ISLE ROYALE LESSON PLAN

SUBMITTED BY:

Rhonda Carey

Iron Mountain High School

Iron Mountain, Michigan

(906) 779-2610

careyr@imschools.org

SUBJECT AND GRADE LEVEL: Sophomore Biology

CREATIVE DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Data Analysis: A Graphing Lesson & Isle Royale Poster Project

PURPOSE

Many people are unaware of an absolute treasure that we as a nation have available to visit from May to October every year. Isle Royale, our nation's least visited national park, is right in my backyard.  I never realized what a rich and unique ecosystem it had. I had the opportunity to visit Isle Royale as part of a graduate level class for educators through Michigan Technological University. I was eager to share my experience with my students, so they could appreciate this island gem and look forward to visiting it themselves sometime in the future.

My goal upon returning from Isle Royale was to create an ecology lesson using technology. I am interested in incorporating technology into my biology curriculum as much as possible. To that end, I devised a unit around the wolf and moose interactions of the island. The main goal of this unit was for students to analyze the unique predator-prey relationship of the wolf and moose populations of this island. A graphing lesson allowed students to interpret actual population data from Isle Royale.  A GIS mapping lesson that I had originally wanted to do fell through when I had trouble accessing the data sets that I needed. Instead, I got inspired by the DNR set of “Wilderness Heritage” Ecosystem Posters. So I had my students create their own Isle Royale Poster by researching Isle Royale's biotic and abiotic factors for the front of their poster, and two ecological topics specific to Isle Royale for the back of their poster. They utilized various forms of information, including accessing the information on the Internet.

I wanted to stress the uniqueness of this island's biogeography and it's connection to the wolf-moose interactions. The fact that it has the longest running mammal research worldwide is a testament to its importance. It is vital that students realize that scientific knowledge is not static, as it often seems through reading textbooks. Students had the opportunity to utilize up-to-date data for their graphing lesson and poster research.

OVERVIEW OF CONTENT

Isle Royale is part of an island archipelago located in the northwest corner of Lake Superior. It is 45 miles long and 9 miles wide at its widest point. While it is a part of Michigan, it lies closer to Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. This fifteen-mile crossing isolates the island from the mainland. This has had an influence what animals actually crossed over to inhabit the island.  There are several additional things that make Isle Royale unique, therefore influencing the relationships within the ecosystem. The island is located between two biome regions. Northern hardwood forests are found in the higher elevations inland and in the southwestern end of the island. The cooler, lower northeast end of the island has vegetation typical of the boreal forest. This allows for year-round browse of aspen, poplar and birch in the summer, and balsam fir in the winter, to support the moose population. The many inland lakes and rivers offer ample aquatic vegetation for the moose's summer diet. There is a fairly simple food chain present on this island. The herbivore moose has only one predator on the island, the gray wolf. Injured, aged and/or young moose are the wolf's main prey.

The fluctuations of the wolf-moose populations on Isle Royale over the last 50 years or so are very interesting. There are several specific factors that have influenced some of the rises and declines. Weather can have a direct effect on the wolf-moose interaction from one winter to the other. Temperature and amount, type and time of snowfall and snowmelt all have an effect on population densities. For example, low snow depth in the winter of this year made it difficult for wolves to attack their prey (Peterson 2002). Weather also indirectly affects the presence of winter ticks. Warm spring and hot, dry summer weather can increase the number of winter ticks, therefore increasing malnutrition deaths in moose (Peterson 2000).  Disease is an issue that always comes into play with population fluctuations. Canine parvovirus was introduced to Isle Royale in 1981. It is suspected that an infected dog (traveling on a private boat that visited the island) spread the virus to the wolf population (Peterson 2002).  Finally, loss of genetic variability due to the isolation of the island may influence both the moose and wolf populations over time.  The moose of Isle Royale all have the same mitochondrial DNA, indicating they were all descendants of the founding population of moose from the early 1900's. The wolves are also most likely descendents of a single maternal ancestor (Peterson 2000). This may possibly lead to poor reproduction, which could affect the population over time.

