ABOUT THIS WORKSHEET 

 
This worksheet complements the Click and Learn “Survey Methods” (45-minute estimated time) 
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/survey-methods 
DO NOT CUT AND PASTE ANSWERS.  
No learning happens that way. Summarize info in a concise way and type it. 
PROCEDURE  
As you proceed through the interactive, follow the instructions and answer the questions in the spaces provided​. 
1. Read the “Why Study Elephants” page and answer the following questions:  
a. Elephants are considered to be a keystone species. What does that mean? 

Elephants play an important role in maintaining the biodiversity of the ecosystems 

they live in. Elephants are herbivores and can be found in many different habitats 
including savannahs, forests, deserts and marshes. African elephants are a type of 
keystone species known as ecosystem engineers, meaning they help shape their 
environment. 
 
b. Name three elephant activities or functions that justify the term “keystone species” and describe how the activity 
changes African ecosystems. 

Elephant activity  Change in ecosystem 

They trample forests  This makes room for smaller species to coexist.  
and dense grasslands. 
 

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  These are used by other wildlife as they dig dry riverbeds 
Elephants create water  when rainfall is low. 
holes   
 

During the dry season,  Creates new water sources for various organisms. 
elephants use their 
tusks to dig for water. 
 
 
c. Why have elephant populations been declining for the past several decades? 

Tragically, the majority of the decline in the elephant population is due to illegal poaching 
by people who sell elephant tusks on various markets for a high profit. 
 
2. Biologists weigh the advantages and disadvantages of survey methods before choosing the appropriate approach. 
Read through each of the survey methods within the “Where are They” and “How Many” sections and use the table 
below to organize your thoughts.  
 

Survey Type  Information  Methods used  Type of count  Advantages  Disadvantages 

Gathered  (Total or 
Sample/Direct or 
Indirect)  

Species Range  Elephants traditionally  They combined and  N/A  This data is unique and  Determining precise 
occupy a wide variety  assessed various  valuable for elephant  range boundaries is 

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of diverse habitats.  "known" and "possible"  conservation and  difficult due to the data 
  ranges of elephants.  management efforts.  being less accurate at 
the edges of the range. 
Also, some range 
boundaries may be 
somewhat arbitrary 

Individual Range  An elephant's home  They utilize GPS collars  N/A  GPS collars allow  This is dangerous for 
range is the area that  to gather info about  researchers to track  both the researchers 
they normally travel to  their geographical  elephants remotely,  and the elephants, and 
find food, water, and  whereabouts.  reducing the effort and  must be repeated 
mates, and can span  cost. Tracking can also  often to replace the 
more than 32,062 km2  occur at night and in  batteries in the collars. 
forests, a time when  Further, data from 
human visibility is  collars is sometimes 
hindered  lost during 
transmission and this 
data requires more 
review.  

Aerial Survey  It aims to get an  The aerial surveys are  - Transect  Because of their large  They cannot be used 
accurate count of  conducted using a  sample counts  size, elephants in open  to survey forest 
savanna elephants  small airplane with four  - Block sample  habitats are easy to  elephants, which are 
throughout Africa.  crew members  counts  identify from aircrafts  difficult to see from the 
including a pilot, two  - Total counts  or helicopters. Aerial  air. Aerial surveys 
observers, and one  surveys also allow  require significant 
recorder. They then  researchers to observe  resources including an 
use three different  areas that are not  airplane and 
types of counts to  reachable on the  specialized equipment, 
reach a conclusion.   ground. An aerial  as well as a pilot and 
survey only costs a  experienced observers. 
quarter of what a dung  Population estimates 
survey covering the  based on aerial 
same area would cost.  surveys can be 
imprecise due to 
variations in the 
landscape and 
elephant distribution, 

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and human sampling 
error. 

