Razonamiento funcional y causal sobre el desequilibrio ecosistémico en estudiantes universitarios

Objective: this paper describes how university students argue functionally and causally about an ecosystem, using the Structure, Behavior and Function models. Method: a descriptive transversal design has been used with a mixed model of concurrent triangulation. Simultaneously, qualitative and quantitative data have been gathered and analyzed in order to compare and integrate them. From intentional sampling with college students (n=60), four groups have been formed: biology students, and natural sciences and environmental education students. They have been divided into four equal groups according to their studies and to the condition of having completed or not during year 2018 the two mandatory subjects related to ecology. They answered interview questions about ecosystems and resolved a situation problem raised in a bioterium affected by anthropogenic activities and contaminating residues. Results: we found differences attributable to the level of expertise between biology students that studied ecology, who understood the ecosystem from the dynamic interdependence of structure and functions, and other groups, who emphasized structural components with greater perceptual salience. Conclusions and discussion: although most students understand the causal and functional relationships of the ecosystem, there are some biases in the conceptual construction, which can be explained from the incorrect recognition of the cause and the establishment of causal relationships.