LEARNER EXPECTATIONS

     I had two major expectations for this unit. One was technology-oriented and the other is content-oriented. First, I wanted my students to be exposed to using various technologies as a tool to create a product. For example, the students would use Excel to create their graph of the wolf-moose population fluctuations on Isle Royale over the last half-century. The task does not end with the creation of the graph on the computer, but with the analysis and the conclusions reached about the fluctuations. The students summarized the evident trends in writing.  The use of ArcView GIS was not possible, but students had the opportunity to do Web-based research utilizing the Internet. They had to find their own information, as I did not supply them with specific websites. They had to create a final product in the form of a poster, incorporating information covering the state standards and benchmarks for ecology that are listed later in this article. I left most of the format of how to put together the poster up to each individual group.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES

This unit is for students that have had some prerequisite knowledge of technology and ecology content. Most of the following topics should be covered prior to starting this unit, but many can be integrated into the unit at the discretion of the individual teacher. Students should have some background in Excel and the Internet. Prior knowledge of the following content would be helpful for a smooth transition into the lessons: scientific method, biotic/abiotic factors, population characteristics (size, density, dispersion), dynamics and growth, species interactions, energy flow (trophic levels), biomes, and island biogeography. I covered some content material with topics from the textbook. I gave the students some background information about Isle Royale, as well as the wolves and moose (feeding behavior, reproduction, etc.), before they completed the graphing lesson. The students themselves researched the rest of the information specific to Isle Royale for their posters.

Part One- Graphing Lesson

Students were given the wolf/moose population data for the last 50 years or so for the graphing activity. They entered this information into Excel to create a line graph. Students analyzed the data and summarized the trends of the population fluctuations in the form of an essay. They compared and contrasted Isle Royale's wolf-moose population fluctuations to a typical saw-tooth curve predator-prey relationship (Lynx and Hare) shown in our textbook. They also suggested reasons for why Isle Royale's interaction is not a typical relationship, based on their prior knowledge of the uniqueness of the island.

Part Two- Poster Project

Students used the Internet to obtain information in order to create a poster of Isle Royale's biotic and abiotic relationships (fashioned after the DNR posters). Students worked in groups of four people. Each group had to follow the same general format for the front of their poster. The back of the poster was divided into three sections. The first section was the same for all posters; pick 5 organisms from the front and summarize their general characteristics and niches. The second and third section had one specific topic assigned by me and another topic of their choice (from a list supplied by me). These topics were to be reported in essay format, accompanied by diagrams if they wished. The students agreed upon specific individual tasks to be completed during the work time in class for completion of the final product.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS

     This unit was designed with the use of technology in mind. I used our IBM computer lab as an integral part of the graphing lesson, where each student was able work on his or her own computer. Students received wolf and moose population numbers from 1959 to the present. They will use a spreadsheet program (Excel) to enter the data and create a graph. Students wrote their analysis essay using Word. Each group of students had access to one computer within my room for poster work. They were used to research information and obtain pictures for the front of their poster. A teacher could certainly modify all or part of this unit to be implemented without the use of computers.

ESTIMATED TIME COMMITMENT

     Originally I thought that this unit would take at least three weeks to complete; depending on the depth of background information the students would receive in ecological content.. My students' class periods run for 45 minutes. I estimated that students would need two days on the computer for the graphing assignment. I expected to use at least two additional weeks to allow time for lectures on ecological concepts, as well as background preparation on the mammals and Isle Royale itself. I came up with the poster idea once I was already into the ecology unit. I figured that it would take about a week and a half to allow for in-class work time and then a brief, informal presentation from each group.

REAL-WORLD APPLICATION

My students worked with actual data that has been collected by researchers on Isle Royale. Students experienced the real-world application of using technology as part of the analysis process of ongoing research. In addition, they got to experience analysis of actual data in graphical form, using Excel. They used some of the same tools that the researchers themselves are using on a daily basis. Students had the opportunity to use the Internet to obtain information on their own. They will have to be proficient in this type of research as they continue on with their education and work careers. They also had to demonstrate an understanding of various ecological concepts that are currently being studied.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

     Students will be assessed directly on the two main lessons in this unit- the graphing assignment and the poster project. The graphing lesson had two components, the Excel graph and the written essay in paragraph form. Expectations for the line graph include complete and accurate data points along with a title and properly labeled axes. The essay included a minimum of two paragraphs. Each had to include reference to the questions asked and an accurate interpretation of the graphs themselves.