Individual  Most methods of  A set of ID photos is  Poole and Granli  Demographic  The primary drawback 
Registration  counting elephants  taken of each adult  developed a digital  information allows  of individual 
sample the population  elephant. Once all  database used to  scientists to know the  registration studies is 
in order to estimate  individuals in the study  register elephants,  age structure of the  that they are 
population size,  area are registered, the  which includes the key  population, interval  labor-intensive and 
whereas individual  total number of  features that describe  between calves, and  costly.  
registration is a  elephants registered is  an elephant.  age at first 
process that attempts  the population size.  reproduction, data that 
to document every    can be used to model 
individual in a  population growth rate. 
population.    Population trends can 
then be tied to 
environmental 
conditions such as 
periods of higher or 
lower rainfall. 

Acoustic Surveys  These were to  They set up six audio  They counted the  Acoustic surveys are  Acoustic surveys 
estimate forest  recorders around the  number of elephant  effective for surveying  require specialized 
elephant abundance in  edge of a forest  calls recorded during  forest elephants  equipment and training 
the Congo basin of  clearing and observed  20-minute sampling  because they can  to perform the survey 
Central Africa, the  elephants from a  periods at each  cover large areas for  and analyze the 
largest block of  platform, recording the  location. The sampling  long periods of time in  results, whereas more 
tropical rainforest  number of elephants  periods were 4 hours  dense forests that are  common techniques 
outside of the Amazon.  visible in the clearing  apart from one another  hard to study  like dung sampling are 
(see figure below). The  to reduce the chance  otherwise.   relatively easy to do 
six audio recorders  of counting the same  and require very basic 
simultaneously  elephants. Based on  equipment. With 
recorded the elephant  the higher background  acoustic sampling, 
sounds, and  noise level at the study  researchers can't see 
researchers  site, the sampling area  the elephants, so they 
triangulated the  of each recorder was  can't record additional 
location where each  estimated as 1.14 km2.  information, such as 
call came from to  Finally, they multiplied  sex, age, group size, 
determine whether it  the elephant  and body condition. 

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came from inside or  abundance within the  Background noises, 
outside of the clearing.  sampling areas by the  such as thunderstorms, 
They then matched the  area not covered by  can reduce the ability 
data with the number  the recorders to get  to detect calls, either 
of elephants observed  the total estimated  because the noise 
to calculate the calling  elephant population in  interferes with 
rate. This allowed the  Kakum Conservation  elephant calls, or 
researchers to  Area.  because elephants call 
estimate the number  less frequently during 
of elephants in any  storms. 
location in a forest   
elephant habitat   

Dung Transects  Dung transects are the  Dung transects were  - Line transects  They are relatively  Dung surveys are 
most common  performed in one of  - Recces  easy to implement and  extremely time- and 
technique for  two ways. This method  don't require  labor-intensive, and 
surveying forest  relies on estimating the  specialized equipment.  can be expensive if the 
elephant populations.  elephant population  Elephant dung is easier  survey area is large. 
The dense forest  size by counting dung  to detect than the  While less clumped 
vegetation makes it  piles and knowing how  elephants themselves  than elephants, dung 
difficult to count  often elephants  and generates more  piles are typically not 
elephants directly, so  defecate and how fast  data than a ground  randomly distributed.  
an indirect method,  dung piles decay.  survey of elephants. 
such as counting dung, 
is necessary.  
 
3. Read the “Population Change” section, watch the video and explore the map, then answer the following questions:  
a. Turn on the 1979 and 2007 range layers on the map. Describe the change in the range. Where did the elephant 
range decrease, increase, or stay about the same?  

 
It decreased by about half, and due to human land use, much of the remaining habitat is in protected areas. The 
total estimated elephant population in 2007 was approximately 640,000 elephants. 

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b. In 1979, the estimated elephant population was 1.3 million and in 2007 it was 640,000. By approximately what 
percentage did the elephant population decline over this time period? (Show your work.) How does this compare 
to the change in range over this same time period?  

It decreased by 50.77 %. This was a drastic change to the range as well.  

 
 
 
c. Turn off the 1979 and 2007 range layers and turn on the 2016 trends layers. Based on the area surveyed, where 
are the major hotspots of elephant decline? Where are elephant populations stable or increasing? 

One the page, ​purple areas are places where elephant populations are stable or growing, 
while red areas are places where populations are declining. Hotspots of decline are 
Tanzania and Angola. It is ​stable/ increasing in Botswana and Benin. 
 

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