Seal and Seabird Tracks: Pacific Ocean
Details
Permalink to Details- Added to the Catalog
- Available for
- SOS
- Explorer
- Categories
- Water: Life
- Keywords
- Elephant Seal
- Marine Ecosystems
- Marine Life
- Migration
- Oceans
- Pacific Ocean
- Pelagic
- Satellite Tagging
- Seabird
- Tracking
Description
Permalink to Description"TOPP, Tagging of the Pacific Predators, began in 2000 as one of 17 projects of the Census of Marine Life, an ambitios 10-year, 80-nation endeavor to assess and explain the diversity and abundance of life in the oceans, and where that life has lived, is living, and will live." - From TOPP website . Out of this came the Tagging of the Pacific Pelagics Project. Pelagaics are open ocean species such as sea birds and elephant seals. Scientists put satellite tags on animals that collect information about position, ocean temperature, pressure, salinity and more! This allows scientists to better understand the migration patterns and habits of these animals.
This dataset follows Northern elephant seals and Sooty Shearwater seabirds. Northern elephant seals dive deep, sometimes down to 4,650ft and routinely down to 1,800ft. They spend 10 months a year at sea and return to the same beach a couple of times a year, so they are easy to tag and monitor. Sooty Shearwater seabirds are long distance fliers that may travel 74,000km (46,000miles) in a year, reaching Japan, Alaska and California. This dataset tracks Northern elephant seals and Sooty Shearwater seabirds from January 28, 2005 through February 1, 2006. Pictures of elephant seals are available for use as PIPs (picture in pictures).
See real-time tracking of the Pacific Pelagics
Next Generation Science Standards
Permalink to Next Generation Science StandardsCross-cutting Concepts
Permalink to Cross-cutting ConceptsGrades K–2
C1 Patterns. Children recognize that patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence
Grades 3–5
C1 Patterns. Students identify similarities and differences in order to sort and classify natural objects and designed products. They identify patterns related to time, including simple rates of change and cycles, and to use these patterns to make predictions.
C3 Scale Proportion and Quantity. Students recognize natural objects and observable phenomena exist from the very small to the immensely large. They use standard units to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.
Grades 6–8
C1 Patterns. Students recognize that macroscopic patterns are related to the nature of microscopic and atomic-level structure. They identify patterns in rates of change and other numerical relationships that provide information about natural and human designed systems. They use patterns to identify cause and effect relationships, and use graphs and charts to identify patterns in data.
Grades 9–12
C1 Patterns. Students observe patterns in systems at different scales and cite patterns as empirical evidence for causality in supporting their explanations of phenomena. They recognize classifications or explanations used at one scale may not be useful or need revision using a different scale; thus requiring improved investigations and experiments. They use mathematical representations to identify certain patterns and analyze patterns of performance in order to re-engineer and improve a designed system.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Permalink to Disciplinary Core IdeasGrades K–2
ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System. Patterns of movement of the sun, moon, and stars as seen from Earth can be observed, described, and predicted
ESS2.D Weather & Climate. Weather is the combination of sunlight, wind, snow or rain, and temperature in a particular region and time. People record weather patterns over time
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. Plants depend on water and light to grow, and also depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.
Grades 3–5
ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System. The Earth’s orbit and rotation, and the orbit of the moon around the Earth cause observable patterns.
ESS2.D Weather & Climate. Climate describes patterns of typical weather conditions over different scales and variations. Historical weather patterns can be analyzed so that they can make predictions about what kind of weather might happen next.
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. The food of almost any animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants, while decomposers restore some materials back to the soil.
LS2.D Social interactions and Group Behaviour. Being part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with changes.
Grades 6–8
ESS2.D Weather & Climate. Complex interactions determine local weather patterns and influence climate, including the role of the ocean.
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. Organisms and populations are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors, any of which can limit their growth. Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems but the patterns are shared.
Grades 9–12
ESS2.D Weather & Climate. The role of radiation from the sun and its interactions with the atmosphere, ocean, and land are the foundation for the global climate system. Global climate models are used to predict future changes, including changes influenced by human behavior and natural factors
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. Ecosystems have carrying capacities resulting from biotic and abiotic factors. The fundamental tension between resource availability and organism populations affects the abundance of species in any given ecosystem.
LS2.D Social interactions and Group Behaviour. Group behavior has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.
Notable Features
Permalink to Notable Features- Only shows tracking in the Pacific Ocean
- Elephant seals spend 10 months per year at sea
- Sooty shearwater seabirds may travel 46,000 miles per year
Variations
Permalink to VariationsVariations introduce slight modifications to the main dataset. For example, a variation might add a PIP or provide a translated audio track.
- Seal and Seabird Tracks: Pacific Ocean (with Elephant Seal pictures)
Data Source
Permalink to Data SourceUniversity of California Santa Cruz, Tagging of the Pacific Pelagics Project