Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE)

Abstract

THE ECOLOGICAL QUESTION

How does a bald eagle population change over time at a winter migratory stopover and which factors influence its abundance?

ECOLOGICAL CONTENT

Bald eagle biology, conservation biology, endangered species, population ecology, and migration ecology (stopover)

WHAT STUDENTS DO

Guided Approach: Students will generate questions about bald eagle numbers influenced by weather and food availability. Students will then use graphing software (JMP or Excel) to compile the data in a graphical form to answer their questions.

Open-ended Approach: Students will generate their own hypotheses of interest from the larger bald eagle data set. This approach is encouraged for upper division ecology students in conservation biology, wildlife management, or population ecology classes.

SKILLS

Generation of a hypothesis, critical thinking, experimental design, data management using a spreadsheet, graph preparation, data analysis and interpretation, and/or written or oral presentation.

STUDENT-ACTIVE APPROACHES

Brainstorming, critical thinking, concept mapping, cooperative learning, guided inquiry, and/or open-ended inquiry

ASSESSABLE OUTCOMES

Proposal of research, figures from spreadsheet data, written interpretation of data, short or full research reports, and/or oral reports

SOURCE

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Coeur d'Alene Field Office, archived data.

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Volume

7

Publication Date

2011

Disciplines

Biology | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Higher Education

Comments

© 2011 - Julie Beckstead, Alexandra N. Lagasse, and Scott R. Robinson and the Ecological Society of America. Posted with permission.

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