Adding plant biology to

the curriculum
Stephen Rybczynski,
Zheng Li, and
R. James Hickey

ivilization simply wouldnt exist without plants, yet

their importance is often overlooked. As the nations
ability to respond to the botanical challenges associated with food production, climate change, invasive species,
and biodiversity loss continues to decrease (Kramer, ZornArnold, and Havens 2010), we must discourage this plant
blindness (Wandersee and Schussler 1999) by including plant
topics in the curriculum wherever possible. In this article, we
present an inquiry lesson on the ecology of the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), a bruchid beetle seed predator (Gibbobruchus mimus), and several species of parasitoid chalcid
wasps (superfamily: Chalcidoidea). This lesson addresses
several concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards
(NGSS Lead States 2013), such as community structure, trophic interactions, cycles of matter and energy, and the carbon
cycle, adding more than just a pinch of plant biology.

Overview

Eastern redbud is a small, often cultivated, flowering tree in

the legume family (Fabaceae) native to the eastern United
States. It produces purple or white blossoms in the spring
(background picture), green fruits throughout the summer
(photo, p. 54), and dry, indehiscent pods in the fall. Bruchid
beetles (photo, p. 54) lay eggs on developing fruits, and their
larvae mine through the ovary wall, enter a fertilized ovule,
and consume the embryonic plant as they develop.
The mature bruchids then chew their way out of the hollow seed and dry ovary wall and emerge in the fall. Several
species of tiny wasps (harmless to humans) also emerge at
this time (photo, p. 56). These chalcid wasps are parasitoids
(Klingman and Carrington 2005), meaning their larvae live
inside of a host organism (such as a bruchid beetle) and ultimately kill the host by consuming it from the inside out.

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COURTESY OF THE AUTHORS

The size and texture of emergence holes in the fruit or seed allow scientists to differentiate between seeds from which bruchids
and chalcids emerge. Bruchid
emergence holes are approximately
1 mm, and chalcid holes are considerably smaller at between 0.5 and
0.75 mm. The edge of the emergence hole also differs: Chalcids
make a rougher cut, and their holes
have a jagged edge; bruchids make
a cleaner cut, and their holes have a
relatively smooth edge.
This redbudbruchidchalcid
(RBC) system is an accessible model that allows students to investigate factors affecting populations
of organisms, describe the role of
trophic interactions in the cycling
of matter and energy, and understand the roles of photosynthesis Redbud fruit developing in midsummer.
and respiration in the carbon cycle.
The RBC system is widely available across the United States due to redbuds popularity as a
Engage
planted ornamental. Legumes, bruchid beetles, and chalcid
This lesson targeting high school biology classes follows a
wasps exist globally, and similar systems are likely available
guided-inquiry format. This article describes possible scafas well. Bean trees such as the western redbud (Cercis ocfolding questions and ideal student responses to help teachcidentalis), Persian silk tree, (Albizia julibrissin), and honey
ers guide the process of discovery in a complex system. Idelocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) may serve as possible alternaally, the teacher provides the background information, and
tives. Oak trees (Quercus) are also widely available, and
students come to these understandings on their own. There
their acorns often contain beetle grubs. Similarly, hibiscus
is still so much to learn about chalcid wasps that students
may even discover an undescribed species.
plants produce large numbers of seeds and have beetle asThe objectives of this lesson are for students to be able to
sociates.

describe the reproductive potential of redbud;

identify causes of seed loss;

COURTESY OF THE AUTHORS

Redbud bruchid beetle (Gibbobruchus mimus).

Scale bar = 1 mm.

54

The Science Teacher

understand the life cycle of eastern redbud, the redbud

bruchid beetle, and chalcid wasps;
explain patterns of matter and energy transfer within
the RBC system; and
construct a model of the flow of carbon through the
RBC system.

In the first class period of this lesson, students estimate

the reproductive potential of a redbud as the average number of seeds per meter of branch. In the fall, we take students to a redbud outdoors and point out the large numbers
of fruit. Or you can show the class an image of a redbud
and provide groups of four with a 3- to 5-centimeter branch
with attached fruits.

Next Generation Botany

FI G U R E 1

Summary of the lesson sections, instructions, and assessment criteria.

