Suggested Student Investigations
Here are some suggested activities to do as further investigations related to this topic.
- Endangered Species Act (compare resident species with migratory species)
- Pesticides and other pollutants (DDT and Bald Eagles, effects on reproduction, egg shells, balance with agriculture)
- Oil spills/Valdez (% of birds surviving cleanup efforts, long term effects, costs)
- Human manipulation of water supplies (wetland destruction, agriculture, recreational use, aquifer depletion)
- Agriculture (pesticides, land use, nesting habitat, effects on natural food sources)
- Rainforest/habitat destruction (wintering and nesting habitat, i.e. Parklands, Prairie Pothole region.....compare to short and long term tradeoffs)
- Bird migration (global warming..nesting and earlier egg laying)
- Passenger Pigeon, Brown Pelican, California Condor, Marbled Murrelet, Spotted Owl (natural selection vs. human impact )
- North Dakota wetlands, Aleutian Islands, parklands (major shorebird breeding and nesting)
- Navigational methods and sensitivity of migrating animals (monarch butterfly, caribou)
- Fish and Wildlife Service
- Regional and local bird checklists
- Migratory Bird Treaty
- Ducks Unlimited, Pittman Robertson Act (major funding for wetland acquistion and enhancement)
- Cultural and historic use and value of birds
- Careers related to ornithology
- Local bird habitats
- History of various waterfowl areas (Humboldt Bay, San Francisco Bay, Cheasepeake Bay, Puget Sound, Gulf of Mexico, Saint Lawerence Seaway, etc...)
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