Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
Using art materials or computer generated graphics, design a scale representation of what you think an ideal habitat and territory would be for a coyote. Incorporate the elements a coyote needs to survive. Using the data obtained from the Visualization Tool, what would be the size of your created territory?
Study each territory on the Visualization Tool and determine where a coyote would find the things it needs to survive. Do you think the territories vary in biodiversity? If so, how might that affect the coyotes and the size of their territory?
How has the estimated population of coyotes in Illinois (or your state) changed over time? How do wildlife biologists estimate wildlife populations? What factors influence the population numbers? Does regulated hunting or trapping affect the overall population of coyotes in Illinois? Why or why not?
What do you think a coyote is doing at different locations or at different times of the day? Select a coyote and a day within the tracking period. Write a narrative that describes that day in the life of the coyote.
In addition to learning about the habits and movements of coyotes, wildlife biologists often gather other data on animals they trap and release.
Click on the Information icon (i) for each coyote in the Visulization Tool. What data was collected? What samples were taken? Why do you think this data is important to wildlife biologists? How might the data assist the Department of Natural Resources in establishing rules and regulations for hunting or trapping coyotes?
What potential dangers to the coyotes are present in each territory? Do coyotes have predators? What keeps their population under control? What role does the Illinois Department of Natural Resources play in population management? What specific hunting and trapping rules protect coyotes from over-harvest?
Within each territory on the Visualization Tool, where would coyote-vehicle collisons occur? How have urban coyotes adapted to navigating along and across streets? What design solutions could reduce coyote-vehicle collisons?
Create a visualization map that tracks your activities at regular times throughout the day or week. When designing a wildlife tracking program, researchers need to determine several things. For example, the tracking collars on the coyotes in the Visualization Tool send signals at the same specific times each day to mark the animals' location. Why do you think those times were selected? How many times and at what specific time(s) of day will you document your location? Why?
What can you learn from each of the charts on the Visualization Tool? Write a summary based on the data represented in the charts. Create your own chart of something you observe about coyotes on the Visualization Tool or gather from the available data download. How are charts helpful to scientists and non-scientists?
Look at the characeristics of the land the coyotes utilize. Are there areas they tend to avoid or use more frequently? Why do you think that is? Can you identify "travel corridors" through which the coyotes frequently move? For a given week, what percentage of coyote locations are in the open as comparied to those in wooded or sheltered areas?
What times of the day or night are coyotes most active?
Why do you think this is?