CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><meta charset="UTF-8"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/lib/css/normalize.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/><title>rhizobia ‣ Data Nuggets</title>  <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/rhizobia/" /> <meta name="generator" content="All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.3.0 " /> <script type="application/ld+json" class="aioseo-schema"> {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/#listItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/","name":"Home","description":"Bringing authentic research and data into K-16 classrooms","url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/"},"nextItem":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/#listItem"},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/#listItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/","name":"rhizobia","url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/"},"previousItem":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/#listItem"}]},{"@type":"CollectionPage","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/#collectionpage","url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/","name":"rhizobia \u2023 Data Nuggets","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/tag\/rhizobia\/#breadcrumblist"}},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/#organization","name":"Data Nuggets","url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/","name":"Data Nuggets","description":"Bringing authentic research and data into K-16 classrooms","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/#organization"}}]} </script>  <script type="text/javascript">function rgmkInitGoogleMaps(){window.rgmkGoogleMapsCallback=true;try{jQuery(document).trigger("rgmkGoogleMapsLoad")}catch(err){}}</script>  <meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:-1,max-image-preview:standard,max-video-preview:-1" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Tag: rhizobia | Data Nuggets" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://datanuggets.org/tag/rhizobia/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Data Nuggets" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@Data_Nuggets" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Tag: rhizobia | Data Nuggets" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/rhizobia/" />  <link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//platform-api.sharethis.com' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Data Nuggets » Feed" href="https://datanuggets.org/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Data Nuggets » Comments Feed" href="https://datanuggets.org/comments/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Data Nuggets » rhizobia Tag Feed" href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/rhizobia/feed/" /> <script type="text/javascript"> window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.1.7"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(e,a,t){var n,r,o,i=a.createElement("canvas"),p=i.getContext&&i.getContext("2d");function s(e,t){var a=String.fromCharCode,e=(p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,e),0,0),i.toDataURL());return p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,t),0,0),e===i.toDataURL()}function c(e){var t=a.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=t.type="text/javascript",a.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(t)}for(o=Array("flag","emoji"),t.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},r=0;r<o.length;r++)t.supports[o[r]]=function(e){if(p&&p.fillText)switch(p.textBaseline="top",p.font="600 32px Arial",e){case"flag":return s([127987,65039,8205,9895,65039],[127987,65039,8203,9895,65039])?!1:!s([55356,56826,55356,56819],[55356,56826,8203,55356,56819])&&!s([55356,57332,56128,56423,56128,56418,56128,56421,56128,56430,56128,56423,56128,56447],[55356,57332,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56418,8203,56128,56421,8203,56128,56430,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56447]);case"emoji":return!s([129777,127995,8205,129778,127999],[129777,127995,8203,129778,127999])}return!1}(o[r]),t.supports.everything=t.supports.everything&&t.supports[o[r]],"flag"!==o[r]&&(t.supports.everythingExceptFlag=t.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&t.supports[o[r]]);t.supports.everythingExceptFlag=t.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!t.supports.flag,t.DOMReady=!1,t.readyCallback=function(){t.DOMReady=!0},t.supports.everything||(n=function(){t.readyCallback()},a.addEventListener?(a.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",n,!1),e.addEventListener("load",n,!1)):(e.attachEvent("onload",n),a.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function(){"complete"===a.readyState&&t.readyCallback()})),(e=t.source||{}).concatemoji?c(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(c(e.twemoji),c(e.wpemoji)))}(window,document,window._wpemojiSettings); </script> <style type="text/css"> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 0.07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='twb-open-sans-css' href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans%3A300%2C400%2C500%2C600%2C700%2C800&display=swap&ver=6.1.7' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='twb-global-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/booster/assets/css/global.css?ver=1.0.0' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='michigan-state-university-kellogg-biological-station-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/style.css?ver=1.0.0' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='wp-block-library-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/style.min.css?ver=6.1.7' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='classic-theme-styles-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-includes/css/classic-themes.min.css?ver=1' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> body{--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--duotone--dark-grayscale: url('#wp-duotone-dark-grayscale');--wp--preset--duotone--grayscale: url('#wp-duotone-grayscale');--wp--preset--duotone--purple-yellow: url('#wp-duotone-purple-yellow');--wp--preset--duotone--blue-red: url('#wp-duotone-blue-red');--wp--preset--duotone--midnight: url('#wp-duotone-midnight');--wp--preset--duotone--magenta-yellow: url('#wp-duotone-magenta-yellow');--wp--preset--duotone--purple-green: url('#wp-duotone-purple-green');--wp--preset--duotone--blue-orange: url('#wp-duotone-blue-orange');--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-flow > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-constrained > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > :where(:not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.alignfull)){max-width: var(--wp--style--global--content-size);margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignwide{max-width: var(--wp--style--global--wide-size);}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}body .is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}body .is-layout-flex > *{margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} .wp-block-navigation a:where(:not(.wp-element-button)){color: inherit;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;} .wp-block-pullquote{font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='comment-rating-field-plugin-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin/assets/css/frontend.css?ver=6.1.7' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='popupally-style-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/popupally-scripts/1-popupally-style.css?ver=2.1.0.6' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ffwd_frontend-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/css/ffwd_frontend.css?ver=1.1.34' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ffwd_fonts-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/css/fonts.css?ver=1.1.34' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ffwd_mCustomScrollbar-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/css/jquery.mCustomScrollbar.css?ver=1.1.34' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='tablepress-default-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/tablepress/css/build/default.css?ver=2.0.4' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='tablepress-default-inline-css' type='text/css'> .tablepress-id-3 .column-2{width:25px}.tablepress-id-3 .column-3{width:30px}.tablepress-id-3 .column-4{width:500px}.tablepress-id-3 .column-5{width:100px}.tablepress-id-3 thead th,.tablepress-id-3 tfoot th{background-color:#95CEDF}.tablepress-id-3 .odd td{background-color:#f7fbfd}.tablepress-id-3 .even td{background-color:#e4f2f7}.tablepress-id-1 .column-2{width:25px}.tablepress-id-1 .column-3{width:25px}.tablepress-id-1 .column-4{width:500px}.tablepress-id-1 .column-5{width:15px}.tablepress-id-1 thead th,.tablepress-id-1 tfoot th{background-color:#E1D8BF}.tablepress-id-1 .odd td{background-color:#f9f8f3}.tablepress-id-1 .even td{background-color:#f1ede2}.tablepress-id-4 .column-2{width:25px}.tablepress-id-4 .column-3{width:15px}.tablepress-id-4 .column-4{width:50px}.tablepress-id-4 .column-5{width:500px}.tablepress-id-4 thead th,.tablepress-id-4 tfoot th{background-color:#E1D8BF}.tablepress-id-4 .odd td{background-color:#f9f8f3}.tablepress-id-4 .even td{background-color:#f1ede2}.tablepress-id-2 .column-1{width:50px}.tablepress-id-2 .column-2{width:20px}.tablepress-id-2 .column-3{width:75px}.tablepress-id-2 .column-4{width:25px}.tablepress-id-2 .column-5{width:25px}.tablepress-id-2 .column-6{width:25px}.tablepress-id-2 .column-7{width:25px}.tablepress-id-2 thead th,.tablepress-id-2 tfoot th{background-color:#E1D8BF}.tablepress-id-2 .odd td{background-color:#f9f8f3}.tablepress-id-2 .even td{background-color:#f1ede2}.tablepress-id-8 .column-1{width:50px}.tablepress-id-8 .column-2{width:30px}.tablepress-id-8 .column-3{width:30px}.tablepress-id-8 .column-4{width:30px}.tablepress-id-8 .column-5{width:400px}.tablepress-id-8 thead th,.tablepress-id-8 tfoot th{background-color:#E1D8BF}.tablepress-id-8 .odd td{background-color:#f9f8f3}.tablepress-id-8 .even td{background-color:#f1ede2}.tablepress-id-9 .column-1{width:25px}.tablepress-id-9 .column-2{width:50px}.tablepress-id-9 .column-3{width:50px}.tablepress-id-9 .column-4{width:500px}.tablepress-id-9 .column-5{width:15px}.tablepress-id-9 thead th,.tablepress-id-9 tfoot th{background-color:#EEE384}.tablepress-id-9 .odd td{background-color:#F3F0D1}.tablepress-id-9 .even td{background-color:#F3F1DF} </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='__EPYT__style-css' href='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/youtube-embed-plus/styles/ytprefs.min.css?ver=14.1.4.1' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='__EPYT__style-inline-css' type='text/css'> .epyt-gallery-thumb { width: 33.333%; } </style> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.6.1' id='jquery-core-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.3.2' id='jquery-migrate-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/booster/assets/js/circle-progress.js?ver=1.2.2' id='twb-circle-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='twb-global-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var twb = {"nonce":"b2c762bf93","ajax_url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","plugin_url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/wd-facebook-feed\/booster","href":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin.php?page=twb_facebook-feed"}; var twb = {"nonce":"b2c762bf93","ajax_url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","plugin_url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/wd-facebook-feed\/booster","href":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin.php?page=twb_facebook-feed"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/booster/assets/js/global.js?ver=1.0.0' id='twb-global-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='popupally-action-script-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var popupally_action_object = {"popup_param":{"1":{"id":1,"cookie-duration":-1,"priority":"0","popup-selector":"#popup-box-gfcr-1","popup-class":"popupally-opened-gfcr-1","cookie-name":"popupally-cookie-1","close-trigger":".popup-click-close-trigger-1"},"2":{"id":2,"timed-popup-delay":3,"enable-exit-intent-popup":"true","cookie-duration":14,"priority":"0","popup-selector":"#popup-box-gfcr-2","popup-class":"popupally-opened-gfcr-2","cookie-name":"popupally-cookie-2","close-trigger":".popup-click-close-trigger-2"}}}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/popupally/resource/frontend/popup.min.js?ver=2.1.0' id='popupally-action-script-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='ffwd_cache-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var ffwd_cache = {"ajax_url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","update_data":"[{\"id\":\"1\",\"name\":\"Data Nuggets\",\"type\":\"page\",\"content_type\":\"timeline\",\"content\":\"statuses,photos,videos,links,events\",\"content_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/DataNuggets\\\/?ref=bookmarks\",\"timeline_type\":\"feed\",\"from\":\"541384755955842\",\"limit\":\"10\",\"app_id\":\"\",\"app_secret\":\"\",\"exist_access\":\"1\",\"access_token\":\"1509500312675877|d4f71636f520624105d7a8e82cc571df\",\"order\":\"1\",\"published\":\"1\",\"update_mode\":\"keep_old\",\"fb_view_type\":\"blog_style\",\"theme\":\"1\",\"masonry_hor_ver\":\"vertical\",\"image_max_columns\":\"5\",\"thumb_width\":\"200\",\"thumb_height\":\"150\",\"thumb_comments\":\"1\",\"thumb_likes\":\"1\",\"thumb_name\":\"1\",\"blog_style_width\":\"700\",\"blog_style_height\":\"\",\"blog_style_view_type\":\"0\",\"blog_style_comments\":\"1\",\"blog_style_likes\":\"1\",\"blog_style_message_desc\":\"1\",\"blog_style_shares\":\"1\",\"blog_style_shares_butt\":\"0\",\"blog_style_facebook\":\"0\",\"blog_style_twitter\":\"0\",\"blog_style_google\":\"0\",\"blog_style_author\":\"1\",\"blog_style_name\":\"1\",\"blog_style_place_name\":\"1\",\"fb_name\":\"0\",\"fb_plugin\":\"0\",\"album_max_columns\":\"5\",\"album_title\":\"show\",\"album_thumb_width\":\"200\",\"album_thumb_height\":\"150\",\"album_image_max_columns\":\"5\",\"album_image_thumb_width\":\"200\",\"album_image_thumb_height\":\"150\",\"pagination_type\":\"3\",\"objects_per_page\":\"20\",\"popup_fullscreen\":\"0\",\"popup_width\":\"800\",\"popup_height\":\"600\",\"popup_effect\":\"fade\",\"popup_autoplay\":\"0\",\"open_commentbox\":\"1\",\"popup_interval\":\"5\",\"popup_enable_filmstrip\":\"0\",\"popup_filmstrip_height\":\"70\",\"popup_comments\":\"1\",\"popup_likes\":\"1\",\"popup_shares\":\"1\",\"popup_author\":\"1\",\"popup_name\":\"1\",\"popup_place_name\":\"1\",\"popup_enable_ctrl_btn\":\"1\",\"popup_enable_fullscreen\":\"1\",\"popup_enable_info_btn\":\"0\",\"popup_message_desc\":\"1\",\"popup_enable_facebook\":\"0\",\"popup_enable_twitter\":\"0\",\"popup_enable_google\":\"0\",\"view_on_fb\":\"1\",\"post_text_length\":\"200\",\"event_street\":\"1\",\"event_city\":\"1\",\"event_country\":\"1\",\"event_zip\":\"1\",\"event_map\":\"1\",\"event_date\":\"1\",\"event_desp_length\":\"200\",\"comments_replies\":\"1\",\"comments_filter\":\"toplevel\",\"comments_order\":\"chronological\",\"page_plugin_pos\":\"bottom\",\"page_plugin_fans\":\"1\",\"page_plugin_cover\":\"1\",\"page_plugin_header\":\"0\",\"page_plugin_width\":\"380\",\"image_onclick_action\":\"facebook\",\"event_order\":\"0\",\"upcoming_events\":\"0\",\"data_count\":\"44\"}]","need_update":"false"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/js/ffwd_cache.js?ver=1.1.34' id='ffwd_cache-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='ffwd_frontend-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var ffwd_frontend_text = {"comment_reply":"Reply","view":"View","more_comments":"more comments","year":"year","years":"years","hour":"hour","hours":"hours","months":"months","month":"month","weeks":"weeks","week":"week","days":"days","day":"day","minutes":"minutes","minute":"minute","seconds":"seconds","second":"second","ago":"ago","ajax_url":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","and":"and","others":"others"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/js/ffwd_frontend.js?ver=1.1.34' id='ffwd_frontend-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/js/jquery.mobile.js?ver=1.1.34' id='ffwd_jquery_mobile-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/js/jquery.mCustomScrollbar.concat.min.js?ver=1.1.34' id='ffwd_mCustomScrollbar-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/js/jquery.fullscreen-0.4.1.js?ver=0.4.1' id='jquery-fullscreen-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='ffwd_gallery_box-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var ffwd_objectL10n = {"ffwd_field_required":"field is required.","ffwd_mail_validation":"This is not a valid email address.","ffwd_search_result":"There are no images matching your search."