ISSUES: DATA SET Exploring the population dynamics of wintering bald eagles through long-term data


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



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.
Optional: Field trip to see migrating bald eagles



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.