The poster project had two components also. The main component was a group grade for the final poster product. Each group received a modified rubric in a checklist format for the front and back of the poster. Accuracy of content was the main focus for all parts of the poster. An individual grade was also included. Each student had the chance to do a peer review of themselves and the members of their group, as far as how individual and group work proceeded. I used this information to help me give an individual grade to each person.

STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS ADDRESSED

     Since this unit was created for biology students, the main focus was on the Michigan Curriculum Framework Standards for science. Specifically, three Ecosystem Standards were integrated into the unit. All students will “explain how parts of an ecosystem are related and how they interact:; “ explain how energy is distributed to living things in an ecosystem”; and “investigate and explain how communities of living things change over time”. The unit incorporated the Constructing New Scientific Knowledge where students “learn from books and other sources of information” and Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge Standard where students “show how science and technology affect our society” and “develop an awareness and sensitivity to the natural world”. Standards from Mathematics are also covered due to the type of lessons in the unit. Those include standards based on patterns, relationships and data analysis.

POST-UNIT SUMMARY

     This unit went very well. I was disappointed at first that the GIS mapping lesson didn't work out. However, I can still work on that for a later date. The graphing lesson went OK. The students did really well with using Excel. They had a much harder time with the wolf-moose graph interpretation than I had anticipated. However, I did not spend any time going over the Lynx-Hare graph specifically. They had read about it in their text, but I had not discussed it with them. Many did not interpret the stagnant wolf population on the second half of the graph. In addition, since this unit had to be done in the fall, they did not have any genetics experience. So their analyses of the relationships were somewhat lacking. However, some of the groups studied and presented additional wolf-moose information from their poster topics, so students did eventually get more information. I also went back over it together with the class as a whole. I will also be able to come back to it later in the year during genetics.

The poster project idea came up after doing an activity with the Michigan DNR posters that my students always seem to enjoy. I thought that it would be a great culminating activity for the entire Ecology Unit. The students worked very diligently on this project. I gave them one week to get it all done and they succeeded. I wasn't sure how they would go about getting the information that they needed from the Internet, but they had no trouble at all. I did give them access to some hard copy articles, Rolf Peterson's Ecological Studies and Kris Raisanen Schourek's work. They did a great job on the creative aspect of the poster. Many groups made collage type fronts using a combination of computer images and colored pencils. One group hand-drew the whole while another did the whole thing from computer-generated pictures. One thing that I will stress more next year is that they need to stay focused just on Isle Royale. A few groups assumed that if an animal (for example, a bear) was found in Michigan, that it was automatically found on Isle Royale. I think that they lost sight of the final product for a moment! Overall it was a successful unit. I think that the students enjoyed it and I hope that they got a little more appreciation for this magical place in the process.

REFERENCES

Fortier, Gary M. 2000. The Wolf, the Moose, and the Fir Tree: A Case Study of Trophic

Interactions. Journal of College Science Teaching 30(2): 92-95.

Isle Royale Official Map and Guide. 2002. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior.

Isle Royale National Park Homepage. 25 February 2002. National Park Service. 25 July 2002.

<http://www.nps.gov/isro" http://www.nps.gov/isro>.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Ecosystem Poster. Produced by the Nongame Wildlife

Fund, Natural Heritage Program, Wildlife Division, in cooperation with the Executive Office,  Land and Water Management and Fisheries Divisions, and Michigan Natural Features Inventory Staff, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Pastor, J., R.J. Naiman, B. Dewey, and P. McInnes. 1988. Moose, Microbes, and the Boreal Forest:

Through selective browsing, moose change plant communities and ecosystem properties. BioScience 38(11): 770-776.

Peterson, Rolf O. 1995. The Wolves of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance. Willow Creek Press,

Minoqua, WI.

