April+19th

=April 19th: The White-tailed Deer and Analyzing Data =

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===Another animal that Dr. Newman and Dr. Buesching are interested in is the white-tailed deer. White-tail deer are common in Minnesota but only migrated into Nova Scotia a few decades ago. When they moved in they also brought with them the menengial brain worm which has decimated the moose population. The brain worm enters a deer's nervous system and makes it way to the brain where it attempts to feed. The deer has a natural defense to this parasite and encapsulates the worm in a small cyst, preventing it from moving or damaging the deer's brain. Some of the worms escape the deer in its droppings which are later eaten by snails and slugs. Moose accidentally eat these contaminated snails and slugs when it eats wet vegetation and, because the moose has no natural defense against the brain worm, it makes it way to the brain and feeds, eventually turning the moose's brain into swiss cheese. The moose either dies from brain injuries or is easily eaten by predators due to the brain damage.===

__Literacy questions__ 1) In what animal, in addition to mice and voles, are the lead scientists interested? 2) What is the opposite of "decimate?" 3) How does the moose get infected with the menengial brain worm? 4) What do you think "encapsulate" means? 5) Do you think "turning the moose's brain into swiss cheese" should be taken literally? Why or why not? 6) What do you think can be done to increase the moose population in Nova Scotia? ===Since we're interested in estimating the deer population here in Nova Scotia, we need to look for evidence of deer. One of the best ways to gather information about an animal population is to either trap and count the actual animals themselves or to count their droppings and estimate the number of animals it took to create those poops. Since deer are too large to trap safely, the Earthwatch team has spent a couple days searching for and counting deer poops in small grids called a "quadrat." A quadrat is a 10 meter square and we move slowly forward in a single line searching for droppings. ===



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Data Analysis:
===After counting all the droppings in 10 different quadrats, the team went back to Cherry Hill (where we live) to learn how to use trapping and poop analysis to estimate the size of the animal population. Dr. Chris Newman explains the "Minimum number alive" method used in trapping badgers.===

NOTE: On the left-hand side of the chart, the numbers 300, 351, 362, 408 are numbers they tattooed on different badgers in Whyten Woods, England.
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__Science questions__ 1) Explain the idea behind the "minimum number alive" method for determining trapping efficiency. 2) Why might it be important to determine your efficiency in trapping? 3) How might your results be different if you didn't factor in your trapping efficiency? 4) If you consistently caught badger #300 for four years and then had a stretch of another four years without catching it, what would you assume? What factors would you look at?

You trap deer #4 in 2005 but not any other year
 1) Fill in the blank trapping efficiency chart below (draw it out on the board or paper)

2) Using the "minimum number alive" method, what can you say about deer #1 during the year 2007? 3) What was your trapping efficiency for each year? 4) What was your overall trapping efficiency during the four years?

=Answers to Student Questions=

Mr. Long Voelkner answers Corinne's question!
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=__Student Questions for April 19th __=

"How are the animals?" (Zack A.)

They're ok, I think. Probably not nearly as wet and cold as the humans yesterday. (Mr. Wignall)

"What animal is your favorite?" (Henry)

So far, my favorite is the maritime garter snake I caught (which was wrongly labeled a rat snake) because it was so exciting to stumble across and large. (Mr. Wignall)

"Have you caught any other rodents besides mice and voles?" (James H.)

We caught two chipmunks in the traps as well and we've heard that other groups have caught the occassional flying squirrel, but other than that the shrews have an escape hole so we wouldn't catch those anyways. (Mr. Wignall)

"Are rat snakes poisonous?" (Sasha)

No. There are no poisonous snakes here in Nova Scotia which makes it easy to brave when grabbing them. (Mr. Wignall)

"How heavy was the rat snake?" (Stephen)

Hmm, I'm not very good with measuring low weights with my hands, but I'd say it was about as heavy as a George and Weezie put together. (Mr. Wignall)

"How much does a rat snake eating a day and where does it live?" ( Michael)

Great question! Rat snakes live in the fields and in rock crevices or under logs and eat small rodents and frogs mostly. If you want to learn more about rat snakes you should do some research at home on the internet! (Mr. Wignall)

"Have you got bitten by a snake there?" (Tyler O.)

Nope! Not at all! (Mr. Wignall)

"Where did you fly into and where will you fly out of to come home?" (Nick F.)

We flew into Halifax International Airport and that's where we will fly out of as well on Saturday. (Mr .Wignall)

"Do you think you'll find a rattlesnake?" (Tyler P.)

Rattlesnakes don't live in Nova Scotia, so I would be totally shocked if I came across one! (Mr. Wignall)

"Where are you staying?" (Jacob)

We are staying in two separate houses in Cherry Hill, Nova Scotia. We each share the room with a roommate and mine is Mr. Wolfe (the young teacher from California). Mr. Wignall)

"What are you eating?"(Eli)

Right now I'm eating toast with peanut butter and waiting for the bacon to finish sizzling. For lunch we always have mini sandwiches and something different each nght for dinner. So far we've had pasta, pizza, fish pie, bangers and mash, bubble and squeak, curry, shepard's pie, and then once we went out to a restuarant in Halifax and I had seafood. (Mr. Wignall)

"Did you find anything edible in the forest?" (Michael)

I haven't been that keen on eating anything I find on the forest floor, particularly since we've been picking up droppings with our bare hands. (Mr. Wignall)

"Has there ever been an animal that was trapped continously?" (Zack S.D.)

Great question, Zack! We've caught one vole 3 times and several others twice. We've heard of other teams that have caught the same animal every time, but that hasn't happened to us yet. (Mr. Wignall)

"About the deer feces, wouldn't your results be affected if the deer had dierrhea or was constipated?" (Nate Z.)

Not really. We don't count the number of deer droppings, we just count the piles, so a pile would be a pile regardless of whether or not it's solid or mushy. (Mr. Wignall)

"What's the coolest thing you have caught so far?" (Colin)

The maritime gartner snake for sure. I know the video was called "rat snake" but we learned from an expert at the local university that it is actually a maritime garter snake. (Mr. Wignall)

"How long does the average badger live?" (Corrine)

Great question Corinne! I'll have to ask Dr. Buesching that one when she arrives and get back to you. UPDATE: Dr. Christina Buesching says that the longest recorded lifespan was 16 years, but generally badgers typically live 5-6 years. (Mr. Wignall)

"Is there wireless internet over there or is it wired?" (Ben S.)

Wireless, thank goodness. We have about 8 teachers at any given time updating their websites so wireless is the only way it can work. Sometimes the signal gets weak or goes down because of all the bandwidth being used (which is why a couple times I haven't been able to get my updates out) but other than that it's been pretty reliable. (Mr. Wignall)

"Have you checked the up doc?" (Ryan)

That depends. What's up doc? (Mr. Wignall)


