The Rocky Mountain Locust
Extinction and the American Experience
Author(s)
http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/collection/detail.html?case_id=442&id=442Biology Department
University of Wisconsin-Stout
bomarc@uwstout.edu
Abstract
This case explores conservation and social issues associated with the destruction of vast tracts of farmland in the Great Plains in the late 1800s caused by massive swarms of the Rocky Mountain Locust, Melanoplus spretus. The case was developed for a freshman non-majors environmental science course. Components of it could also be used in an ecology, general biology, public policy, history, or political science course.
Objectives
- Consider the historical impact of human activity on the American Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain Locust by early settlers.
- Grapple with questions and issues related to the extinction of a species, including issues related to biodiversity, habitat and species restoration, and conservation.
Keywords
Extinction; Rocky Mountain Locust; Melanoplus spretus; locust swarm; locust plague; American West; Great Plains; prairieEducational Level
High school, Undergraduate lower divisionFormat
PDFType Methods
Analysis (Issues)Language
EnglishSubject Headings
Environmental Engineering Ecology Biology (General)
Date Posted
08/28/03Teaching Notes
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Answer Key
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