WhaleNet Information Packet |
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WhaleNet is a teacher enhancement project funded by the National Science Foundation (RED-9454757) and sponsored by Wheelock College and Simmons College in Boston. The purpose of the WhaleNet is to enhance science education and environmental awareness using interdisciplinary learning through the use of telecommunications. For a list of our affiliates, see the WhaleNet Affiliates Page.
WhaleNet projects include:
WhaleNet offers students and teachers, curriculum resources and support, a source of data for interdisciplinary classroom activities, and interactive informational support through WhaleNet/EnviroNet utilizing telecommunications.
WhaleNet establishes Internet communication between researchers and students from around the world so that they can share and use research data, collaborative learning, and personal field experiences to enhance their education and interest in science. WhaleNet provides a system where students, teachers, and researchers collect and then compile their data on the WhaleNet server. The data is then shared, via WhaleNet, with schools for interdisciplinary curricular activities and student research in their respective classrooms world-wide.
WhaleNet is an interdisciplinary program to enhance science education and environmental awareness using telecommunications. WhaleNet, part of EnviroNet, is an enhancement project funded by the National Science Foundation and sponsored by Wheelock College and Simmons College in Boston.
Class activities may be supplemented with information and materials made available through WhaleNet. Materials include:
WhaleNet curricula support continues through the winter months by utilizing information from the humpback southern breeding areas, WCI Patagonia right whale research, and research information on tracking whales, ocean toxics (ECOTOX), and bioacoustics supplied by the voyages of the WCI research vessel Odyssey.
If you are interested in receiving more information, participating in the program, or learning more you can contact:
J. Michael Williamson williams@whale.wheelock.edu | Paul D. Colombo colombo@whale.simmons.edu |
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WhaleNet Principal Investigator Wheelock College 200 The Riverway Boston, MA 02215 (617)734-5200, X256 Fax (617)566-7369 |
EnviroNet Network Director Simmons College 300 The Fenway Boston, MA 02115 (617) 521-2665 Fax: (617) 521-3199 |
We hope you enjoy our network and please email us your comments.
J. Michael Williamson, WhaleNet Principal Investigator
Paul D. Colombo, EnviroNet Network Director
Prior to making reservations for your whale watch, ask the company if they are WhaleNet affiliated and/or if they will allow you to conduct your research: record Lat/Long positions, collect water samples, and/or collect plankton samples. The company need not be affiliated with WhaleNet, but you should be sure that you will be allowed to conduct your activities. Ask if the captain will allow a student in the pilot house to collect Latitude/Longitude (or LORAN) readings, depths, etc. or if they have a Public Information Display.
Organize data collecting teams or individuals before you arrive at the boat. The excitement of the day, boarding, etc. does not lend itself to organizing at dock side.
Data Sheet
1. Fill in as much of the general information (weather, tides, etc.) in the sighting data sheet header as possible. Sea state (beaufort scale of wind velocity), wave height, and visibility should be recorded at sea. Water temperature can be taken from the NOAA Weather radio broadcast, at the dock, or preferably at sea, if possible.
2. Take a Latitude/Longitude (Lat/Long) fix about every 15 minutes on the way to and from the primary whale watching area beginning at the harbor mouth. Indicate N or S latitude (i.e. N lat) and E or W longitude (i.e. W long) on the data. This is important because of the international nature of the database.
3. The time should be recorded for each Lat/Long fix and marine mammal observation. Use 24-hr. time for all data entries, i.e. 2:15 PM would be 14:15. (For afternoon or evening just add 12 to the hour.)
4. The location is determined by Lat/Long coordinates (i.e. 71 24'W, 42 40'N) Two coordinates are used for a fix. Write one coordinate in each column under Location.
5. Depth can either be recorded by depth sounder on the boat or by making a fix on the chart and noting the depth on the chart closest to the fix. Note: Many depth sounders do not work well when the boat is traveling at higher speeds.
