Title: Winter Animal Homes Grade Level: 5-8 Topic: Background: Thermal advantages of nest cavity using behavior

during winter With adaptations such as strong, chisel-shaped bills and stiff tail feathers to brace against trees, woodpeckers are able to excavate trees both to forage and create nest cavities. Nest cavities are chambers hollowed out of a tree created by removing bark and hollowing out a rounded space in a tree trunk. Weaker cavity excavating birds such as nuthatches and chickadees modify woodpecker cavities or excavate in snags, weakened from decomposition, as they lack the specific adaptations necessary for independent excavation of live trees (Bull, 2002; Podulka, Rohrbaugh, & Bonney, 2004). Other cavity utilizing animals such as small mammals, amphibians, and other birds that do not have cavity excavating abilities rely on old woodpecker cavities for shelter and breeding, especially those that are enlarged by decay (Aubry & Raley, 2002). Scientists hypothesize that woodpecker nest cavities may play an integral role in winter survival by providing a favorable microclimate and protection from predators to other animals unable to make their own cavities (Cooper, 1999; Loeb, 1993; McComb & Noble, 1981). Studies of hardwood forests in the southern United States document winter use of nest cavities by flying squirrels and tree frogs. Flying squirrels tended to select cavities with smaller openings possibly taking advantage of more protection from the wind as well as conserving the thermal inertia of their own metabolic body heat that could be trapped in the cavity (Loeb, 1993). The cavities that tree frogs chose provide a warmer and moister microclimate than outside (McComb & Noble, 1981). A study of Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) and Juniper Titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi) in the winter in Utah used nest boxes as a model to monitor the metabolic heat loss of the birds at night and found that the modified

microclimate inside the box was advantageous in reducing metabolic stress and heat loss (Cooper, 1999). The combined benefits of shelter from convective heat or moisture loss and predator protection make nest cavities essential to species that cannot otherwise tolerate the stressors of winter conditions (Bull, 2002; Cooper, 1999; Loeb, 1993; Paclk & Weidinger, 2007). Next Generation Standards: PS3.A: Definitions of Energy PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems LS4.C: Adaptation ETS2.A: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Goals: Essential Questions: What challenges do animals face in the winter and how can they deal with them? Can behavioral adaptation help animals survive the winter and how? Objectives: Students identify principles of winter ecology. Students identify common species of cavity excavating birds and secondary cavity users. Students connect the role of primary cavity excavators as ecosystem engineers for secondary cavity users. Students analyze real data to evaluate a hypothesis. Graph paper or graphing software Ruler Pencil Laminated animal and nest cavity pictures Temperature data

Materials:

Lesson Plan Materials available for download at: http://www.scribd.com/collections/4245709/Structured-

Inquiry-Winter-Nest-Cavity-Ecology-Lesson-Materials Set up: Classroom Time: Download lesson plan materials and print 1-3 hours (may be divided easily into 2 class sessions completing the Engage and Explore activities in one session before completing the graphing activity in the next session). Imagine that you are an animal in a forest during winter. What challenges might you face? Invite students to respond verbally, sketch, or write down ideas. Explain to students that winter ecologists categorize the challenges of winter survival into what are commonly known as the CREWS Factors, which stand for: Cold- colder temperatures Radiation- less radiation from the sun due to the angle of Earth Energy- less energy rich food available Wind- heat loss due to convection through the air Snow- precipitation in the form of snow What options do animals have to survive these challenges? Solicit more student responses. In general, animals migrate, adapt, or die because of the CREWS Factors of winter.

