Animal Trackers*

Lesson Information

Age: Grades 4-12
Duration: Regular sessions of about 15 minutes each
Group Size: Small groups
Materials: Downloadable sample tracking sheet and migration map; downloadable migration tracking sheet and blank maps; at least one computer with Internet access.
Summary: Students use space technology to monitor migratory species, map their movements, and gather data about their habitats and possible responses to climatic shifts.

Learning Objectives:

Students will:

1. learn to track wildlife movements by plotting latitude and longitude coordinates on a map;
2. acquire skill in implementing a research procedure;
3. interpret climatic and habitat data pertaining to migratory species;
4. understand the difference between scientific observations and other information; and.
5. become familiar with various species and how they are affected by climate change.

Background

We can learn a lot about migratory species and how they are affected by climate change by following a well-designed research procedure. This activity makes use of tracking techniques set out at the Space for Species Web site — an Internet-based learning program that enables students to watch over wild wayfarers and their habitats using space technology. The activity will give your students experience in gathering, categorizing, and analyzing scientific data in a tracking journal. By carefully organizing this data in a tabular format, maps, and field notes, young people will discover relationships between migratory movements, habitats, weather, and perhaps climatic shifts. They will also learn to distinguish between observations and inferences — an important step towards making real scientific discoveries.

Procedure

1. Explain to your students that, in this activity, they will learn how to track the migrations and monitor the habitats of polar bears, common and king eiders, leatherback turtles, barren ground caribou, or peregrine falcons from outer space. Before getting started, you may wish to point out the difference between observations (raw data) and inferences (deductions based on facts and reasoning). Observations are data that we can perceive with our own five senses, that we can investigate and record. Inferences could include opinions, ideas, comparisons, calculations, and predictions. Can your students tell the difference in these four examples?
   1. In the third year of the study, the caribou wintered near Echo Bay on the eastern banks of Great Bear Lake.
   2. The eiders probably delayed their departure from their staging grounds because the weather was sunny and warm.
   3. When the polar bear came ashore at Nuvuk Point (65°N, 87°W) on May 20, 2001, the sky was cloudy, the temperature was -5°C, and it was snowing.
   4. The leatherback sea turtle travelled 50 per cent faster while swimming in the Gulf Stream than it did in the Labrador Current.
      Examples A and C are scientific observations. They contain raw data. Example B is an opinion, based on vague information. Example D is a comparison, based on calculations.
      
      
2. Divide your class into small groups. Assign each of them one of five different species. Starting from the Space for Species home page, have them click on the menu item Track Real Species in Real Time, then click on an animal's image to link to a section dedicated to that species. There, they will learn all about the creature, its habitats, travels, threats to its survival, the biologist studying it, and suggestions on how they, too, can contribute its conservation. All students should read the profiles of their selected species.
   
   
3. Give each group a sample tracking sheet and migration map . Alternatively, print these two items on transparencies and display them on an overhead projector. These samples illustrate how data may be gathered and analyzed. Explain the categories for data collection; how, on each sheet of the tracking journal, students will record location, weather, and habitat information gathered during migration. It will largely consist of numerical measurements (latitude, longitude, and so on), field notes on other observations (such as ecozones, astronaut observations, and remote-sensing images), and a simple migration map. By examining this data, students will discover relationships between migratory movements, seasonal changes, and perhaps climatic shifts.
   
   
4. Direct students to the blank tracking journal and migration maps, found in the "Mission Control" panel in each animal's section. At the top of the "Mission Control" panel, students should click on the "Migration Maps" link to access migration maps. At the bottom of the "Mission Control" panel, they should click on the "download" link to access a tracking journal.
   
   
5. Tell your students that "Mission Control" is also where they will access tracking, weather, and habitat information:
   • In the tracking area, through the "Tracking and Coordinates" link, they can download current and historical coordinates in the form of latitude and longitude points, depending on whether they need data gathered in the present or in the past.
   • In the weather area, they can obtain current meteorological data.
   • In the habitat area, they can download information on ecozones, remote-sensing images, and astronaut observations.
     
     
6. Ask each group to gather tracking data on a regular basis — about once a month — on an individual animal. See that they keep field notes, including inferences as to why individual animals travel when and where they do in response to climatic factors and seasonal habitat requirements.
   

7. To assist your students in investigating how climate change may influence migratory movements, have them research ways in which monitored species may be affected by rising temperatures, shifting vegetation zones, increasing or decreasing precipitation, shrinking sea ice, and other changes. Above all, encourage them to use the Ask an Expert feature, which allows them to interact with scientists, such as climatologist David Phillips and polar bear biologist Martyn Obbard, and to ask questions related to climate change and its impacts on migratory species.
   
   
8. Once your students have finished the exercise, ask group representatives to report their findings. What observations did they make? What inferences did they make? What were they based on?
   
   
9. Hold a brief discussion to clear up any remaining confusion about the difference between observations and inferences.
   

*This activity is based, in part, on "Animal Trackers" from the Space for Species Educator's Guide.