6. When a whale is observed record the Species using the marine mammals sighting abbreviation list, i.e. Mn for humpback, Bp for fin whale etc.
7. Record the Number of whales in the immediate area (subjective distance judgment) around the boat. This can be confusing when there are a number of whales in the area. Use a separate line on the data sheet for each species in an area, all the other data will be the same, i.e. time, Lat/Long, depth, etc.
8. Grouping is recorded by listing the number of whales in a group. The sum total of grouping must equal the previous Number recorded. For instance, if you have 6 humpback whales, you may have 2+2+1+1 if there are two pairs and two single animals. A cow/calf pair is recorded as c/c.
9. Behavior is recorded as feeding, traveling, breaching, flipper slapping, lob tailing, spy hop, logging, or trumpeting. There are more behaviors and some researchers take minutely detailed behavioral data, but for your purposes that detail may not be necessary.
10. Names of humpbacks can be included in the last column on the data sheet. Most of the Gulf of Maine population has been named to facilitate data transfer by researchers.
11. Water Temp at each sighting and fix should be recorded in the last column, if possible.
Marine Mammals and Turtle Sighting Abbreviations
Email WhaleNet (whalenet@whale.wheelock.edu) with your collected data in the
following format:
1. Under the heading SUBJECT, enter the data as shown.
To: whalenet@whale.wheelock.edu
CC:
Subject: Data/NSB/May 4 94/WCI/Pita I/Stoneham MS 6
Key for subject line in mail message:
Data/Area/Date/Research Group/Vessel/School
Data - identifies the entry as data
NSB - identifies area [NSB- Northern Stellwagen Bank, SSB - Southern Stellwagen Bank, JL-Jeffrey's Ledge, IP-Ipswich Bay, LIS - Long Island Sound, VB - Virginia Beach, etc.]
May 4 94 - date
WCI - organization Whale Conservation Institute, boats should have a research group affiliated with it.
Pita I- specific vessel name
Stoneham MS 6- school or group name, grade
Note: Data entry must be consistent for the users' sake. The subject header will appear on the Bulletin Board Directory, and is used for sorting through the many data entries on the directory. For instance, to do a longitudinal study you can select one research group (ie. WCI); or a specific geographical area such as NSB (Northern Stellwagen Bank); or one vessel (ie. Pita); or a specific date.
To: whalenet@whale.wheelock.edu
CC:
Subject: Data/NSB/ May 4 94/MICS/Pita I/Stoneham MS
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Vessel : Pita I
Location of Port : Beverly, Mass., USA
Date : May 4 94
School/Org : Stoneham Middle School
Grade : 6
Sea State : 2
Wave Ht. : 1-2 ft
Wind : NW/10 kts
Air Temp : 68'F
Water Temp : 55'F
Cloud Cover : 10 %
Visibility : 15 nm
High Tide (time) : 15:30
Recorder : Jim Williams
Time,LatN,LongW,Depth,Species,Number,Grouping,Behavior,Names, Water Temp.
9:00,42 40'N,70 45'W,d,s,n,g,b,n,w
9:15,42 43'N,70 42'W,d,s,n,g,b,n,w
10:30,42 45'N,70 40'W,d,s,n,g,b,n,w
10:45,42 23'N,70 25'W,150 ft.,Mn,5,3+2,logging,Salt Liner,w
11:00,42 45'N,70 22'W,d,s,n,g,b,n,w
11:15,42 45'N,70 20'W,100 ft.,Mn,3,1+1+1,Feeding,Pepper
11:15,42 55'N,70 30'W,100 ft.,Bp,2,2,feeding
11:30,42 45'N,70 28'W,d,s,n,g,b,n,w
. . .
15:20,40 50'N,70 25'W,250 ft.,Ba,7,1+1+1+1+1+1+1,feeding
Day Totals: Hrs:3,Miles:47,Mn:8,Bp:2,Ba:7, etc.