}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/wd-facebook-feed/js/ffwd_gallery_box.js?ver=1.1.34' id='ffwd_gallery_box-js'></script>  <script type='text/javascript' src='//platform-api.sharethis.com/js/sharethis.js#source=googleanalytics-wordpress#product=ga&property=5df79888d59bd4001220eff4' id='googleanalytics-platform-sharethis-js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='__ytprefs__-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var _EPYT_ = {"ajaxurl":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","security":"43e1338f8b","gallery_scrolloffset":"20","eppathtoscripts":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/youtube-embed-plus\/scripts\/","eppath":"https:\/\/datanuggets.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/youtube-embed-plus\/","epresponsiveselector":"[\"iframe.__youtube_prefs_widget__\"]","epdovol":"1","version":"14.1.4.1","evselector":"iframe.__youtube_prefs__[src], iframe[src*=\"youtube.com\/embed\/\"], iframe[src*=\"youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\"]","ajax_compat":"","ytapi_load":"light","pause_others":"","stopMobileBuffer":"1","facade_mode":"","not_live_on_channel":"","vi_active":"","vi_js_posttypes":[]}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/youtube-embed-plus/scripts/ytprefs.min.js?ver=14.1.4.1' id='__ytprefs__-js'></script> <link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-json/" /><link rel="alternate" type="application/json" href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-json/wp/v2/tags/22" /><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://datanuggets.org/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml" /> <link rel="icon" href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/favicon.ico" /> <link rel="pingback" href="https://datanuggets.org/xmlrpc.php" /> <script> (function() { (function (i, s, o, g, r, a, m) { i['GoogleAnalyticsObject'] = r; i[r] = i[r] || function () { (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments) }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date(); a = s.createElement(o), m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0]; a.async = 1; a.src = g; m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m) })(window, document, 'script', 'https://google-analytics.com/analytics.js', 'ga'); ga('create', 'UA-48932401-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview'); })(); </script> <style type="text/css">div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 {min-height: 16px;}div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 span,div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 a {line-height: 16px;}div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 span.rating-always-on { width: 80px;height: 16px;background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=star&color=cccccc&size=16);}div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 span.crfp-rating {height: 16px;background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=star&color=f5c710&size=16);}div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 div.star-rating a {width: 16px;max-width: 16px;height: 16px;background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=star&color=cccccc&size=16);}p.crfp-group-1 div.star-rating {width: 16px;height: 16px;}p.crfp-group-1 div.star-rating a {width: 16px;max-width: 16px;height: 16px;background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=star&color=cccccc&size=16);}p.crfp-group-1 div.star-rating-hover a {background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=star&color=b43600&size=16);}p.crfp-group-1 div.star-rating-on a {background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=star&color=f5c710&size=16);}p.crfp-group-1 div.rating-cancel {width: 16px;height: 16px;}p.crfp-group-1 div.rating-cancel a {width: 16px;height: 16px;background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=delete&color=cccccc&size=16);}p.crfp-group-1 div.rating-cancel.star-rating-hover a {background-image: url(https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/comment-rating-field-plugin//views/global/svg.php?svg=delete&color=b43600&size=16);}div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 div.crfp-bar .bar {background-color: #cccccc;}div.rating-container.crfp-group-1 div.crfp-bar .bar .fill {background-color: #f5c710;}</style></head> <body class="archive tag tag-rhizobia tag-22 header-image content-sidebar"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-dark-grayscale"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0 0.49803921568627" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 0.49803921568627" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0 0.49803921568627" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-grayscale"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-purple-yellow"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0.54901960784314 0.98823529411765" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0.71764705882353 0.25490196078431" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-blue-red"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 0.27843137254902" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0.5921568627451 0.27843137254902" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-midnight"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0 0" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 0.64705882352941" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-magenta-yellow"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0.78039215686275 1" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 0.94901960784314" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0.35294117647059 0.47058823529412" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-purple-green"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0.65098039215686 0.40392156862745" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 1" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0.44705882352941 0.4" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 0 0" width="0" height="0" focusable="false" role="none" style="visibility: hidden; position: absolute; left: -9999px; overflow: hidden;" ><defs><filter id="wp-duotone-blue-orange"><feColorMatrix color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" type="matrix" values=" .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 .299 .587 .114 0 0 " /><feComponentTransfer color-interpolation-filters="sRGB" ><feFuncR type="table" tableValues="0.098039215686275 1" /><feFuncG type="table" tableValues="0 0.66274509803922" /><feFuncB type="table" tableValues="0.84705882352941 0.41960784313725" /><feFuncA type="table" tableValues="1 1" /></feComponentTransfer><feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in" /></filter></defs></svg><div id="wrap"><header id="header"><div class="wrap"><div id="title-area"><p id="title"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/">Data Nuggets</a></p><p id="description">Bringing authentic research and data into K-16 classrooms</p></div><div class="widget-area header-widget-area"><div id="social-widget-5" class="widget widget-social"><div class="widget-wrap"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DataNuggets" class="btn-fb" target="_blank"><img src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/icon-facebook.png" alt="Facebook" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/data_nuggets" class="btn-tw" target="_blank"><img src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/icon-twitter.png" alt="Twitter" /></a><a href="http://datanuggets.org/feed/" class="btn-rss" target="_blank"><img src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/icon-rss.png" alt="RSS" /></a><a href="mailto:eschultheis@gmail.com" class="btn-em" target="_blank"><img src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/icon-email.png" alt="email" /></a></div></div> <div id="search-4" class="widget widget_search"><div class="widget-wrap"><form method="get" class="searchform search-form" action="https://datanuggets.org/" role="search" ><input type="text" value="Search" name="s" class="s search-input" onfocus="if ('Search' === this.value) {this.value = '';}" onblur="if ('' === this.value) {this.value = 'Search';}" /><input type="submit" class="searchsubmit search-submit" value="Go" /></form></div></div> </div></div></header><nav id="nav"><div class="wrap"><ul id="menu-topmenu" class="menu menu-primary"><li id="menu-item-192" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-home menu-item-192"><a href="https://datanuggets.org">Home</a></li> <li id="menu-item-32" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children menu-item-32"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/about-nuggets-2/">What are Data Nuggets?