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Migration is the periodic movement of an animal from the place where it has been living to a new area and its subsequent return journey to the original home. When animals migrate, it is usually to find abundant food and a good place to breed.
Migrating animals usually use the same routes year after year ö from generation to generation. Some animals cross the land, others fly or swim.
The movement of migratory animals usually corresponds with seasonal changes. Many animals migrate to northern regions during summer months. The long summer days ensure a good food supply. As fall and colder weather approaches, many animals migrate south to find warm winter weather and available food.
Some animals migrate annually. A few animals take several years to complete their migratory cycles.
Many scientists view animal migration as an adaptation. Animals that have learned to move to optimal environments are the ones who have survived to continue their species. (Utah Education Network. www.uen.org/themepark/patterns/animalmigration.shtml)
This pathfinder is a bibliographic guide that is intended for Albany High School students to research some aspect of Biology / Ecology. It will help you to better understand the interrelationship between animal species and their environments. It has been designed to identify introductory sources that are particularly useful to learning more about the following topics:
* Biomes * Animal Behavior * Animal Migration Patterns
All of the materials listed in this pathfinder are located in the high schoolās library media center or the World Wide Web. Additional material can be located outside of the library media center.
Choose an animal from the following list:
| *Bald Eagle | *Manatee | *Robin |
| *Hummingbird | *Loon | *Sea Lion |
| *Barn Swallow | *Canadian Goose | *Red Winged Blackbird |
| *Caribou | *Oriole | *Wildebeest |
| *Salmon | *Walrus | *Sea Turtle |
| *Gray Whale | *Monarch Butterfly | *Whooping Crane |
Based on your research, record in a journal / diary format your ćobservationsä of the animal you have chosen. Include the following information:
-
date or season your animal migrates
-
where does your animal migrate from
-
why does your animal migrate
-
how does your animal migrate
-
what cues tell your animal it is time to migrate
-
where does your animal migrate to
-
why does your animal migrate to a specific place
-
describe the habitats your animal encounters during migration
-
what hazards does your animal encounter during migration
-
how does your animal behave during migration (eating, mating, etc.)
-
other observations besides those mentioned above
Journals must contain a minimum of 4 entries in order to reflect the entire migratory process or journey. The 4 entries should represent 4 different observations (and not 4 consecutive days). For example:
*September 3rd Begins the
migration south
*November 5th Ends the
migration south
*April 6th
Begins the migration north
*June 4th
Ends the migration north
Hint: Your journal entries will be more interesting if you include your thoughts and feelings (in addition to your observations).
| *BIOMES | *ECOLOGY | *HABITAT | *MIGRATION |
* EBSCO Animals *Facts on File Science Online
R 570.3
Bruno, Leonard. UXL Complete Life Science Resource
Com
Vol.2. Detroit, MI: UXL, 2001.
Provides a good overview of migration.
R 570.3
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences Vol. 8. Tarrytown, NY:
Enc
Marshall Cavendish, 2004.
Provides an excellent overview of migration.
R 570.3
World of Biology. Detroit, MI: Gale group, 1999.
Wor
Provides a short overview of migration.
R 574.5
Weigel, Marlene. UXL Encyclopedia of Biomes.
Uxl
Detroit, MI: UXL, 2003.
This 3-volume set provides comprehensive information about
individual animal species.
R 590
International Wildlife Encyclopedia. Tarrytown, NY:
Int
Marshall Cavendish, 2002.
This 20-volume set provides detailed information about individual
animal species.
R 591
Grolier Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animals.
Gro
Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1994.
This 3-volume set provides brief information about individual animal
species.
R 591.5
Ferrari, Marco. Animal Atlas. Austin, TX:
Fer
Raintree Steck-vaughn, 1999.
Provides a 1-paragraph description of an animal species with a
map of its range.
R 599
Jordan, E.L. Animal Atlas of the World. Maplewood, NJ:
Jor
Hammond, Inc., 1969.
Provides a 1-paragraph description of an animal species with a map
of its range.
Animal Migration. http://encarta.msn.com
Animal Migration: Zoology. www.infochembio.ethz.ch/links/en/zool_tierwanderung.html
Journey North ö Spring 2004. www.learner.org/jnorth/spring2004
Animal Migration. www.uen.org/themepark/patterns/animalmigration.shtml
Journal Hints
- Begin each
field session by writing down these basics:
- site name/location
- date
- time of day
- temperature
- weather conditions: for example: is it cloudy, sunny, windy, raining?
- Some
typical animal behaviors you might observe and describe are:
- feeding
- fighting, including aggression and defense
- building
- reproduction
- caring for young ones
Another way to record the details of what you see is by adding illustrations. Label the drawings with specifics about the various behaviors and/or the environment that you observe.
Sample Journal Entries
Sample #1
March 10, 2004. The air temperature is 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and ground fog is visible. seven whooping cranes flew off, headed south. They covered 24.8 miles of the 1200-mile migration from the southwestern United States to the Artic. Their stopover for the night is the Platte River in southeastern Nebraska. Other clusters of cranes arrive from different directions around dusk. They land along the banks, then fly into the water for the night, where they can hear the approach of predators like coyotes and bobcats. Near dawn the next day, the cranes stretch their pencil-thin legs, fluff their feathers and drink river water. The birds join another group to fly off to forage for food in the surrounding meadows and farmlands.
Sample #2
December 12, 2004. The caribou are in the woods of Canada. They are eating lichen and dried grasses that they found by digging in the snow with their hooves that are cloven or split. Their excellent sense of smell enables the caribou to find food which is buried under the snow. The weather is windy and 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to keep warm, the caribouās fur is longer than in the summer. It has also grown fur on its muzzle to reduce heat loss. I have been surprised to see that in the winter, only female caribou have antlers. The males shed their antlers during the mating season in October. The females will lose their antlers in the spring when they give birth. A pack of gray wolves was observed prowling the edge of the caribou herd. I later learned that the wolves were probably looking for sick or old caribou for food.