Section

Instructions

Assessment criteria

Engage

Design a plan to determine

the reproductive potential
of redbud (Cercis
canadensis).

Does the students plan:

Clearly state the question
Show evidence of careful and thorough observations
Account for all pertinent variables
Have the potential to collect meaningful data

Explore

Determine the reproductive Does the students graph include:

potential of the redbud
An accompanying legend
expressed in number of
seeds per meter, taking into
Appropriately labeled axes
account seed mortality due
Good use of space
to infestation and abortion.
Express results in graphical
Results that accurately represent the data collected
form.

Explain

Use the data you collected

and the information you
found during your research
to describe the ecological
relationships between
redbud, bruchid beetles,
and chalcid wasps.

Does the students explanation include:

Discussion of all relevant organisms (e.g., redbud) and their
trophic level (e.g., producer)
Description of the relative abundance and biomass of each
trophic level (more seeds than bruchids)
Accurate description of the organisms trophic relationships
(bruchids predate redbud seeds)
The Sun as the source of all energy in the system
Appropriately cited references

Elaborate

Develop a conceptual
Does the students conceptual model include:
model of carbon flow
A true cycle, where an atom of carbon could end where it
through the RBC ecosystem,
started
including all pools and
fluxes.
Arrows that accurately reflect the direction of the flow of carbon
Accurate representations of the roles of photosynthesis and
respiration in carbon cycling
Appropriate trophic links among organisms in the RBC system

When asked why the plant invests so much effort into

producing offspring, students come up with a range of
ideas. One possible hypothesis is that seed predation by insects, animals, or birds causes redbuds high reproductive
potential. We point out that it is difficult to thoroughly
address this type of causal question. Descriptive questions
such as, What is the reproductive potential? may lead to
clues or more questions.

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FI G U R E 2

Data sheet for recording fruit and seed numbers.

Use the totals from each column for each group to calculate class averages. Students can use these averages to
calculate proportions of good, bruchid-infested, chalcid-infested, and aborted seeds (explore section).
Column A

Column B

Column C

Column E

Column F

Number of fruits Total number of

seeds

Number of good Number of

seeds
aborted seeds

Number of
bruchid-infested
seeds

Number of
chalcid-infested
seeds

////
////

////
////
/

//

////

////

////
////
////
////

////
////
////
////

Column total:
39

////
////

Column total:
21

COURTESY OF THE AUTHORS

Column total:
14

Two species of parasitoid chalcid wasps (Superfamily:

Chalcidoidae). Scale bar = 1 mm.

56

Column D

The Science Teacher

////
//

////

Column total:
12

Column total:
2

Column total:
4

Students then make careful observations about the plant

and its fruits. They may notice the fruits come in clusters,
contain multiple seeds, and vary in size. Some students dwell
on characteristics such as color or texture but should be directed to consider factors related to reproductive potential.
Most important is for students to notice the holes in many of
the fruits. These holes suggest that not all seeds are viable and
cannot count toward reproductive potential. If necessary, we
ask prompting questions such as, Has anyone noticed the
holes in the fruit? What do you think made them? Why
might an insect want to get into or out of a fruit? What
might that do to the number of seeds in the fruit? Students
dissect several fruits to make more observations such as that
some seeds are hollow and some are malformed. Ask them
how this affects reproductive potential.
We do our best to include at least one fruit with a chalcidinfested seed (identified by the size of the hole). This allows
students to discover the evidence of trophic interactions.
Ask them what the different-size holes might mean. Many
students struggle with abstract thinking so you may need to
suggest that some kind of insect may be attacking the beetles
and indirectly helping the tree.
Students next work in small groups to develop plans
for estimating redbud reproductive potential. Groups present ideas, and the class collectively works out a plan. If time
becomes an issue, you can supply a plan, encouraging students to collect fruits from a meter of branch, dissect fruits,
determine seeds per fruit, estimate total seeds per meter, and
subtract infested (i.e., hollow) seeds and aborted (i.e., dead,
crispy) seeds. However, by allowing students to develop the
plan themselves, they gain experience with essential NGSS
science practices like Asking Questions, Interpreting Data,

Next Generation Botany

F IG UR E 3

Total number of overall seeds, good seeds,

predated seeds, and aborted seeds.

and Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. We do not summatively evaluate

students individual experimental plans.
Instead, we use classroom discussion to
make sure the class as a whole has a reasonable plan (Figure 1, p. 55).

