Ocean Education Activities
Only after researchers have identified a species'
breeding grounds, migration routes, and wintering habitat
do they know which regions and countries need to be involved
in its conservation. Students too can learn a lot about marine
migrants - and how they depend on healthy habitats to survive
- by monitoring them both in real space and in cyberspace.
Divide your class into small working groups.
Each will track the seasonal journey of a species, such as
a shorebird, sea turtle, or marine mammal, using various sources
of migration data. Students should find examples of natural
and human threats to their migrants and ways to lessen these
menaces. They may also attempt to unravel the mystery of how
each animal finds its way from one place to another.
- Obtain maps of migration routes from such organizations
as CWF, the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), and Fisheries
and Oceans Canada (DFO).
- Contact CWS to obtain authentic bird-banding data. Tagging
studies, in which researchers fasten a light band around
a bird's leg so the animal can be identified later on, have
solved many migration mysteries and documented the longest
journey of all - the arctic tern's 35,000-kilometre round-trip
flight from the Arctic to Antarctica every year.
- Visit CWF's Web site at www.cwf-fcf.org.
If all goes as planned, you will find satellite-tracking
data on the long-distance migrations of leatherback sea
turtles. Stranded individuals will be rescued from fishing
gear off the Atlantic coast by a team of researchers from
Acadia University, Dalhousie University, and DFO. The team
hopes to track signals sent out by small satellite transmitters
attached to the backs of these gigantic reptiles before
their release.
- Other on-line sources of migration data include the Canadian
Wildlife Service , WhaleNet , Journey
North, and the Caribbean
Conservation Corporation. These sites track the odysseys
of everything from manatees to marine turtles, from whooping
cranes to harlequin ducks. Students can also contribute
authentic data, based on actual sightings of migratory species,
to some of these Web sites.
- All animals and plants are interconnected in a vast web
of life. The cement that holds this web together is biodiversity,
or the variety of species, the genetic assortment within
each species, and the range of ecosystems inhabited by all.
There is no better example of biodiversity than the awesome
array of migrants in our oceans. Marine biodiversity is
essential to life on Earth. Yet it is seriously threatened
by human activities like overfishing and industry. One way
to conserve our aquatic treasures is to participate in a
biodiversity field study along a migratory route.
- Survey a flyway. Researchers need data on avian migrants
like shorebirds, seabirds, and waterfowl. Wildlife agencies
in Canada are especially concerned about the health of 10
of our 15 sea duck species - including oldsquaws, common
eiders, and harlequin ducks - whose numbers are in steep
decline. Canadian youth can help halt this trend by taking
part in the Sea Duck Joint Venture (SDJV), recently launched
by a number of partner organizations within the North American
Waterfowl Management Plan. Youngsters working in small groups
will monitor spring and fall sea duck migrations by gathering
data on species observed, their abundance, habitat use,
and links with other life-forms. Contact CWF's resource
centre for more information.
- Record marine mammal sightings in the Arctic. Youngsters
living in the North can track the arrivals and departures
of marine mammals such as narwhals, belugas, and bowhead
whales. Participants list sightings for each day of the
year in a chart showing dates, species sighted, and the
habitats - including open water, floe edge,pack ice, or
fast ice - in which animals appear. Report findings to Robert
Stewart c/o Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada,
501 University Cres., Winnipeg, Man. R3T 2N6; e-mail: StewartRE@DFO-MPO.GC.CA;
phone: (204) 983-5023.
- Report leatherback sightings. Students living on the East
Coast can provide vital data to the North Atlantic Leatherback
Turtle Working Group. Program coordinator Mike James hopes
to solve several mysteries surrounding the endangered reptile's
migration from the Caribbean to the North Atlantic. Last
year's survey gleaned a record 163 sightings in Atlantic
Canada, confirming the turtle's significant presence off
our coasts, as well as our responsibility to protect it
from threats like boat collisions, plastic debris, and entanglement
in fishing gear. Report sightings from June to October.
For more information, contact the Centre for Wildlife and
Conservation Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, N.S.
B0P 1X0; e-mail: 030136j@relay.acadiau.ca; phone: (902)
585-1705; fax: (902) 585-1059.
- Take part in a biological survey. CWF's online Directory
of Wildlife Surveys outlines more than 50 monitoring studies
in which young Canadians can participate, including the
Marsh Monitoring Program and Eagle Watch. Data collected
will help researchers gauge the health of marine migrant
and other wildlife populations. Visit our Web site at www.cwf-fcf.org
for details.
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Project
WILD