It is best if you complete this activity during daylight hours in California. That way you will be able to view the animals on their live cams, which makes the activity a lot more interesting. You may even catch them during their feeding times! If you must view them after hours, you will see previously recorded videos, instead.
Introduction
The focus of this field trip is on the aquatic ecosystems (biomes) covered in Lesson 3D. You will see representative animals from freshwater, estuarine (e.g., wetland), and marine habitats. Whereas freshwater lakes, ponds, and rivers have very little salt content, estuaries have a regular mixing of fresh and salt water. We often refer to these areas as wetlands. Marine habitats include the oceans and seas, which have a high salt content and very little mixing with freshwater.
During this activity, you will view live cams, recorded videos, and pictures of animals representing many different groups of marine organisms, and will pay particular attention to their ecology and threats that many of them face due to human activities.
Begin your virtual field trip
Click on the following link to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website:
Monterey Bay Aquarium
LIVE CAMS
Click on “Animals” and then click on LIVE CAMS. Note the times of the “Narrated feedings” (all times are Pacific Time). I highly recommend that you try to view at least one of the live cams during these times, as the animals will be quite active! The narrator will also share lots of interesting information about the animals.
Sea Otter Cam
Click on the Sea Otter Cam and start the live video stream. I suggest expanding it to full screen so that it is easier to view. Watch the video for a couple of minutes. Pay close attention to the sea otter swimming behavior. If you don’t see an otter right away, give it a little time.
If you were unable to view a swimming sea otter, click on the following link to access a previously recorded video: Sea Otter Cam (previously recorded)
Question 1: What time of day did you visit the MB aquarium Sea Otter web cam? Was it live or recorded? Describe how the otters swim in the large pool area. Do you see them mostly floating face up, on their back, or generally floating on their stomach?
Question 2: Scroll down the page to the Animal training and enrichment at the Aquarium story and click on Learn More. Scroll down the Animal training page to “Sea otter enrichment” and read more about sea otters. How do trainers stimulate the otters’ natural behavior of pounding and working to get food out of shells?
Question 3: Go back to the Sea Otter Cam page and scroll down until you see the link for the Sea Otter Exhibit. Click on and scroll down (again!) to the Meet our Otters section. Click on “Meet our otters.” How did the Monterey Bay Aquarium obtain their otters?
Question 4: What are the names of the 5 otters who currently reside at the Aquarium?
For questions #5-7, watch each of their short video biographies and read their descriptions.
Question 5: Which of the otters is the oldest and was once released back into the wild for a time, before being brought back to the Aquarium? Why did she have to return?
Question 6. Which of the otters is the youngest and was also once released back into the wild for a time, before being brought back to the Aquarium? Why did she have to return?
Question 7: Which of the otters is named after a mythological creature from Scottish folklore?
Question 8: Scroll down the page to the section called “More on sea otters,” and click on the box for “Sea Otter” (its the one on the right; don’t click on the middle box called “Sea Otters”) to learn more about these animals. Read the first section. What are three things that sea otters eat?
Question 9: What is their habitat?
Question 10: Where are Southern Sea Otters found? Where are Northern Sea Otters found? Which type is larger? Which type is found at the Aquarium?
Question 11: How does this keystone species help kelp forests to remain healthy (what do they help to prevent)?
Question 12: When eating, what do they use their chest for (this explains the swimming behavior that you observed in the live cam)?
Question 13: What is the current population size of the Southern Sea Otter? Are they endangered?
Question 14: Do they have a thick layer of blubber, like other marine mammals? What is special about their fur? Describe how they stay warm.
Question 15: Why is the otter considered a keystone species?
Question 16: Scroll down and read the section on “Conservation.” What was the original range of sea otters off the western coast of the United States? What devastated their population?
Question 17: In 1938, what was their population size? What legal action made their rebound possible? Are they still endangered?
Question 18: Once again, click on “Animals” in the website Nav bar, click on LIVE CAMS, and click on Sea Otter Cam to return to the first page (where you started). Scroll down to the “Keep reading” section and find a box called “Take our sea otter personality quiz.” Complete the quiz to determine which sea otter you are most like in terms of personality? Who did you get? Do you think the quiz did a good job matching your personality up with one of the otters? Copy the paragraph describing the personality that you and the sea otter share into your assignment submission form. You do not need to copy the “You otter know” section that is below it.
Penguin Cam
Click on the Penguin Cam and start the live video stream. I suggest expanding it to full screen so that it is easier to view. Watch the video for a couple of minutes. Pay close attention to the penguin’s behaviors. If you don’t see a penguin right away, give it a little time–They aren’t very fast moving on land.
If you were unable to view a swimming sea otter, click on the following link to access a previously recorded video: Penguin Cam (previously recorded)
Take a screenshot or photo with your phone of the live cam or recorded video showing at least one of the resident penguins.
Next, go to the page about penguins. You can access them by clicking on the “Animals” link in the main Aquarium Nav bar and then finding the link called “African penguins.” Read through the information.
QUESTIONS (Place your answers in the assignment submission form)
Question 19: Copy/paste the screenshot or photo of your live cam or recorded video (showing the animal) in your document.
Question 20: How does the behavior of the penguins compare to the behavior of the sea otters, based on YOUR observations of both of them?
