Species Sleuths

Question(s)

What tools and methods do scientists use to study a species?

How would you do it?

Overview

Students assume the role of scientists who are interested in knowing more about certain species that live in Maine habitats. They are presented with a series of different research scenarios, and are challenged to come up with creative ways to study what their species eats, what eats it, where it lives, what stages it goes through during its life, how adaptations help it survive, and how it interacts with humans.

Students play a modified “Dictionary” (or Balderdash) game to see how well their methods stack up to actual methods that scientists use. Do they still like their own approaches best? These research scenarios prepare students to tackle the different components of their own upcoming Species Investigations in the All My Watershed Neighbors Watershed Experience.

Standards (MLR)

Learning Objectives

• Students think critically and creatively about how scientists study species
• Students learn which scientific methods scientists use currently to answer their questions about species

Materials

• Photograph, specimen, stuffed animal model, plastic model, etc. for each of the 6 Species Study Scenario stations (ideas are below)

• 6 Method Containers (small bowl, bucket, hat for collecting folded pieces of paper with students’ proposed methods written on them)

Time Needed

• 60 minutes for 6 8-minute stations & transition time
• 40 minutes for “Dictionary” methods game

Activity Procedure

SPECIES STUDY STATIONS

1. Set up 6 Species Study Scenario stations around the room to reflect each of the research questions that students will answer during their own upcoming species investigations. Here is an overview of the station questions that prompt students to think about the methods they would use to find out certain information about a species. Find station details in the Species Study Station Scenarios: Station Details section below.

• How would you try to figure out what this species eats?
• How would you try to figure out what eats this species?
• How would you try to figure out where this species lives?
• How would you try to figure out how this species grows and changes throughout its life?
• How would you try to determine this species’ most important adaptations for finding food, defending itself, surviving 4 different seasons, and reproducing?
• How would you try to figure out how this species interacts with humans?

Note: You can have your students tackle just 1 species at all 6 stations, or use a different species at each station.

2. At each station, ask teams of students to brainstorm and write down a list of methods that they could do to try to find the answer to the research question.

3. After 5-8 min ask the students to rotate to the next station.

4. Repeat Steps 2 & 3 until each team has completed all 6 stations.

DICTIONARY GAME

Do you remember playing the “Dictionary” game or Balderdash? On rainy days or out at camp in the summertime, you would grab your dictionary and find the craziest, most unfamiliar, SAT-worthy word you could. Everyone wrote on a piece of scrap paper what they thought the definition could be. You wrote down the actual dictionary definition. You all threw your definitions in a hat. You read all of the definitions aloud (including the correct one that you added), and each of you voted for the definition you thought was correct. You got points if others chose your made-up definition, or if you chose the correct dictionary definition.

Remember? Ah yes, that was fun. We laughed a lot and learned some new words in the process.

Remember? Er, no, but it seems really simple and straightforward, and I’ll read the rules below.

Species Sleuths uses similar rules with different content. Instead of playing with words, you’re playing with ways scientists study species. Here is how it works:

Game Rules

1. After teams have completed all 6 Species Study Scenario stations, have students revisit the methods they brainstormed in Step 2 above.

2. Ask them to pick their favorite, most realistic method for each station.

3. Have students write the method down on a piece of paper, fold it up, and put it in a Methods Container at each station. The Methods Container is simply a small bowl, bucket, or hat for collecting students’ preferred methods (see Materials section above).

4. While your students are working, add to each Methods Container a few of the real methods scientists use currently to answer each research question. See the Current Methods List below for a list of methods that scientists use. Pick and chose methods from this list to put into the Methods Container.

Note: If humor works in your classroom, add a funny method to each container too.

5. Start with the Methods Container at Station 1. Ask one student to read all of the methods in the Methods Container aloud to the class. Each team decides which method or methods they think are ones that a scientist might use.

Note: If keeping sore works in your classroom:

• Teams get 3 points for each method they wrote down that matches a method from the Current Methods List below
• Teams get 2 points for picking a method that scientists use
• Teams get 1 point for each method they wrote down that is picked by another team

6. Have a brief discussion before moving on to the next station. Discussion topics include:

• Why do you think scientists use the method(s) that they do?
• Do you think that your method would work better than the one that scientists use?
• Could you do the same method that scientists do?
• Does the scientists’ method make sense to you?

7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 for each of the remaining stations.

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Species Study Scenario Stations

STATION OVERVIEW

Each station has one main research question to prompt students to think about the methods they would use to study a particular aspect of a species.

Ideally, each station will have a live or dead specimen, stuffed or plastic model, and/or a photograph for students to look at, pick up, and think about as they come up with their own methods.

Any species – plant, animal, or otherwise – can be used successfully at each of these stations. You can have your students tackle just 1 species at all 6 stations, or use a different species at each station. There is one species example listed below to help give you ideas (fish, plant, mammal, insect, bird). Depending on your own lesson goals, you may choose species that are close-by and familiar to your students that they may want to study during their own investigations, or you may choose less familiar species that may help broaden students’ worldview.

