Science Week 12: Wonderful Ears

Remember the 3 days in Egypt when there was no light whatsoever?

Exodus 10:21-23
King James Version (KJV)
²¹ And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.²² And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:²³ They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

Even now, on a moonless night, there are still often stars to cast a faint glow. Rarely, since Moses shared the plague of Darkness The Lord sent over the land of Egypt, have we had nights of total darkness. They eyes are all but useless in these situations, but there are other ways to 'see' your way. 

Some animals find their way through their dark burrows by their sense of touch. Some others are able to whiz at top speed between invisible walls without even brushing them lightly. Tiny mammals with wings of thin, crepe-like skin live in the inky regions of large natural caverns. They come to the surface to find food, dashing along without touching walls or bumping into each other. 

G.W. Pierce of Harvard developed a device that could pick up sounds higher in pitch than the human ear can hear. It was discovered that bats raised loud, shrill cries, as often as 30 or more times every second. These sounds bounced from everything near them, 'showing' them the location of each object. The bats' ears were able to pick up these echoes and measure the distances accordingly, avoiding the objects. This is known as echolocation.

Echolocation: Echolocation, the process of determining the distance and direction of objects by using sound. This article is concerned with echolocation as used by animals

Listen to the sound of a bat here, and the WERC site on Bat Vocalization here, with more sound files.

Bats in North America are insect eaters, while those in the tropics are mostly fruit eaters. The fruit-eating species are often larger, and may be called flying foxes because of their size.

The flying mammals in North America are divided into 2 groups, cave bats and tree bats. The cave bats hibernate through winter, while the tree bats usually migrate.

Bat Conservation International site

Bat wing anatomy

The Anatomy of Bats

The bones at the tips of the front limbs are the toe bones in most mammals, but in bats, these are very fine and light. They are longer than most of their other bones. The wings extend between these long, fine bones and long the body to the hind legs. The soft skin stretches between the hind legs and is joined to the tail, as well. There is one claw on the outer bend of each wing. The hind feet have 5 claws each. 

A bat does not prepare a nest as other mammals do. She hangs by her wings, the tail membrane preventing the newborn from falling. The newborn batling climbs upward and nurses contently for several days. When the mother flies off in search of food, the young batling stays with her.

Next to rodents, bats are the mammal order with the largest number of species., with 180 species in North America alone.

image via National Park Service website

image via Interstate Termite website

Six species of bats belong to the free-tailed group living in the U.S. Bats in this group have tail membranes that extend only partway along the tail. The naked tip of the tail is free for perhaps a full inch. The southwestern U.S. has more free-tailed species than any other kind. Carlsbad Caverns in southeast New Mexico is the home to millions of free-tailed bats. During the day, a huge natural room in the Caverns, 1/2 mile long and over 100 ft high is hung full of myriads of these tiny creatures. At dusk, they awaken and fly off in a low roaring rush, to search out food. It is estimated that they exit the Caverns at the rate of 300 bats per second!

In the caves where the bats live their droppings form a rich fertilizer known as guano. The Carlsbad Caverns yielded 50-100 tons of guano per day, 6 months out of the year for 15 years.  When the fertilizer companies had dug up and hauled away all the deposits, it was discovered that the guano was littered with the remains of billions upon billions of insects. The Carlsbad Caverns is only one bat roost in thousands. Imagine all the insects we'd still have if bats didn't exist?

Some Links:

How Stuff Works...Bats and Echolocation

Bats from Hands of a Child

Nocturnal Animals lapbook from Homeschool Share

Bat coloring pages

Bat crafts

Illinois Dept. of Education Bat unit lesson plans

nice Squidoo page on Little Brown Bats

Different Species of Bats, via AllPosters.com

Science Week 11: Mammals with Extra Teeth

Proverbs 30:26
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
Are you as smart as a coney? Wise Agur used four small creatures to teach his students great wisdom (Pr 30:1,24). The ants prudently save for the future (Pr 30:25). The locusts know the power of numbers (Pr 30:27). The spider by diligence goes where most cannot (Pr 30:28). The conies wisely avoid risk and loss by choosing the safest and strongest protection. 