Peterson, Rolf O. 2000. Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale: Annual Report 1999-00.

School of Forestry and Wood Products, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.

Peterson, R.O. and J. Vucetich.  2002. Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale: Annual Report

2001-02. School of Forestry and Wood Products, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.

Wolf-Moose Data from Isle Royale Web Page. School of Forestry and Wood Products, Michigan

Technological University. 3 July 2002.

http://forestry.mtu.edu/research/isro/wolf-moose_data.htm" http://forestry.mtu.edu/research/isro/wolf-moose_data.htm>.

ISLE ROYALE POSTER PROJECT

Your task is to create a 2-sided poster, like the DNR Ecosystem Posters that you have already worked with, for Isle Royale's unique ecosystem. You will create your poster on the poster-board provided by Mrs. Carey. Each side will be done separately so that both sides can be viewed at once. Each group will give a brief presentation about their poster and chosen themes.

Side 1- Biotic and Abiotic Factors on Isle Royale

You will include:

10 or more biotic factors

5 or more abiotic factors

A key of all of the numbered biotic and abiotic factors found in the habitat

A brief summary of Isle Royale's ecosystem

The creation of the poster is a topic of creativity. Your group will decide on how to create the picture. You will have the use of the computers within the classroom, as well as additional materials. Please see me if you need something in particular.

Side 2- Side 2 will be divided into three sections

Section 1is required for all posters. You will select five organisms from the front of your poster and give information about each organism (for example, characteristics, specific resource needs-habitat, food, etc).  At least one description must be for a producer.

Section 2 & 3 will contain two special topics (one assigned by Mrs. Carey and one chosen by your group). Each section will discuss information about your particular topic that is specific to Isle Royale. The next page has particulars about each of the following categories.

Climate

Factors regulating population size

Succession

Effects of human influence on ecosystem

Species interactions

Geology- surface features/geological history

Interactions between biotic and abiotic factors

REMEMBER, THIS POSTER IS A TOPIC OF CREATIVITY. USE THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR RESEARCH. YOU MUST KEEP A LIST OF REFERENCES THAT YOU USED TO CREATE YOUR WORK.

Climate

Average condition of the atmosphere usually taken over a long period of time

Many factors influence climate (temperature, precipitation)

Effect on flora and fauna (plants & animals)

Factors regulating population size

factors that influence relationships (weather? disease?)

competition

predation

parasitism

Succession

effects of cataclysmic change (fire) to part of island

sequence of communities- dominant plants and animals in each community

climax community

type of biome(s) present on island

Effects of human influence on ecosystem

specific impacts of recreation (development?)

pollution

short-term vs. long-term effects

land management- social vs. economic concerns

Species interactions

Predator-prey interaction of wolves & moose

Plant- herbivore interaction of moose & balsam firs

Parasitism- winter ticks

Geology

surface features

geological history

topographic information

climate changes over time (ice age)

Interactions between biotic and abiotic factors

choose one abiotic factor & summarize its effects on the biotic factors in the ecosystem

choose one biotic factor & summarize its effects on the abiotic factors in the ecosystem

ISLE ROYALE GRADING SHEET

Group Grade

You will receive a group grade for the finished product.

Front  

Ecosystem Picture

1. 10 or more biotic factors                               _____

2. 5 or more abiotic factors                              _____

3. A key for all factors with accurately labeled components          _____

4. A paragraph summarizing Isle Royale's ecosystem          _____

5. Title of poster                                   _____

6. Names of group members & hour                         _____

Back

Section 1

Five organisms                              _____

Paragraph summarizing each                         _____

At least one description is for a producer               _____

Characteristics                                   _____

Resource needs- habitat, food, etc.                    _____

Proper writing skills (spelling, etc.)                    _____                    

Section 2- Our required topic is ______________

At least 5 pieces of information                     _____

Thorough discussion of each piece of information          _____

Relationship to Isle Royale ecosystem               _____     

Proper writing skills (spelling, etc.)                    _____     

Section 3- Our chosen topic is _______________

At least 5 pieces of information                     _____

Thorough discussion of each piece of information          _____

Relationship to Isle Royale ecosystem               _____

Proper writing skills (spelling, etc.)                    _____

Reference List

Include at least four references                    _____

Individual Grade

Predicted timeline of work- completed on day 2          _____

Actual timeline of work- documentation of work           _____     

in-class and out of class

Peer grade                                   _____     

**Extra Credit Opportunity (for the individual student)- Write a letter to the DNR (or National Park Service) with your idea for an Isle Royale Ecosystem Poster. You must have the name and address of the appropriate person. Proper format is required (formal letter).  

