Tracking the Gentle Giants

Michelle Kinzel

San Diego Mesa College

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection.

This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection

This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are

Scientific Accuracy
Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
Pedagogic Effectiveness
Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page

For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html.

This page first made public: Jun 7, 2017

Summary

This third lesson in GeoMapApp uses data on whale habitats to familiarize students with using GeoMapApp to analyze scientific data sets.

Geospatial, Chemical, Biological | High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)

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Context

Audience

This lesson is appropriate for high school and undergraduate students.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

This activity is an introductory lesson in a 5 module series to learn basic GeoMapApp navigation and data usage skills and soe not require any prior skills or concept mastery. It is recommended that Lessons 1 and 2 be completed prior to this third lesson.

How the activity is situated in the course

This activity is the 3rd in a series of 5 lessons designed to introduce students to the software mapping program GeoMapApp. Lessons 1-3 are intended to build basic skills and cover concepts of seafloor topography, using real world data, seafloor mapping and satellite telemetry. Lessons 4 and 5 build on skills learned in the first 3 lessons and include higher order thinking skills and scientific inquiry.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to

Use basic GeoMapApp skills and mapping software functionality to explore real world scientific data sets collected by marine mamal biologists and oceanographers.
Examine distribution and movements of blue whales, bowhead whales and Right whales based on satellite telemetry data collected with satellite tags and the ARGOS satellite system
Add oceanographic features, including Sea Surface Temperature and Primary Prod

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

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Other skills goals for this activity

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Description of the activity/assignment

This third lesson in the GeoMapApp course begins with a review of the scientific method, then discusses how it is applied to whale habitat research using satellites. A series of instructions then shows students how to use GeoMapApp to explore data from such research.

Determining whether students have met the goals

Activity includes 21 student questions, for which a key is provided in the instructor version.

More information about assessment tools and techniques.

Teaching materials and tips

GeoMapApp lesson 3 student version (Acrobat (PDF) 2.6MB Jan8 10)
GeoMapApp lesson 3 instructor\'s key (Acrobat (PDF) 239kB Jan8 10)

Other Materials

Supporting references/URLs

Lagerquist, B.A., K.M. Stafford and B.R. Mate. 2000. Dive characteristics of satellite‐monitored blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off the central California coast. Marine Mammal Science 16(2):375‐391

B. R. Mate, G. K. Krutzikowsky and M. H. Winsor. 2000. Satellite‐monitored movements of radio‐tagged bowhead whales in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas during the late‐summer feeding season and fall migration . Canadian Journal of Zoology. 78:1168‐1181 (2000).

G.K. Krutzikowski and B.R. Mate. 2000. Dive and surfacing characteristics of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 78:1182‐1198 (2000).

Baumgartner, Mark F.; Mate, Bruce R. Summer and fall habitat of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) inferred from satellite telemetry. Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, Mar2005, Vol. 62 Issue 3, p527‐543.

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