The below graph depicts the overall number of seeds per meter of
branch (total), viable seeds (good), seeds infested by both bruchid
beetles and chalcid wasps (infested), and those that failed to develop
(aborted). Students collected data from three red and three white
variety individuals with four or five branches sampled per individual.

Explore

Students spend another class period carrying out their study and collecting data.
Using their findings, they can show that
many seeds are destroyed by bruchids. We
have found that having groups of three or
four students collect data from the fruits
on a 0.5 m branch and express results in
number of fruits per branch is a good
compromise between maximizing sample
size and maintaining engagement. Each
group should dissect between 75 and 125
fruits.
The only materials students need are
scissors to cut open fruits, paper and pencil
to record data, and disposable petri plates
to contain seeds, which scatter readily when squeezed out of
the fruits. (Safety note: We remind students to take this activity seriously and go slowly when cutting open fruits.) There
are four types of seeds: good, aborted, bruchid infested, and
chalcid infested (photo, p. 58). Remind students to keep track
of all the data they can possibly collect (e.g., the different sizes
of holes in seeds).
After collecting the fruits, we store them in resealable
plastic sandwich bags. If left for several days on a classroom table out of direct sunlight, bruchid beetles or chalcid wasps generally appear in the bags. Allow time for
students to engage with this high-interest event. We have
left the fruits in baggies for six months and had a wave
of wasp emergences the following spring (see Rearing
Insects From Plant Material in the On the web section). If you dont have access to a redbud tree, this is
an ideal way to explore plant-animal interactions in local
ecosystems.
Dissecting the fruits takes about 30 minutes, depending
on the number of fruits. Remind students to pay attention
to the different sizes of emergence holes. The number of

chalcid-infested seeds is markedly less than the number of

bruchid-infested seeds. Have groups collect the following
data for each 0.5-meter branch and express data in meters of
branch (i.e., multiply by 2):
A. number of fruits,
B. total number of seeds,
C. number of good seeds,
D. number of aborted seeds,
E. number of bruchid-infested seeds, and
F. number of chalcid-infested seeds.
If you have about 30 minutes for it, students can develop
the data table. Many of our students try to keep track of individual fruit and the number of each type of seed it contains.
Recording hash marks in groups of five considerably speeds
up data collection (Figure 2). Alternatively, you can provide
students with the data table. Students then calculate:

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57

1.

average number of seeds per fruit

(B/A)

2.

proportion of good seeds (C/B)

3.

proportion of aborted seeds (D/B)

4.

proportion of infested seeds (E+F)/B

FIGUR E 4

Conceptual model of carbon flow through the

RBC ecosystem.

Students then draw on graph paper, work

together on the board, or use a computer to
plot the total number of overall seeds, good
seeds, predated seeds, and aborted seeds (Figure 3, p. 57). If students use the computer,
they can easily estimate variability around
the average with a statistic such as standard
deviation (Altman and Bland 2005). We then
revisit the question of What is the reproductive potential of redbud? and expand the discussion to What factors influence reproductive potential? The data should show many
infested seeds and fewer aborted.

COURTESY OF THE AUTHORS

Explain

Dashed arrow indicates photosynthesis. Solid arrows indicate

Students use the data they collected to es(a) respiration, (b) direct consumption, and (c) death.
timate redbud reproductive potential and
systematically explain the factors that affect it, such as seed predation by bruchid beetles and
students that we are interested in the flow of matter and
consumption of bruchids by chalcid wasps. Students can
energy through the system. Resources such as the USDA
present this data any number of ways, including a written
Plants Database Fact Sheet (USDA and NRCS 2014) and
essay, graphic organizer, or PowerPoint or Prezi presenSilvics of North America (Burns and Honkala 1990) can
tation. We begin by having them research the organisms
help students identify that redbud is the producer that
and their interactions within the RBC system and remind
makes carbon and the Suns energy available to consumers such as bruchids and chalcids through
photosynthesis. The bruchids are herbivores, and the chalcids prey on the bruchids. In the long term, the chalcids help
the redbud by negatively affecting bruchid
populations, but, in the short term, they
result in a dead seed. By engaging with
these organism interactions, students gain
hands-on experience and an awareness of
the complexity of ecological interactions.
Students rarely think about decomposers on their own. We shepherd them by
asking, What happens to the bruchids
when they die? Students quickly respond
that decomposers break down dead things
but may not realize that through respiration, decomposers return carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (Ebert-May,
Batzli, and Lim 2003). This connection allows students to put the RBC system in conRedbud seeds that are (a) viable, (b) aborted, (c) bruchid infested, and
text, linking it to the global carbon cycle.
(d) chalcid infested. Scale bar = 1 mm.