Data Entry:
General Information: Each day's data must contain the Data Sheet's general header information as shown in the Simulated E-Mail Entry above. Enter this general information, i.e., Vessel: Pita I, by typing the data's term followed by a ":". Each item in the general header is entered on a seperate line.
Data: The first line of the data entry contains the column headings on the Data Sheet, each separated by a "," (comma). Subsequent lines are a single line from the data sheet with each column's entry separated by a "," (comma). Use appropriate letters as space holders (ie., d,s,n,g,b,h,w) if there is not data in a column.
Data input example and explanations using last line of entry (above):
15:20 = 3:20 PM - use 24 hr time
40 23' & 70 25' - Lat/Long coordinates taken from ship's electronics, i.e., LORAN
250 ft. - depth taken either from a location (fix) on chart or depth sounder on the boat.
Ba - species of whale sighted, ie., Minke (a listing of abbreviations is in this packet)
7 - number of a species of whale in the area of the boat
1+1+1+1+1+1+1 - grouping of whales, sometimes singles, pairs, c/c (cow/calf), etc.
feeding - observed behavior (a listing of common behaviors is in this packet)
Day Totals - try to eliminate duplicate sightings of the same whales and report totals by species.
Hours and miles are reported from leaving to returning to the harbor mouth. Pleace a colon after each data type label and a coma after each number entry.
Activities Goal:
Activity 1: Navigation
Activity 2: Water Testing
Activity 3: Plankton Tow and Analysis
On Board Activity:If on board, a plankton tow can be made with a commerically purchased or student made plankton net.
In Class Activity:If not on a boat, plankton samples can be ordered from biological supply companies.
Activity 4: Data Collection
On Board Activity:Data collection should be made on: the location of the observation, the species observed, the number of each species, behavior of the organism, and any other information that might be important.
In Class Activity: Record data onto data sheets from data accessible on the Data, Case Studies and Listserv page.
Activity 5: Photo-Identification of Whales
On Board Activity:Photo-identification photographs of humpback whales taken on the cruise should be recorded as follows: date, location, photo taken by whom, what roll number of film (number each roll of film with the initials of the photographer & roll number such as: JMW/95-001), and what number on the roll. The photographs can be used later to identify the whale using a humpback whale catalogue or they can be mailed to Allied Whale, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine to be entered into the Humpback Whale Catalogue data base.
In Class Activity: Photographs from previous individual's whale watches, adopted humpback photographs, or other sources of photographs can be used.
Salt | Crystal |
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Activity 6: Mathematics
Activity 7: Bathymetry
Activity 8: Topographic Model of the Bottom
Activity 9: Analysis of Whale Watch Data
Activity 10: Analysis of Marine Pollution
On Board Activity:Collect data on pollution and floating debris by using a data sheet similar to the marine mammal data sheet, but substitute Object for Species and Composition for Grouping. Up-load the data using the same procedure as for the marine mammals but use Pollution Data in place of Data in the subject header. We will also be collecting Coast Sweep data in the future.
Activity 11: Analysis of Pelagic Birds
On Board Activity:Collect data on pelagic birds by using a data sheet similar to the marine mammal data sheet. Up-load the information by substituting Bird Data in the subject header.
Marine Science Activities on a Budget (booklet) - Contains a cross-section of oceanographic activities that can be altered to accommodate many grade levels. $10.00
How to Build an Inflatable (55 ft.) Fin Whale (booklet) - Instructions on how to build a 55 foot long model of a whale that can be carried in a duffel bag by one person. Students and teachers can walk inside. Estimated cost for materials is between $40.00 and $50.00. $8.00
Marine Science Bibliography (pamphlet) - Extensive bibliography for a wide range of grade levels and interests from general knowledge, children's books, to scientific information for the marine mammal biologist. $3.00
Send order form to: J. Michael Williamson
MICS
20 Moynihan Rd.
So. Hamilton, MA 01982
Your Name:____________________________
Address ______________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
What do you want to order? ___________________________
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