</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li id="menu-item-2104" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2104"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/history-of-data-nuggets/">HISTORY OF DATA NUGGETS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-2105" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2105"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/about-nuggets-2/content-and-graphing-levels/">USING THE TEACHER GUIDE</a></li> <li id="menu-item-2106" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2106"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/about-nuggets-2/what-teachers-need-to-know-about-nuggets/">DATA NUGGETS IN THE CLASSROOM</a></li> <li id="menu-item-5245" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-5245"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/data-nuggets-addressing-science-standards/">SCIENCE STANDARDS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-5813" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-5813"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/permitted-uses/">PERMITTED USES</a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="menu-item-71" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children menu-item-71"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/search-current-data-nuggets/">Current Data Nuggets</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li id="menu-item-933" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-933"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/view-in-searchable-table/">VIEW IN SEARCHABLE TABLE</a></li> <li id="menu-item-5569" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-5569"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/search-current-data-nuggets/skills-and-concepts/">BY MATH & SCIENCE CONCEPTS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-929" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-929"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/search-current-data-nuggets/search-by-study-location/">VIEW ON MAP</a></li> <li id="menu-item-6427" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-6427"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/digital-data-nuggets/">DIGITAL DATA NUGGETS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-6392" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-6392"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/espanol/">DATA NUGGETS EN ESPAÑOL</a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="menu-item-3184" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children menu-item-3184"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/making-your-own-nugget/">MAKING A DATA NUGGET</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li id="menu-item-2556" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2556"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/for-scientists-and-researchers/">FOR SCIENTISTS & AUTHORS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-3083" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3083"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/resources/materials-to-help-create-your-nugget/">TELLING YOUR SCIENCE STORY</a></li> <li id="menu-item-2676" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2676"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/search-current-data-nuggets/meet-the-scientists/">MEET THE SCIENTISTS!</a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="menu-item-521" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children menu-item-521"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/resources/">Resources</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li id="menu-item-2099" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2099"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/resources/professional-development/">PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT</a></li> <li id="menu-item-3080" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3080"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/resources/concepts-to-cover/">MATH & SCIENCE CONCEPTS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-3077" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3077"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/resources/data/">DATASETS & VISUALIZATION TOOLS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-3099" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3099"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/resources/other-education-websites/">OTHER EDUCATION WEBSITES</a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="menu-item-191" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-has-children menu-item-191"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/category/news-events/">Research & News</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li id="menu-item-5248" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-5248"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/research/">PUBLICATIONS & RESEARCH</a></li> <li id="menu-item-3150" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3150"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/nugget-news/facebook-feed/">FACEBOOK FEED</a></li> <li id="menu-item-3155" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3155"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/nugget-news/twitter-feed/">TWITTER FEED</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul></div></nav><div id="inner"><div class="wrap"><div id="content-sidebar-wrap"><div id="content" class="hfeed"><div class="post-info"><span class="date published time" title="2014-01-09T12:58:11-05:00">1.9.14</span> </div><div class="post-206 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-data-nugget tag-invasive-species tag-mutualism tag-plants tag-rhizobia tag-soil entry"><h2 class="entry-title"><a class="entry-title-link" rel="bookmark" href="https://datanuggets.org/2014/01/does-a-partner-in-crime-make-it-easier-to-invade/">Does a partner in crime make it easier to invade?</a></h2> <div class="entry-content"><div id="attachment_213" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hairy-vetch.png" rel="attachment wp-att-213"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-213" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-213" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hairy-vetch-300x224.png" alt="The invasive legume plant, hairy vetch, growing in the field." width="300" height="224" srcset="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hairy-vetch-300x224.png 300w, https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hairy-vetch-1024x765.png 1024w, https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hairy-vetch.png 1236w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-213" class="wp-caption-text">The invasive legume plant, hairy vetch, growing in the field.