HumanImpactsonLocalWildlife:

AninvestigationofroadkillandmarinemammalstrandingsinSanDiego,CA.
Mr.Nicks11thgradeBiologyClassatHighTechHighChulaVista
EssentialQuestions
1) InSanDiego,whatarethereasonsforvehiclekilledwildlifeandmarinemammalstrandings?
2) Howdoweliveconsciouslyandbringawarenesstotopicsthatareoftenignoredor
misunderstood?
3) Howdotheanatomyandphysiologyofmarine/terrestrialmammalscompareandcontrasttoour
humanbody?

Overview
Studentscollectedanddissectedvehiclekilledwildlifeandparticipatedinmarinewildlifenecropsiesto
betterunderstandissuessurroundingwildlifehumaninteractions.Afterreceivingacall,smallgroupsof
students(512students)gatheredsafetyequipmentandrelevantdatasheetsanddrovetomeetour
collaborators.Onsiteofvehiclekilledwildlife,wedocumented(e.g.datacollectionsheets,photos)and
collectedorganismsusingtheS.D.CountyDeadAnimalRemovalprotocol.Wethenfrozeorganisms
foratleast24hours(tokillanyparasites)andproceededwithexhibitionnecropsiestoidentifyprecise
causeofdeath.Onsiteofmarinemammalstrandings,wedocumentedandassistedKerriDanilonall
necropsyprotocols.Forexhibition,studentresearchgroupsaccompaniedtheirnecropsywithoriginal
sixwordstoriesandphotographytoengagetheiraudienceinconversationsurroundingroadkilland
marinemammalstrandings.

Collaborators
1) NOAABiologistKerriDanil(marinemammalstrandingsandnecropsies)
2) SanDiegoCountyDeadAnimalRemoval(wildlifevehiclecollisionsandcollections)

StudentReflections
ItdidchangehowIseeanimalsnoweveniftheyaredeadoralive.BeforeIwouldjustthinkifitwasan
animalonthestreetlikeaskunkoropossumjusttrytogetitaway,butafterthisprojectithasmademe
thinkthattheyarenodifferentthananyothersbecausetheyhavealifetoo.
ChristianVidrios

Imgoingtoremembertheexperienceofcuttingopenandobservingthedeadbodyofacoyote
becauseitmademecometotermswiththemillionsoflivesthatarebeinglostduetothewayour
civilizationoperates...MynecropsygroupexperiencedthisfirsthandwhenwewenttoaHumpback
whalestrandingatSilverStrandbeach.ThebodyoftheHumpbackwhalenotonlyintriguedus,butthe
othercitizenswhowerecrowdedaroundtheyellowtape...Oneman,shortandstout,askedme,How
doyouthinkthewhaledied?Irespondedbysaying,Imnotsure,butitcouldhavebeenashipstrike.
NadiaMehretab

...theinjuriesonitsexteriorandthehemorrhaginginthebodywassointerestingtolookat,Icouldnt
lookaway.Itsskinwasthickandtoughtocutthroughwiththescalpels,anditwasentirelydifferent
thanjustpassingroadkillinyourcar.KristinaSpringer

Formoreinformationpleasevisithttp://nehlers.weebly.com/.


HumanImpactsonLocalWildlife:
AninvestigationofroadkillandmarinemammalstrandingsinSanDiego,CA.
Mr.Nicks11thgradeBiologyClassatHighTechHighChulaVista

Anotherreasonthisprojectwillbeamemorableonewasbecauseofthe6wordstories[see
below]...whichturnedouttobereallygoodandpushedpeopletothinkdeeperaboutroadkilland
rethinkthedefinitionofit.RafaelFelix

Notahuman?Notmyproblem.
Blendedunseen,butIstillmatter.
Scavenging:adancewiththedevil.
Roadkilled,orkilledbycar?
Fourleggedvehicularmanslaughter,nopunishment.
Equalitytoday,isnotfurall.
There'snoblood,there'snoproblem.
Deathisresearchedbutnotprevented.
Equalshareoflandandreign.
600,000tonsoffreightandfright.
Blownoutears,bledoutbeached.
Scarsofnets,scarsofblades.
Shipstrikesaretheocean'sroadkill.
Overseasshipping:complimentarymarinemammalincluded.
Aimlesswanderingfindstheshallowshores.
Warning:mitecontaindeathbyinfection!
Killedone,mitekillmany.