58

The Science Teacher

Next Generation Botany

Extend

In the final class period of this lesson, students develop a

conceptual model of carbon flow through the RBC ecosystem (Figure 4). We point out that discrete reservoirs of carbon, such as redbud and bruchids, are termed pools, and
carbon movements between pools are termed fluxes. We
give students slips of paper with the following pools of carbon written on them: atmosphere, redbud, bruchids, chalcids, and decomposers. Students then arrange the pools of
carbon on a sheet of blank paper and draw arrows between
the pools that represent the following fluxes: photosynthesis, respiration, consumption, and death. Students struggle
with this and require a solid understanding of photosynthesis and respiration.
When we piloted this lesson, we had students do this
with nothing but a blank sheet of paper and nearly had
a mutiny. Subsequently, we provided students with the
schematic in Figure 4 minus the terms but found them to
finish quickly and without much thinking. The method
we present here represents a compromise. Even so, you
may need to remind some students that a model can be
a graphical representation of a system (Krajcik and Merritt 2012). The most common error that students make
is trying to represent the system as a linear model and
not a cycle; point out that it can be a web with multiple
pathways. Figure 4 is our ideal model and the product of
much iteration. By sharing, comparing, and revising their
models, students can improve their understanding of the
RBC system and participate in the collaborative nature of
science (McComas 2004).

Evaluate

Evaluation of student learning occurs throughout the lesson, and the teacher assesses several artifacts that align
with NGSS performance expectations related to Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (HS-LS2). In
the engage activity, teachers formatively assess students
on their plans for estimating the reproductive potential of
the redbud. Following the explore activity, students submit a graph or mathematical representation of the loss of
redbud fitness (number of seeds) to seed predation, abortion, lack of pollination, and unpredictable events (HSLS2-1). During the explain portion, students describe the
trophic interactions and patterns of matter and energy
transfer through the RBC system (HS-LS2-4). Finally,
the extend activity culminates in students formalizing a
conceptual model of carbon flow in the RBC system (HSLS2-5).
This lesson draws students into a system that becomes
progressively more complex and allows them get a real flavor for practicing science. Students thinking and observation skills correspondingly become more focused and able
to discern subtle relationships. When we first ask students

how many offspring a redbud can produce, they often simply reply, a lot. By the end of the lesson, their arguments
include dramatically more detail and evidence-based reasoning. Though it is amazing to watch students develop the confidence to defend claims based on evidence, it is exhilarating
to see them actually notice for the first time how a plant is
living its life.
Stephen Rybczynski (rybczyns@gvsu.edu) is an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan; Zheng Li (liz7@email.arizona.edu) is a graduate student
at the University of Arizona in Tucson; and R. James Hickey
(hickeyrj@muohio.edu) is a professor at Miami University in
Oxford, Ohio.

Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Teresa Zmudzka for generous help with the
collection and shipment of plant material and to Mark Luttenton
for gracious assistance with microscopic photography.

On the web
Addressing the Standards, lesson extensions, and Rearing Insects
From Plant Material: www.nsta.org/highschool/connections.aspx

References
Altman, D.G., and J.M. Bland. 2005. Standard deviations and
standard errors. BMJ 331: 903.
Burns, R.M., and B.H. Honkala. 1990. Silvics of North America,
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Service, Washington, DC. www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_
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Ebert-May, D., J. Batzli, and H. Lim. 2003. Disciplinary research
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Klingman, W.E., and M.S. Carrington. 2005. Plant source and
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