses. Additionally, we also tracked the academic performance of the students from the sections where active learning and inclusive teaching were used, as well as the more conventionally taught (lecture-based) sections in future, mandatory biology courses. We found that the inclusively taught section of the first semester of introductory biology increased the odds of students earning higher grades in that particular section. The active learning section in the second semester narrowed the ethnic performance gap when compared to similar sections, both historically and those run concurrently. Finally, students who matriculated into the inclusively taught section of biology in the first semester followed by the active learning section in the second semester of introductory biology performed better in 200-level biology courses than students who had zero semesters of either active or inclusive pedagogy in their introductory year. Our results suggest that active and inclusive pedagogies hold great promise for improving academic performance when compared to didactic approaches, however, questions remain on the most appropriate ways for capturing the impact of inclusive approaches. Implications for institutional approaches and policy are also discussed.

Birnessite films are sensitive indicators of microbial manganese reduction in soil.

Manganese (Mn) and Fe indicator of reduction in soils (IRIS) devices are low-cost, convenient tools for identifying reducing conditions in soils. Because Mn is reduced at similar redox potentials as nitrate, there is considerable interest in using Mn IRIS tools for understanding microbial reduction of Mn as a surrogate for processes such as denitrification. However, the sensitivity of these devices to differences in Mn-reducing capacity has not been empirically investigated. Here we have found that the rate of birnessite paint removal from Mn IRIS films exposed to a twofold dilution series of the Mn-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis is directly proportional to the number of S. oneidensis cells added. Thus, regularly monitored birnessite IRIS sensors are capable of indicating twofold differences in Mn reduction in soil and can be used to measure relative Mn reduction rates over time in a single location or compare and contrast Mn reduction rates across soil types.

Comparison of N2O Emissions and Gene Abundances between Wastewater Nitrogen Removal Systems.

Biological nitrogen removal (BNR) systems are increasingly used in the United States in both centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and decentralized advanced onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) to reduce N discharged in wastewater effluent. However, the potential for BNR systems to be sources of nitrous oxide (NO), a potent greenhouse gas, needs to be evaluated to assess their environmental impact. We quantified and compared NO emissions from BNR systems at a WWTP (Field's Point, Providence, RI) and three types of advanced OWTS (Orenco Advantex AX 20, SeptiTech Series D, and Bio-Microbics MicroFAST) in nine Rhode Island residences ( = 3 per type) using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. We also used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to determine the abundance of genes from nitrifying () and denitrifying () microorganisms that may be producing NO in these systems. Nitrous oxide fluxes ranged from -4 × 10 to 3 × 10 µmol NO m s and in general followed the order: centralized WWTP > Advantex > SeptiTech > FAST. In contrast, when NO emissions were normalized by population served and area of treatment tanks, all systems had overlapping ranges. In general, the emissions of NO accounted for a small fraction (<1%) of N removed. There was no significant relationship between the abundance of or genes and NO emissions. This preliminary analysis highlights the need to evaluate NO emissions from wastewater systems as a wider range of technologies are adopted. A better understanding of the mechanisms of NO emissions will also allow us to better manage systems to minimize emissions.

Restoring tides to reduce methane emissions in impounded wetlands: A new and potent Blue Carbon climate change intervention.

Coastal wetlands are sites of rapid carbon (C) sequestration and contain large soil C stocks. Thus, there is increasing interest in those ecosystems as sites for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission offset projects (sometimes referred to as "Blue Carbon"), through preservation of existing C stocks or creation of new wetlands to increase future sequestration. Here we show that in the globally-widespread occurrence of diked, impounded, drained and tidally-restricted salt marshes, substantial methane (CH4) and CO2 emission reductions can be achieved through restoration of disconnected saline tidal flows. Modeled climatic forcing indicates that tidal restoration to reduce emissions has a much greater impact per unit area than wetland creation or conservation to enhance sequestration. Given that GHG emissions in tidally-restricted, degraded wetlands are caused by human activity, they are anthropogenic emissions, and reducing them will have an effect on climate that is equivalent to reduced emission of an equal quantity of fossil fuel GHG. Thus, as a landuse-based climate change intervention, reducing CH4 emissions is an entirely distinct concept from biological C sequestration projects to enhance C storage in forest or wetland biomass or soil, and will not suffer from the non-permanence risk that stored C will be returned to the atmosphere.

Substantial nitrous oxide emissions from intertidal sediments and groundwater in anthropogenically-impacted West Falmouth Harbor, Massachusetts.

Large N2O emissions were observed from intertidal sediments in a coastal estuary, West Falmouth Harbor, MA, USA. Average N2O emission rates from 41 chambers during summer 2008 were 10.7 mol N2O m(-2) h(-1)±4.43 µmol N2O m(-2) h(-1) (standard error). Emissions were highest from sediments within a known wastewater plume, where a maximum N2O emission rate was 155 µmol N2O m(-2) h(-1). Intertidal N2O fluxes were positively related to porewater ammonium concentrations at 10 and 25 cm depths. In groundwater from 7 shoreline wells, dissolved N2O ranged from 488% of saturation (56 nM N2O) to more than 13000% of saturation (1529 nM N2O) and was positively related to nitrate concentrations. Fresh and brackish porewater underlying 14 chambers was also supersaturated in N2O, ranging from 2980% to 13175% of saturation. These observations support a relationship between anthropogenic nutrient loading and N2O emissions in West Falmouth Harbor, with both groundwater sources and also local N2O production within nutrient-rich, intertidal sediments in the groundwater seepage face. N2O emissions from intertidal "hotspot" in this harbor, together with estimated surface water emissions, constituted 2.4% of the average overall rate of nitrogen export from the watershed to the estuary. This suggests that N2O emissions factors from coastal ecosystems may be underestimated. Since anthropogenic nutrient loading affects estuaries worldwide, quantification of N2O dynamics is warranted in other anthropogenically-impacted coastal ecosystems.