Introduction (Engage):

Activity (Explore):

Can you name some of the animals that might be adapted to surviving winter? Students may concentrate on physical adaptations such as fur covered feet on a hare or long legs on a moose. Field student responses. Can animals have behaviors that help them survive winter? Show students pictures of nest cavity entrances. What do these pictures show and where are they located? Explain that animals can use these tree cavities as shelter

during the winter and that the pictures are life-sized. What animals would be small enough to use these cavities as shelter? Solicit student responses and show secondary cavity user pictures (nuthatch, chickadee, frog, woodrat, squirrels). For auditory learners, educators may find it helpful to play corresponding bird songs. Bird song resources are available at Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/. What animals are adapted to making these tree cavities? Solicit student responses as you show woodpecker pictures. Emphasize that the secondary cavity users that depend on nest cavities for winter shelter depend on the woodpeckers that are able to act as ecosystem engineers, modifying the trees in their habitats. If outdoor space is available, take students outdoors to explore an area with trees that may have nest cavities. Nest cavities can be found in living trees and snags even in areas close to urban development. Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers are some of the backyard birds you may find on a neighborhood exploration. How are these animal homes similar to your home? Explanation Tell students that the question you will explore today is, How do nest cavities protect animals against the CREWS Factors? Review the CREWS Factors and ask students to make hypotheses about how nest cavities protect the animals that seek shelter in them. Explain that you will be testing the hypothesis that nest cavities protect animals because they stay warmer than the air temperature outside. What information would you need to test this hypothesis? Provide students with copies of the temperature data. Explain that they will make a graph to compare the data. Since the data represent a 72 hour period, educators may want to divide students into 3 groups and have each be

responsible for a different 24 hour time period. If students are unfamiliar with negative numbers, educators may want to select the Fahrenheit as opposed to Celsius measurements. What trends might you see in the data that would support the hypothesis that nest cavities stay warmer? What trends would not support the hypothesis? Graph data by hand or computer. Elaboration: Analyze data together by encouraging students to communicate their results to their peers and share graphs for a more complete picture of temperature trends. Ways to coordinate data might taping student graphs together and posting them on the board of projecting the computer generated graphs. An example of what the graph should look like is available in the lesson plan visuals for educator reference. Who can describe how the temperature changes inside and outside the nest cavity? When is it cooler inside the nest cavity? When is it warmer inside the nest cavity? Do these data support the hypothesis that nest cavities can be warmer shelter for animals during the winter? Some data trends that students may notice are that the temperature fluctuations coincide with day and night. Inside the nest cavity is cooler than outside in the forest during the daytime, but is warmer than outside at night. Reflect on the data and conclusions students make. Based on the data, when is the best time for an animal to seek shelter for warmth in the nest cavity? What factors might explain why it is cooler in the nest cavity during the day time? Are there any animals that might find this advantageous to survival? Evaluation: What are the limitations of the data you used? If you were a scientist, what other data besides temperature might provide more information about the thermal advantage of nest cavities? Can you design an experiment that a scientist might try in order to measure the impacts of all of the

CREWS Factors? Consider some of the weather data available for McCall, ID on NOAA Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data: http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/qclcd/.

Additional resources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Urban Bird Information: http://celebrateurbanbirds.org/ Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/ NOAA Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data: http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/qclcd/ Halfpenny, J.C. & Ozanne, R.D. (1989) Winter An Ecological Handbook. Johnson Publishing Company, Boulder, CO. Literature Cited Aubry, K., & Raley, C. (2002). The Pileated Woodpecker as a Keystone Habitat Modifier in the Pacific Northwest. W. Laudenslayer, Jr., P. Shea, B. Valentine, C. , 98512, 257274. Retrieved from http://gis.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr181/023_AubryRale y.pdf Block, W. M., & Finch, D. (1997). Songbird Ecology in Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests (p. 152). Bull, E. (2002). The Value of Coarse Woody Debris to Vertebrates in the Pacific Northwest. General technical report PSW-GTR-181, 97850, 171178. Retrieved from http://gis.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr181/016_Bull.pdf Cooper, S. (1999). The Thermal and Energetic Significance of Cavity Roosting in Mountain Chickadees and Juniper Titmice. Condor, 101(4), 863866. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1370077

Loeb, S. C. (1993). Use and Selection of Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cavities by Southern Flying Squirrels. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 57(2), 329335. McComb, W., & Noble, R. (1981). Herpetofaunal Use of Natural Tree Cavities and Nest Boxes. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 9(4), 261267. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/3781313 Podulka, S., Rohrbaugh, R. W., & Bonney, R. (2004). Handbook of Bird Biology. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.