Question 21: Describe how penguins stay warm in the cold waters that they prefer. How do they deal with overheating?
Question 22: African penguins are endangered. Overfishing is the threat that they face seems to have the biggest negative impact on their populations. Humans don’t eat penguins, so how do you think overfishing negatively impacts them?
Question 23: Watch the video: A penguin conservation story. Are the penguins at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from the wild? If not, where are they from?
Question 24: What type of animal is a penguin … a fish? a bird? a marine mammal?
Find the Cool Facts section.
Question 25: Summarize in your own words one cool fact your learned.
The Monterey Aquarium rotates through some of the penguin website pages, so I have TWO options for questions 26 and 27. If you find one of the pages isn’t working, switch to the other option!
Option 1
Go back to Animals in the Nav bar and select Live Cams. Select the penguin cam again and when the page comes up, scroll down to More on Penguins and read Rey Makes a Splash.
Question 26: Why did the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff switch from hand-feeding the penguins to throwing their food out into the water?
Question 27: How did the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff teach Rey to feed in a more natural manner in the water? (Natural for a penguin, that is!)
Option 2
Question 26: Summarize in your own words another cool fact your learned.
Go back to the Penguin Cam page and scroll down to More on Penguins again. Read Chick, Chick, Hurray!
Question 27: Explain one way that the Monterey Bay Aquarium and its penguins are part of a collaborative survival plan for African penguins.
Live Cam – Your Choice #1
Click on “Animals” and then click on LIVE CAMS. Choose a live cam from the following list that interests you: Aviary Cam, Coral Reef Cam, Jelly Cam, Kelp Forest Cam, Open Sea Cam, and Shark Cam.
Open the live cam and watch it for a few minutes. If it is after hours and a previously recorded video is not showing (i.e., the camera is down), please choose a different live cam for this part of the assignment. You need to be able to see animals. Pay close attention to the animals that you see, and observe them for a few minutes.
Take a screenshot or photo with your phone of the live cam or recorded video showing at least one of the resident animals. Try to pick something that you find interesting. You are going to identify that animal in a few minutes.
Next, go to the exhibit that relates to your live cam. You can access them by clicking on the “Visit” link in the main Aquarium Nav bar and then finding the link called “Exhibits.” Use the following as your guide. Access your exhibit. Scroll through the information on the page and take a look at what is there.
Aviary Cam: Sandy Shore & Aviary Exhibit
Coral Reef Cam: ¡Viva Baja! Life on the Edge Exhibit
Jelly Cam: Open Sea Exhibit
Kelp Forest Cam: Kelp Forest Exhibit
Open Sea Cam: Open Sea Exhibit
Shark Cam: Monterey Bay Habitats Exhibit
QUESTIONS (Place your answers in the assignment submission form)
Question 28: What is the name of the live cam that you viewed?
Question 29: Copy/paste the screenshot or photo of your live cam or recorded video (showing the animal) in your document.
Question 30: Do you see your animal pictured on the exhibit page? If so, what is its name? If not, click on the “Animals” link in the main Aquarium Nav bar and then click on “Animals A to Z.” You can make a selection under “Animal type” (birds, fishes, invertebrates, or mammals) to better sort the list. Try to find your animal. Do you see it? What is its name? If you still can’t find it, just say “couldn’t find it.” I will try to identify it for you when I see your screenshot or photo in your assignment submission.
Question 31: Return to the exhibit page associated with your live cam. Name three other animals (or plants, seaweeds, etc.), besides the one that you identified (or tried to identify) in your picture, that are found in this exhibit.
Question 32: Click on the link to one of those animals to learn more about it. What is this animal’s name?
Question 33: What is this animal’s type, habitat, and diet?
Question 34: In your own words, tell me one thing about its natural history. If that category is not available for this animal just say, “not shown,” and tell me something else about it instead.
Question 35: In your own words, tell me one thing about it conservation. If that category is not available for this animal just say, “not shown,” and tell me something else about it instead.
Question 36: In your own words, tell me one “cool fact” about this animal. If that category is not available for this animal just say, “not shown,” and tell me something else about it instead.
Just wander!
You are done with the structured, required parts of this virtual field trip. Now, I want you to just “wander” through their website, and view whatever you find interesting. Watch the other live cams. For those interested in sustainable seafood, they have a section on that, along with information on plastic waste and climate change. They also have some great resources for educators, and free online classes that you can sign up for. There are games & activities that you can download and play with your family (how about making a sea otter lunch bag puppet?), and lots of interesting stories to read. You can even download some cool wallpaper for your computer, phone, or tablet as a souvenir to remember your field trip!
QUESTIONS (Place your answers in the assignment submission form)
Question 37: Tell me about one thing that caught your attention while “wandering” though their website. What made it interesting to you? What did you learn from it?
Question 38: What was your favorite part of this virtual field trip? Why did you like it?
Question 39: What was your least favorite thing? Do you have any suggestions for how I might improve this virtual field trip? What would you like to have done differently?
Question 40: Approximately how long did it take you to complete this assignment?
Live cams | Monterey Bay Aquarium
https://d2l.pima.edu/content/enforced/637396-21338.202420/M003/Assignment%203%20Submission%20Form.docx