</p></div> <p>The activities are as follows:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/requesting-teacher-guides/" rel="">Teacher Guide</a></li> <li><a href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Partner-in-crime_StudentA.pdf">Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 3</a></li> <li><a href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Partner-in-crime_StudentB.pdf">Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 3</a></li> <li><a href="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Partner-in-crime_StudentC.pdf">Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 3</a></li> <li><a href="https://projectbiodiversify.wpcomstaging.com/2021/05/13/tomomi-suwa/">Scientist Profile on Project Biodiversify</a></li> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Grading-Rubric-2016.pdf" rel="">Grading Rubric</a></li> </ul> <p>A <strong>mutualism</strong> is a relationship between individuals of two different species in which both partners benefit. One example exists between a type of plant,<strong> legumes</strong>, and a type of bacteria, <strong>rhizobia</strong>. Rhizobia live inside bumps on the roots of legumes, called <strong>nodules</strong>. There, they convert nitrogen from the air into a form that can be used by plants; in return, plants provide the rhizobia with food and protection in the root nodule.</p> <div id="attachment_185" style="width: 397px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-185"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-185" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-185" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia.jpg" alt="Photo by Tomomi Suwa, 2013" width="387" height="194" srcset="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia.jpg 690w, https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia-300x150.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 387px) 100vw, 387px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-185" class="wp-caption-text">Rhizobia nodules on plant roots. In exchange for carbon and protection in the nodules from plants, rhizobia provide fixed nitrogen for plants.</p></div> <p>Mutualisms can affect what happens when a plant is moved to a location where that species hasn’t been before. <strong>Invasive plants</strong> have been transported by humans from one location to another and grow and spread quickly in their new location. For invasive legumes with rhizobia mutualists, there is a chance that the rhizobia will not be moved with it and the plant will have to form new relationships in the new location. These new partners might work well together or might not. Scientists predict that in their new ranges, invasive legumes will grow poorly at first, and then better and better over time. Over generations, invasive plants and their new rhizobia partners may coevolve to become more efficient mutualism partners.</p> <p>Yi and Tomomi are scientists who tested this hypothesis using one invasive plant species, hairy vetch. They took soil samples from three different spots based on the invasion history: vetch had never been there (no invasion, 0 years), vetch arrived recently (new invasion, less than 3 years), and vetch invaded a long time ago (old invasion, more than 10 years). These soils had rhizobia in them, each with different histories with hairy vetch. Yi and Tomomi took these soils into the greenhouse, divided them into pots, and grew several hairy vetch plants in each soil type. When the plants had grown for some time in the soils, Yi and Tomomi dug them up and measured two things. First, they counted number of nodules on the roots of each plant, which is a way to see how well the mutualism between rhizobia and plants is going. Second, they dried and weighed the plants to measure biomass, which shows how much the plants were growing.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Featured scientists: REU Yi Liu and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomomi-suwa/">Tomomi Suwa</a> from Michigan State University</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span id="Flesch.E2.80.93Kincaid_grade_level" class="mw-headline"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flesch–Kincaid Reading Grade Level</a> = 8.2</span></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>If you are interested in performing your own classroom experiment using the plant-rhizobium mutualism, check out this paper published in the American Biology Teacher describing methods and a proposed experimental design: <a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Suwa-and-Williamson-2014.pdf">Suwa and Williamson 2014</a></strong></p> </div><div class="post-meta"></div></div><div class="post-info"><span class="date published time" title="2014-01-08T13:07:43-05:00">1.8.14</span> </div><div class="post-164 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-data-nugget tag-agriculture tag-evolution tag-fertilization tag-mutualism tag-nitrogen tag-photosynthesis tag-plants tag-rhizobia entry"><h2 class="entry-title"><a class="entry-title-link" rel="bookmark" href="https://datanuggets.org/2014/01/fair-traders-or-freeloaders-cooperative-and-uncooperative-bacteria/">Fair traders or freeloaders?</a></h2> <div class="entry-content"><div id="attachment_687" style="width: 322px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-12-at-10.47.15-AM.png" rel="attachment wp-att-687"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-687" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-687" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-12-at-10.47.15-AM-300x280.png" alt="Measuring chlorophyll content in the greenhouse" width="312" height="291" srcset="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-12-at-10.47.15-AM-300x280.png 300w, https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-12-at-10.47.15-AM-1024x957.png 1024w, https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-12-at-10.47.15-AM.png 1116w" sizes="(max-width: 312px) 100vw, 312px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-687" class="wp-caption-text">Measuring chlorophyll content in the greenhouse</p></div> <p>The activities are as follows:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/requesting-teacher-guides/" rel="">Teacher Guide</a></li> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fair-trader-freeloader-student-A.pdf" rel="">Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 3</a></li> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fair-trader-freeloader-student-B.pdf" rel="">Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 3</a></li> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fair-trader-freeloader-student-c.pdf" rel="">Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 3</a></li> <li><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Grading-Rubric-2016.pdf" rel="">Grading Rubric</a></li> </ul> <p>When two species do better when they cooperate than they would on their own, the relationship is called a <strong>mutualism</strong>. One example of a mutualism is the relationship between a type of bacteria, rhizobia, and legume plants. Legumes include plants like peas, beans, soybeans, and clover. Rhizobia live in bumps on the legume roots, where they trade their nitrogen for sugar from the plants. Rhizobia fix nitrogen from the air into a form that plants can use. This means that legumes that have rhizobia living in their roots can get more nitrogen than those that don’t.</p> <p>Under some conditions, this mutualism can break down. For example, if one of the traded resources is very abundant in the environment. When the plant doesn’t need the nitrogen traded by rhizobia, it doesn’t trade as many sugars to the rhizobia. This could cause the rhizobia to evolve to be less cooperative as well. Less-cooperative rhizobia may be found where the soil already has lots of nitrogen. These less-cooperative bacteria are freeloaders: they fix less nitrogen, but still get sugars from the plant and other benefits of living in nodules on their roots.</p> <div id="attachment_185" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-185"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-185" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-185" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia-300x150.jpg" alt="Photo by Tomomi Suwa, 2013" width="300" height="150" srcset="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia-300x150.jpg 300w, https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Suwa_Rhizobia.jpg 690w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-185" class="wp-caption-text">Rhizobia nodules on plant roots. In exchange for carbon and protection in the nodules from plants, rhizobia provide fixed nitrogen for plants.