PREDICTED TIMELINE OF TASKS

GROUP # _____

Who will be doing what on each day of this project?

Each team member will be listed with his or her daily task underneath each day.

MONDAY 10/28

TUESDAY 10/29

WEDNESDAY 10/30

THURSDAY 10/31- Get the stuff together. Project due tomorrow!!

Name _____________

ISLE ROYALE POSTER PROJECT

Group Work Peer Review

Development of ideas and decision making

Ideas were encouraged & fully explored; genuine agreement and support (5)

Ideas were imposed on the group by one individual; let one person rule (3)

Little was done to generate ideas; poor resolution of differences (0-1)

Group score; circle one: 0  1  2  3  4  5

Overall productivity

Highly productive; no wasted effort; stayed on target (5)

Barely accomplished job; got off track frequently; just did what we had to do (3)

Did not accomplish our goal; much time spent without purpose (0-1)

Group score; circle one: 0  1  2  3  4  5

Individual Peer Review

Individual contributions to group- Assigned task

Contributed ideas & items for the poster; completed the task that was assigned & planned for on timeline (5)

Minimal participation to process; left the group often; lacking effort & quality (3)

No contribution; did not work with the group; didn't complete the task or did so very poorly (0-1)

Individual scores: circle one number for each person in your group

Myself      0  1  2  3  4  5

Name _________________ 0  1  2  3  4  5

Name _________________ 0  1  2  3  4  5

Name _________________ 0  1  2  3  4  5

** Give a brief written summary of your experience (and your group work) with the Isle Royale Poster Project in the space below. Continue on the back of this page if necessary.

DIRECTIONS FOR ISLE ROYALE POPULATIONS GRAPH

Follow the procedure below to create a line graph that shows two pieces of data at the same time. You will enter the wolf AND moose populations of Isle Royale over a period of years.

Open MS Excel.

Enter the wolf data in the first column, with the first cell being what you wish the legend to call this variable. If there is more than one line to be plotted, then they can be entered into the adjacent columns. Therefore, enter the moose data into the adjacent column.

In the next column over, enter the numbers for the x-axis (in our case, the years), but don't put a title on this column.

Select the columns that you wish to be plotted but leave the one with your x-axis numbers alone for now.

There is a shortcut button at the top of your screen with a chart/graph on it, or else go to Insert, then Chart.

A box will pop up. There are two tabs at the top of it. One will say Standard Types, the other Custom Types. Click on the Custom Types tab to create a line graph with more than one line of data, like we are doing. Select Lines on 2 Axes, and click Next.

Another box will pop up; once again there will be tabs at the top. Click on the Series tab. There will be a long white box with the label, Category (X) axis labels towards the bottom of the box. At the end of the white box is a small button with a red arrow on it. Click this. The original box will disappear, and you will be back to the spreadsheet with only a small box with one line on it left. Select the column with your numbers for the X-axis (years), and click on the little button in the small box. This should bring you back to the chart dialogue box. Click Next.

When the third box appears, click on the Titles tab. There you can type in the name of you graph, and label your X and Y-axis. There is a space labeled for a secondary y-axis, and if you have two lines, one should go in the primary, and the other in the secondary. There is nothing to put into the secondary x-axis, so leave it blank.  

The other tabs allow you to change the position of your legend and apply gridlines, if you wish.

Click Finish and select to have your graph put on a new page, then you can resize it to make it fill the page, if you wish.

Revised directions- originally created by Hannah VanLaanen, 2001