Note about picking species: When you use species that are familiar to students, they have a tendency to get caught up in knowing the answer to the question, rather than focusing on how they would study the species to find out the answer to the research question. You may need to model your thought process with a familiar species first to emphasize methods before starting the stations (i.e. “I know that butterflies are eggs, then caterpillars, then in cocoons, and then turn into butterflies….but how can I make sure….how would I study each stage of their life cycle to learn more about it….?)

Note about using photographs: Photographs offer students some additional context about habitat or species interactions from which to dream up their methods. This may be beneficial or distracting depending on the station. For instance, try to avoid photographs for Station 2: Ecosystem & habitat studies to encourage students to look at a species’ adaptations to figure out where it lives.

 

STATION DETAILS

Station 1A. Food chain studies, Part 1

Question: How would you try to figure out what this species eats

Species example: Fish (herring, salmon, trout)

Specimen ideas:

• Dead, frozen fish from the grocery store
• Live fish in classroom aquarium

Photograph ideas:

• Photo of fish in its preferred habitat
• Photo of fish filter feeding or attacking prey
• Photo of fish schooling
• Photo that shows the relative size of the fish

Model ideas: Stuffed animal or plastic fish

Station 1B. Food chain studies, Part 2

Question: How would you try to figure out what eats this species?

Species example: Plant (maple tree, cattail, rockweed)

Specimen ideas: Cutting of a branch, stem, leaf, etc.

Photograph ideas:

• Photo of plant defenses
• Photo of plant in its preferred habitat

Model ideas: Plastic aquarium plants

Station 2. Ecosystem & habitat studies

Question: How would you try to figure out where this species lives?

Species example: Mammal (gray squirrel, beaver)

Photograph ideas: We recommend not using a photograph that shows the species in context of its environment so students focus instead on the species’ adaptations to a place rather than getting clues from the photograph about the place itself

Model ideas: Stuffed animals

Station 3. Life stage & life cycle studies

Question: How would you try to figure out how this species grows and changes throughout its life?

Species: Amphibian (frog)

Specimen ideas: Live specimen from different life stages (tadpole/ frog)

Photograph ideas: Photo of young & adult species (life stage extremes)

Station 4. Adaptation studies

Question: How would you try to determine this species’ most important adaptations for finding food, defending itself, surviving 4 different seasons, and reproducing?

Species: Bird (turkey, great blue heron, eagle, chickadee)

Photograph ideas:

• Photo of bird in its preferred habitat
• Photo of bird finding food
• Photo of bird defending itself

Model ideas: Stuffed animal

Station 5. Human interaction studies

Question:  How would you try to figure out how this species interacts with humans?

Species: Insect (mosquito, dragon fly, lightning bug)

Specimen ideas:

• Dead insects
• Live insects in jars

Model ideas: Plastic toy insects

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List of Current Methods Used By Scientists to Study Species

Station 1a. What does this species eat?

• Dissection, stomach content analysis

• In situ observation of feeding behavior
• Observation of mouth/ beak parts
• Observation of defense adaptations
• Size
• Find (& test/ validate) information and food webs already published from trusted sources
• Collection and identification of other species in the same habitat.

Station 1b. What eats this species?

• Dissection, stomach content analysis of animals in the local food web
• In situ observation of defense strategies
• Observation of mouth/ beak parts
• Observation of defense adaptations
• Size
• Find (& test/ validate) information and food webs already published from trusted sources

Station 2. Where does this species live?

• Observation of adaptations to water or land
• Observation of adaptations to changing seasons
• Observation of adaptations for climbing, burrowing, diving, etc.
• Find (& test/ validate) information and distribution maps already published from trusted sources
• Count number of species in different areas.
• Camouflage of species best suits specific habitats

Station 3. How does this species grow and change throughout its life?

• Laboratory observation of full life cycle (or of young, mid-life, and old individuals)
• In situ observation of young and old of full life cycle (or of young, mid-life, and old individuals)
• Observation of both males and females
• Find (& test/ validate) information and life cycle diagrams already published from trusted sources
• Observe for as many individuals as possible to find variation

Station 4. How is this species adapted to life in Maine?

• Observations of adaptations to changing seasons
• Observations of adaptations to Maine’s different ecosystems (rocky coast, etc.)
• Observations of adaptations to Maine’s climate
• Resources it needs for survival are found in Maine and not elsewhere
• Find (& test/ validate) information already published from trusted sources

Station 5. How does this species interact with humans

• Species inventories before and after humans develop an area for housing, business, recreation, etc.
• Interviews with humans about what species they see, feed, hunt, eat, and interact with in other ways
• Road kill counts
• Research local habitat restoration or conservation efforts

Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas

Reflect as a class or in individual journals on one or more of these topics:

• Why do you think scientists use the method(s) that they do?
• Do you think that your method would work better than the one that scientists use?
• Could you do the same method that scientists do?
• Does the scientists’ method make sense to you?
• Explain the scientists’ method in your own words.

Extension Ideas

If students like the methods they came up with better than the scientific methods, have them write a persuasive essay to a scientist to propose their new approach.

Resources

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References

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