</p></div> <p>One very important legume crop species is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soybean</a>. Soybeans are used to produce vegetable oil, tofu, soymilk, and many other food products. Soybeans trade with rhizobia for nitrogen, but often farmers add more nitrogen into the field as fertilizer. Since farms use a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, researchers at KBS were interested in how different types of farming affected the plant-rhizobia mutualism.</p> <p>They grew soybean plants in a greenhouse and added rhizobia from three different farms: a high N farm, low N farm, and organic farm that used no N fertilizer. After four weeks, the researchers <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21188527" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measured chlorophyll content</a> of the soybean plants. Healthy plants that have lots of nitrogen will have high chlorophyll content, and plants with not enough nitrogen will have low chlorophyll content. Because high nitrogen could lead to the evolution of less-cooperative rhizobia, they expected that rhizobia from organic plots would be most cooperative. They predicted rhizobia from high N plots would be the least cooperative, and rhizobia from low N plots would fall somewhere in the middle. More-cooperative rhizobia provide more nitrogen, so the researchers expected plants grown with cooperative rhizobia to have higher chlorophyll content than plants receiving less-cooperative rhizobia.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Featured scientist: REU Jennifer Schmidt from the Kellogg Biological Station</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span id="Flesch.E2.80.93Kincaid_grade_level" class="mw-headline"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flesch–Kincaid Reading Grade Level</a> = 10.1</span></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><strong>For<span style="color: #000000;"> more information on the evolution of cheating rhizobia, check out these popular science articles:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-02-long-term-nitrogen-fertilizer-disrupts-plant-microbe.html">Long-term nitrogen fertilizer use disrupts plant-microbe mutualisms</a></li> <li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://lternet.edu/are-we-making-selfish-microbes">Are We Making Selfish Microbes?</a></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>If you are interested in performing your own classroom experiment using the plant-rhizobium mutualism, check out this paper published in the American Biology Teacher describing methods and a proposed experimental design: <a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Suwa-and-Williamson-2014.pdf">Suwa and Williamson 2014</a></strong></p> <p><span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: #bd081c; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save</span><span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: #bd081c; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save</span></p> </div><div class="post-meta"></div></div><div class="post-info"><span class="date published time" title="2014-01-07T23:56:15-05:00">1.7.14</span> </div><div class="post-147 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-data-nugget tag-evolution tag-mutualism tag-parasitism tag-plants tag-rhizobia entry"><h2 class="entry-title"><a class="entry-title-link" rel="bookmark" href="https://datanuggets.org/2014/01/cheaters-in-nature/">Cheaters in nature – when is a mutualism not a mutualism?</a></h2> <div class="entry-content"><p><b><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/21.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-149 alignright" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/21.png" alt="2" width="225" height="281" /></a></b></p> <p style="text-align: left;">The activities are as follows:</p> <ul> <li style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/requesting-teacher-guides/">Teacher Guide</a></li> <li style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Cheaters-in-Nature_StudentA.pdf">Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 4</a></li> <li style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Cheaters-in-Nature_StudentB.pdf">Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 4</a></li> <li style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Cheaters-in-Nature_StudentC.pdf">Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 4</a></li> <li style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Grading-Rubric-2016.pdf" rel="">Grading Rubric</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Mutualisms</strong> are a special type of relationship in nature where two species work together and both benefit. Each partner trades with the other species, giving a resource and getting one in return. This cooperation leads to partner species doing better when the other is around, and without their partner, each species would have a harder time getting resources.</p> <p>One important mutualism is between <strong>clover</strong>, a type of plant, and <strong>rhizobia</strong>, a type of bacteria. Rhizobia live in small bumps on the clovers’ roots, called nodules, and receive protection and sugar food from the plant. In return, the rhizobia trade nitrogen to the plant, which plants need to photosynthesize and make new DNA. This mutualism works well when soil nitrogen is rare, because it is hard for the plant to collect enough nitrogen on its own, and the plant must rely on rhizobia to get all the nitrogen it needs. <em>But what happens when humans change the game by fertilizing the soil? When nitrogen is no longer rare, will one partner begin to cheat and no longer act as a mutualist?</em></p> <p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-148 alignleft" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/11.png" alt="1" width="265" height="248" /></p> <p>Worldwide, the <a href="http://phys.org/tags/nitrogen+cycle/">nitrogen cycle</a> is off. Not that long ago, before farmers used industrial fertilizers and people burned fossil fuels, nitrogen was rare in the soil. Today, humans are adding large amounts of nitrogen to soils. The nitrogen that we apply to agricultural fields doesn’t stay on those fields, and nitrogen added to the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels doesn’t stay by the power plant that generates it. The result is that today, more and more plants have all the nitrogen they need. With high nitrogen, plants may no longer depend on rhizobia to help them get nitrogen. This may cause the plant to trade less with the rhizobia in high nitrogen areas. In response, rhizobia from high nitrogen areas may evolve to try harder to get food from the plant, and may even cheat and become parasitic to plants. If this happens, both species will no longer be acting as mutualists.</p> <p>When Iniyan was a college student, he wanted to study human impacts on the clover-rhizobia mutualism. To find out more, he contacted Jen Lau’s lab at the Kellogg Biological Station one summer, and joined a team of scientists asking these questions. For his own experiment, Iniyan chose two common species of clover: hybrid clover <em>(Trifolium hybridum)</em> and white clover <em>(Trifolium pretense)</em>. He chose these two species because they are often planted by farmers. Iniyan then went out and collected rhizobia from farms where nitrogen had been added in large amounts for many years, and other farms where no nitrogen had been added.</p> <div id="attachment_2274" style="width: 235px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2274" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-2274" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Iniyan-Ganesan-300x250.jpg" alt="Iniyan completed this research as an REU at KBS." width="225" height="187" /><p id="caption-attachment-2274" class="wp-caption-text">Iniyan completed this research as an REU at KBS.