Animal Profile

Learning Goal: Become an expert on an animal species of your choosing. This project will develop over the course of the semester and culminate in a formal presentation about the evolution and ecology of your organism.

Purpose: Our intention is to build continuity between various units this semester (especially ecology, evolution, behavior, and comparative systems); for each new unit, we’ll explore how a particular scientific idea relates to (or is evident in) your particular organism. We also hope to create a chance for you to develop some expertise in something you are genuinely interested in!

Format:. At this point, (Stage 1) you need to collect some basic information about what’s known about your organism. A worksheet is attached to help you organize your information in a concise format. You may choose any organism you like, but seriously consider thinking beyond the typical “charismatic mega-fauna:” cheetahs, pandas, California condors… We’re hoping to avoid a lot of overlap.

Challenge: Finding the right depth of information. You probably want more than a brief newspaper article, but less than “The Neuroanatomy of the Emperor Penguin, Volume 4.” The World Book Encyclopedia and the WWW might be good places to start. Although there may be vast volumes of information out there about your organism, we suggest spending no more than an hour assembling the basic facts.

Below is a list of the KINDS of information that you should look for in researching your organism. Note that not all of this information is likely to be easily available for every organism. That is partly because this assignment is too short for you to dig very deeply, but also partly due to the fact that scientists simply don’t know. That’s why we’re training YOU.

1. Find the Latin name for your organism.

2. Basic physical description: size, weight, identifying characteristics

3. Overview of life cycle: life expectancy, age at reproduction, number of offspring

4. Geographic distribution: Where in the world is your organism found? Does it migrate?

5. Describe the animal’s habitat.

6. Adaptations to habitat: What aspects of this organism’s anatomy, physiology, and behavior allow it to survive and thrive in its habitat?

7. Interactions with other species:

· What are its primary prey species? Is your organism a generalist feeder or a specialist feeder? · A carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore?

· What are its primary predators?

· With what other species does your organism compete?

· Is there any information about other species that coexist with yours (e.g. cooperative or parasitic relationships)?

8. Adaptations to interactions: What aspects of this organism’s anatomy, physiology, and behavior help it obtain prey? How about defending itself and/or eluding predators? Out-compete other species for a resource?

9. Social organization: Does this species live in large groups or as solitary individuals?

10. What is the conservation status of your organism? Is it abundant or rare? If endangered, list a few principal threats to the species continued survival.

11. Finally, how readily available is information on this species? How easy or difficult was it to find the above information?

Animal Report Form:

Organism common Name:	Latin Name:
Size, weight, identifying characteristics:	Life Cycle
Habitat characteristics :	Geographic Distribution :

Interactions with other specise
Prey:	Predators:	Competitors:	Other:

Social organization:

Conservation Status:

Adaptations
To habitat	Anatomical / structural	Physiological / biochemical	Behavioral
To other species	Anatomical / structural	Physiological / biochemical	Behavioral

Fun Facts: