Ecology Project Guidelines for Visit 3: Animals

Now that you have visited your site a few times, you probably have seen evidence of animals living in and/or passing through your site. Now is the time to document these observations more carefully.

Go to your site one afternoon and plan to hang out for a little while (remember to dress warmly now that fall has fallen and don’t forget to be careful of possible mud — wear sturdy shoes !). As always, tell a parent where you are going and go with your partners. Take close — up photos of all evidence of animal presence. Look for members of the following animal phyla:

Remember that many small creepie-crawlies, and even salamanders, like to hang out in dark, moist places so don’t forget to look there. It is also important to sit quietly for a bit too and wait to see if anything interesting comes by (or flies by!). You may have to lift up some leaf litter to find insects.

Animal guides will be on reserve in the library. Be sure to collect as much data as you can so that your classification will be as accurate as possible.

Due on Tuesday 12/10:

• pictures of evidence of at least 5 animals, labeled and mounted
• tentative names for each of them (as evidence allows) and phylum designations
• short description of each piece of evidence and how you decided on the classification and where you found it.
• write a brief description of the changes in your site since your other visits. Include a photo. Try to refer to past photos and descriptions.