</p></div> <p>To make sure that there were no rhizobia already in the soil, Iniyan set up his experiment in a field where no clover had grown before. He then planted 45 individuals of each species in the field. He randomly assigned each plant to one of three treatments. For each species, he grew 15 individuals with rhizobia from high nitrogen farms, and 15 with rhizobia from low nitrogen farms. To serve as a control, he grew the remaining 15 individuals without any rhizobia. To add rhizobia to the plants he made two different mixtures. The first was a mix of rhizobia from high nitrogen farms and water, and the second was a mix of rhizobia from low nitrogen farms and water. He then poured one of these mixtures over each of the plants, depending on which rhizobia treatment they were in. The control plants just got water. No nitrogen was added to the plants.</p> <p>After the plants grew all summer, Iniyan counted the number of leaves and measured the shoot height (cm) for each individual plant. He did not collect biomass because he wanted to let the plants continue to grow. He then averaged the data from each set of 15 individuals. Plants with fewer leaves and shorter shoots are considered less healthy. He predicted rhizobia that evolved in high nitrogen soils would be worse mutualists to plants, while rhizobia that evolved in low nitrogen soils would be good mutualists.</p> <p align="center"><em>Featured scientist: REU (<a href="https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/">NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates</a>) Iniyan Ganesan from the Kellogg Biological Station</em></p> <p align="center"><em><span id="Flesch.E2.80.93Kincaid_grade_level" class="mw-headline"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flesch–Kincaid Reading Grade Level</a> = 9.5</span></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><strong>For<span style="color: #000000;"> more information on the evolution of cheating rhizobia, check out these popular science articles:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-02-long-term-nitrogen-fertilizer-disrupts-plant-microbe.html">Long-term nitrogen fertilizer use disrupts plant-microbe mutualisms</a></li> <li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://lternet.edu/are-we-making-selfish-microbes">Are We Making Selfish Microbes?</a></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><strong>If you are interested in performing your own classroom experiment using the plant-rhizobium mutualism, check out this paper published in the American Biology Teacher describing methods and a proposed experimental design: <a href="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Suwa-and-Williamson-2014.pdf">Suwa and Williamson 2014</a></strong></p> </div><div class="post-meta"></div></div></div><aside id="sidebar" class="sidebar widget-area"> <div id="call-to-action-4" class="widget call-to-action"><div class="widget-wrap"><div class="cta-main"><h4 class="widget-title widgettitle">Site Navigation</h4> <ul class="cta"> <a href="http://datanuggets.org/about-nuggets-2/"><li class="cta1">New to Data Nuggets?</li></a> <a href="http://datanuggets.org/about-nuggets-2/content-and-graphing-levels/"><li class="cta2">For Educators</li></a> <a href="http://datanuggets.org/for-scientists-and-researchers/"><li class="cta3">For Scientists</li></a> <a href="http://datanuggets.org/search-current-data-nuggets/"><li class="cta4">Find a Data Nugget</li></a> <a href="http://datanuggets.org/making-your-own-nugget/"><li class="cta5">Make your own Data Nugget</li></a> <a href="http://datanuggets.org/permitted-uses/"><li class="cta6">Permitted Uses</li></a> </ul></div></div></div><div id="search-3" class="widget widget_search"><div class="widget-wrap"><h4 class="widget-title widgettitle">Search the site</h4> <form method="get" class="searchform search-form" action="https://datanuggets.org/" role="search" ><input type="text" value="Search" name="s" class="s search-input" onfocus="if ('Search' === this.value) {this.value = '';}" onblur="if ('' === this.value) {this.value = 'Search';}" /><input type="submit" class="searchsubmit search-submit" value="Go" /></form></div></div><div id="tag_cloud-4" class="widget widget_tag_cloud"><div class="widget-wrap"><h4 class="widget-title widgettitle">Data Nuggets by theme</h4> <div class="tagcloud"><a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/adaptation/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-58 tag-link-position-1" style="font-size: 17.968pt;" aria-label="adaptation (30 items)">adaptation</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/agriculture/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-52 tag-link-position-2" style="font-size: 12.48pt;" aria-label="agriculture (9 items)">agriculture</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/algae/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-57 tag-link-position-3" style="font-size: 10.8pt;" aria-label="algae (6 items)">algae</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/animals/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-26 tag-link-position-4" style="font-size: 22pt;" aria-label="animals (69 items)">animals</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/behavior/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-13 tag-link-position-5" style="font-size: 17.632pt;" aria-label="behavior (28 items)">behavior</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/biodiversity/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-64 tag-link-position-6" style="font-size: 16.96pt;" aria-label="biodiversity (24 items)">biodiversity</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/biofuels/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-32 tag-link-position-7" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="biofuels (4 items)">biofuels</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/birds/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-51 tag-link-position-8" style="font-size: 12.48pt;" aria-label="birds (9 items)">birds</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/carbon/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-91 tag-link-position-9" style="font-size: 10.016pt;" aria-label="carbon (5 items)">carbon</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/chemistry/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-77 tag-link-position-10" style="font-size: 10.8pt;" aria-label="chemistry (6 items)">chemistry</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/climate-change/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-31 tag-link-position-11" style="font-size: 18.416pt;" aria-label="climate change (33 items)">climate change</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/community-science/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-135 tag-link-position-12" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="community science (4 items)">community science</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/competition/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-49 tag-link-position-13" style="font-size: 11.92pt;" aria-label="competition (8 items)">competition</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/coral-reef/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-46 tag-link-position-14" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="coral reef (4 items)">coral reef</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/disturbance/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-28 tag-link-position-15" style="font-size: 17.632pt;" aria-label="disturbance (28 items)">disturbance</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/ecology/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-11 tag-link-position-16" style="font-size: 20.432pt;" aria-label="ecology (50 items)">ecology</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/environmental/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-72 tag-link-position-17" style="font-size: 19.312pt;" aria-label="environmental (40 items)">environmental</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/evolution/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-19 tag-link-position-18" style="font-size: 17.52pt;" aria-label="evolution (27 items)">evolution</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/fertilization/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-24 tag-link-position-19" style="font-size: 12.928pt;" aria-label="fertilization (10 items)">fertilization</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/fish/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-14 tag-link-position-20" style="font-size: 14.496pt;" aria-label="fish (14 items)">fish</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/genes/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-60 tag-link-position-21" style="font-size: 11.92pt;" aria-label="genes (8 items)">genes</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/greenhouse-gasses/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-33 tag-link-position-22" style="font-size: 11.36pt;" aria-label="greenhouse gasses (7 items)">greenhouse gasses</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/herbivory/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-7 tag-link-position-23" style="font-size: 11.36pt;" aria-label="herbivory (7 items)">herbivory</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/insects/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-10 tag-link-position-24" style="font-size: 15.616pt;" aria-label="insects (18 items)">insects</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/invasive-species/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-8 tag-link-position-25" style="font-size: 12.928pt;" aria-label="invasive species (10 items)">invasive species</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/marine/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-43 tag-link-position-26" style="font-size: 14.16pt;" aria-label="marine (13 items)">marine</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/mating/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-53 tag-link-position-27" style="font-size: 15.056pt;" aria-label="mating (16 items)">mating</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/microbes/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-107 tag-link-position-28" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="microbes (4 items)">microbes</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/mutualism/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-20 tag-link-position-29" style="font-size: 10.016pt;" aria-label="mutualism (5 items)">mutualism</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/nitrogen/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-25 tag-link-position-30" style="font-size: 11.92pt;" aria-label="nitrogen (8 items)">nitrogen</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/parasitism/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-23 tag-link-position-31" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="parasitism (4 items)">parasitism</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/phosphorus/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-54 tag-link-position-32" style="font-size: 10.016pt;" aria-label="phosphorus (5 items)">phosphorus</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/photosynthesis/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-79 tag-link-position-33" style="font-size: 12.48pt;" aria-label="photosynthesis (9 items)">photosynthesis</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/physics/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-65 tag-link-position-34" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="physics (4 items)">physics</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/plants/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-9 tag-link-position-35" style="font-size: 19.424pt;" aria-label="plants (41 items)">plants</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/predation/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-18 tag-link-position-36" style="font-size: 12.928pt;" aria-label="predation (10 items)">predation</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/restoration/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-62 tag-link-position-37" style="font-size: 10.016pt;" aria-label="restoration (5 items)">restoration</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/rhizobia/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-22 tag-link-position-38" style="font-size: 8pt;" aria-label="rhizobia (3 items)">rhizobia</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/soil/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-82 tag-link-position-39" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="soil (4 items)">soil</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/substrate/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-45 tag-link-position-40" style="font-size: 11.92pt;" aria-label="substrate (8 items)">substrate</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/temperature/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-36 tag-link-position-41" style="font-size: 14.16pt;" aria-label="temperature (13 items)">temperature</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/tradeoff/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-17 tag-link-position-42" style="font-size: 9.12pt;" aria-label="tradeoff (4 items)">tradeoff</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/urban/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-63 tag-link-position-43" style="font-size: 11.36pt;" aria-label="urban (7 items)">urban</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/water/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-42 tag-link-position-44" style="font-size: 14.72pt;" aria-label="water (15 items)">water</a> <a href="https://datanuggets.org/tag/wetland/" class="tag-cloud-link tag-link-56 tag-link-position-45" style="font-size: 13.712pt;" aria-label="wetland (12 items)">wetland</a></div> </div></div></aside> </div></div></div><footer id="footer"><div class="wrap"> <div class="footer-left"> <div class="creds"> <p><span class="copyright">Copyright © 2024 </span> </div> <nav id="footer-nav"><div class="wrap"></div></nav> </div> <div class="footer-right"> <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/" target="_blank"><img class="nsf" src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/nsf-logo.png" alt="National Science Foundation logo" /></a><a href="http://www.msu.edu/"target="_blank"><img class="msu" src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/msu-logo-green.png" alt="Michigan State University logo" /></a><a href="http://www.kbs.msu.edu/"target="_blank"><img class="kbs" src="https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/themes/msu-kbs/images/kbs-logo-green.png" alt="Kellog Biological Station logo" /></a>  </div></div></footer></div><div id="popup-box-gfcr-2" class="popupally-overlay-gfcr-2 popup-click-close-trigger-2"><div class="popupally-outer-gfcr-2"><div class="popupally-inner-gfcr-2"><div class="popupally-center-gfcr"><div class="desc-gfcr">Enter your name and email if you would like to receive updates on Data Nuggets!</div><div class="logo-row-gfcr"><div class="clear-gfcr"></div><img class="logo-img-gfcr" src="http://datanuggets.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Untitled.png" alt=""><div class="logo-text-gfcr">Data Nuggets aim to improve students' quantitative literacy and attitudes about science. We may contact you in the future for information on your experience with Data Nuggets. Thank you!</div><div class="clear-gfcr"></div></div><form action="//datanuggets.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=9f54f2b4db95a417a2f9fa21e&id=9a8a83fd42" popupally-popup="2" class="popupally-signup-form-ishdye content-gfcr" method="post"><input type="hidden" name="b_9f54f2b4db95a417a2f9fa21e_9a8a83fd42" value=""/><input type="text" name="FNAME" class="field-gfcr" placeholder="Enter your first name here"/><input type="email" name="EMAIL" class="field-gfcr" placeholder="Enter a valid email here"/><input type="submit" class="popupally-form-submit submit-gfcr" value="Subscribe" /></form><div class="privacy-gfcr">Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.</div></div></div><div title="Close" class="popupally-close-gfcr popup-click-close-trigger-2"></div></div></div><script type='text/javascript' src='https://datanuggets.org/wp-content/plugins/youtube-embed-plus/scripts/fitvids.min.js?ver=14.1.4.1' id='__ytprefsfitvids__-js'></script> <script type="text/javascript"> jQuery('.soliloquy-container').removeClass('no-js'); </script> </body></html>