Barnes' Notes on the BibleThe coney - The Old English name for a rabbit. The animal meant is the Hyrax Syriacus. It bears some resemblance to the guinea-pig or the marmot, and in its general appearance and habits Proverbs 30:26; Psalm 104:18, it might easily be taken for a rodent. But Cuvier discovered that it is, in its anatomy, a true pachyderm, allied to the rhinoceros and the tapir, inferior to them as it is in size.
He cheweth the cud - The Hyrax has the same habit as the hare, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, and some other rodents, of moving its jaws when it is at rest as if it were masticating. The rodents were familiarly spoken of as ruminating animals, just as the bat was reckoned among birds because it flies (see Leviticus 11:19), and as whales and their congeners are spoken of as fish, when there is no occasion for scientific accuracy.

The cony of Israel, Lebanon, and Sinai has a small round hoof, but in size and shape it is much like the American cony, also known as a pika. Pikas live near other pikas, at the rate of about 6 per acre. They are cheerful little fellows, whistling, calling, and bleating all day. Each animal has look-outs near where his food pile is located. They have their first litter of 3 or 4 in May or June, and continues until September. Pikas do not hibernate, yet they live where winters can be harsh. During these times of no fresh food, the pika continues to eat. During the summer, the pikas have cut grasses, clover, and other favorites, spreading them out to dry. If rain comes, the entire group will rush out, bundle the hay, and carry it below to their burrows. Day after day the plants are cut and dried, then packed away.
Three species of pika live in North America, from the high mountains of Alaska and the Yukon, to the upper altitudes of California and Arizona.
Cottontails are of the same mammal order of the pika:

There are several species of cottontail rabbit, but the eastern cottontail is the most common. This ubiquitous animal can be found from Canada to South America and, in the United States, from the East Coast to the Great Plains. Cottontails range from reddish brown to gray, but all feature the distinctive "cotton ball" tail for which they are named.
These rabbits seek out habitat on the fringes of open spaces, such as fields, meadows, and farms, but can adapt to other habitats—including those of humans.
They browse at night on grasses and herbs and are fond of garden fare such as peas and, of course, lettuce. In winter, their diet becomes a bit coarse and consists of bark, twigs, and buds. During the day, cottontails often remain hidden in vegetation. If spotted, they flee from prey with a zigzag pattern, sometimes reaching speeds of up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) an hour.
Females give birth in shallow ground nests, to young so helpless that perhaps only 15 percent survive their first year. Fortunately, rabbits breed three or four times every year and produce three to eight young each time. Young rabbits mature quickly and are self-sufficient after only four or five weeks. They are sexually mature after only two or three months, so populations are able to grow with staggering speed.
Cottontails are plentiful and can be problematic for farmers; they are also a popular game animal. via National Geographic

More information to be found here at Connecticut Dept of Energy & Environmental Protection
Some great pages and sharings from HomeschoolShare on rabbits
Barb always shares great studies at The Handbook of Nature Study and Outdoor Hour Challenge

The Burgess Animal Book for Children, and a companion guide full of links, found here at the Teach Beside Me blog.

Tracks: Hare and rabbit tracks are generally oval in shape, with 5 toes on each foot, although only 4 toes show in the tracks of each foot. Both have very furry feet and no exposed pads on their toes, often leaving blurred details in the tracks. The fine, sharp claws on the feet may or may not register. Under some conditions, only the pattern left by the claws will be visible. You can often tell the difference between hare and cottontail tracks by looking at the size relationship between front and hind tracks. In hares, the rear tracks are typically larger than the front tracks (see the photo on the right). In cottontails and other rabbits the size of the fronts and hinds is quite similar (see the photo below).

The front and rear tracks of rabbits can appear very similar, though under certain conditions and in certain substrates, the rear feet can splay outward much further. The tracks appear very asymmetrical in shape, with one toe leading ahead of the others. They have been described as “iron shaped,” though

The front tracks of the Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) measure 1-1 & 7/8” long by ¾ - 1 & 3/8” wide. Meanwhile, the rear tracks are 1 & ¼- 3 & ¼” long by 7/8 – 1 & 13/17” wide.  

The front tracks of the snowshoe hare(Lepus americanus) measure 1 & 7/8" - 3" long by 1 & 1/8" - 2 & 1/4" wide. While, the rear tracks are 3 & 1/4" - 6" long by 1 & 5/8" - 5" wide.  Similar Tracks: The tracks of squirrels can be confused with rabbits as squirrels also travel with a bounding gait. Squirrels, however, tend to show five toes on the rear feet and four toes on the front feet.

 

References: Elbroch 2003, Halfpenny 1999, Murie 1954, Rezendes 1999 

Tkaczyk, Filip A. 2009. Rabbit Tracks and Sign. Alderleaf Wilderness College. www.wildernesscollege.com/rabbit-tracks.html 

Science Weeks 9 & 10: Mice,Voles,Lemmings, Pikas and Cottontails

I admit I am not exactly fully behind my current studies here in our mammals trek.  I hate rates, mice, etc.  I am skimming along as quickly as I can, hitting the basics, and keeping a tightly crossed set of fingers that no one develops a sincere interest that we have to tarry in.
I know, I know. Mean momma. I am combining Weeks 9 and 10 together in this one post.

Nice images and information can be found at the Montana State government pages of field guides here.

Lemmings and voles have short tails and legs, small ears, and beady eyes. These little mice eat vegetation, especially grasses. You may never see them, but you might happen upon their trails. These tiny creatures spend the winter on the ground surface in the layer of vegetation compressed by the snow. With adequate snow for insulation, they live in 32 degree F temperature. Without the cushion of deep snow, they may perish.
In spring, after the snow melts, their trails resemble narrow tunnels along the surface where mice have eaten through grain or grass stubble. You may also see little round grass nests, evidence that voles were active just below the snow blanket.
The southern bog lemming of our evergreen forest region and the northern bog lemming, found in the northwest, live in damp, boggy places. The red-backed vole, of wet forested areas in much of our state, will climb trees, unlike any other vole. The heather vole (pictured), typically a Canadian species, has recently been recorded in northern St. Louis County.
The meadow vole is the most widespread and is common all over Minnesota. The rock vole, which has a yellow nose, is found only in the far northeast, and the woodland vole only in the far southeast, where it spends most of its time underneath leaf litter. The prairie vole is found in rather dry situations in the southern half of the state.
Lemmings and voles seldom weigh more than one to one and one-half ounces. All nest in the ground, or under rocks or logs. These tiny little creatures may seem insignificant in nature's scheme of things, but are the key to survival of many wild predators including weasel, foxes, and birds-of-prey.
Old world rats and mice are represented in Minnesota by the Norway rat and the house mouse, two of the least desirable of our mammals. Both species are capable of producing several litters a year and are notorious for damaging property. The rat is also dreaded because it so often carries disease.Unlike most other mice, the meadow jumping mouse and the woodland jumping mouse are hibernators. Small (one-half to one ounce), with extremely long tails and hind legs, both species eat insects, seeds, and fruit. Both have internal cheek pouches to carry food in. They are rather brightly colored, yellowish above, white below, but the woodland species has a white-tipped tail. A rare mouse in Minnesota is the plains pocket mouse(pictured).
The tiny western harvest mouse looks like a house mouse. It lives in grassy and brushy areas of southern Minnesota. Here it usually makes a little round nest on the ground. Occasionally, it may attach its nest to vegetation several inches above the ground. The harvest mouse eats seeds and insects.
The deer mouse and white-footed mouse are very similar. Both have large eyes and ears and rather long tails. They nest almost anywhere, in ground burrows, tree holes, old bird nests, and buildings. Deer mice occur throughout Minnesota, while the white-foot is absent in the northeast. Their foods are seeds, nuts, and insects. They can be a nuisance to campers and cottage owners, though they are interesting to watch. Individuals of both species may weigh up to one and one-fourth ounces.
Like a husky deer mouse with a short tail, the northern grasshopper mouse is a lion among mice, eating insects, other mice, lizards, and even small birds. It thrives on western prairies, usually living in burrows of other animals.  via Minnesota DNR

The Harvard Press has a nice article full of information in their It's Only Natural section, found here. I have found several posts in this section well worth keeping handy for reference as needed.

image via It's Only Natural, The Harvard Press

Week 10 Studies: Pikas and Cottontails

Proverbs 30:26
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
Are you as smart as a coney? Wise Agur used four small creatures to teach his students great wisdom (Pr 30:1,24). The ants prudently save for the future (Pr 30:25). The locusts know the power of numbers (Pr 30:27). The spider by diligence goes where most cannot (Pr 30:28). The conies wisely avoid risk and loss by choosing the safest and strongest protection. 

Barnes' Notes on the BibleThe coney - The Old English name for a rabbit. The animal meant is the Hyrax Syriacus. It bears some resemblance to the guinea-pig or the marmot, and in its general appearance and habits Proverbs 30:26; Psalm 104:18, it might easily be taken for a rodent. But Cuvier discovered that it is, in its anatomy, a true pachyderm, allied to the rhinoceros and the tapir, inferior to them as it is in size.
He cheweth the cud - The Hyrax has the same habit as the hare, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, and some other rodents, of moving its jaws when it is at rest as if it were masticating. The rodents were familiarly spoken of as ruminating animals, just as the bat was reckoned among birds because it flies (see Leviticus 11:19), and as whales and their congeners are spoken of as fish, when there is no occasion for scientific accuracy.

The cony of Israel, Lebanon, and Sinai has a small round hoof, but in size and shape it is much like the American cony, also known as a pika. Pikas live near other pikas, at the rate of about 6 per acre. They are cheerful little fellows, whistling, calling, and bleating all day. Each animal has look-outs near where his food pile is located. They have their first litter of 3 or 4 in May or June, and continues until September. Pikas do not hibernate, yet they live where winters can be harsh. During these times of no fresh food, the pika continues to eat. During the summer, the pikas have cut grasses, clover, and other favorites, spreading them out to dry. If rain comes, the entire group will rush out, bundle the hay, and carry it below to their burrows. Day after day the plants are cut and dried, then packed away.
Three species of pika live in North America, from the high mountains of Alaska and the Yukon, to the upper altitudes of California and Arizona.
Cottontails are of the same mammal order of the pika:

There are several species of cottontail rabbit, but the eastern cottontail is the most common. This ubiquitous animal can be found from Canada to South America and, in the United States, from the East Coast to the Great Plains. Cottontails range from reddish brown to gray, but all feature the distinctive "cotton ball" tail for which they are named.
These rabbits seek out habitat on the fringes of open spaces, such as fields, meadows, and farms, but can adapt to other habitats—including those of humans.
They browse at night on grasses and herbs and are fond of garden fare such as peas and, of course, lettuce. In winter, their diet becomes a bit coarse and consists of bark, twigs, and buds. During the day, cottontails often remain hidden in vegetation. If spotted, they flee from prey with a zigzag pattern, sometimes reaching speeds of up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) an hour.
Females give birth in shallow ground nests, to young so helpless that perhaps only 15 percent survive their first year. Fortunately, rabbits breed three or four times every year and produce three to eight young each time. Young rabbits mature quickly and are self-sufficient after only four or five weeks. They are sexually mature after only two or three months, so populations are able to grow with staggering speed.
Cottontails are plentiful and can be problematic for farmers; they are also a popular game animal. via National Geographic

More information to be found here at Connecticut Dept of Energy & Environmental Protection
Some great pages and sharings from HomeschoolShare on rabbits
Barb always shares great studies at The Handbook of Nature Study and Outdoor Hour Challenge

The Burgess Animal Book for Children, and a companion guide full of links, found here at the Teach Beside Me blog.

Tracks: Hare and rabbit tracks are generally oval in shape, with 5 toes on each foot, although only 4 toes show in the tracks of each foot. Both have very furry feet and no exposed pads on their toes, often leaving blurred details in the tracks. The fine, sharp claws on the feet may or may not register. Under some conditions, only the pattern left by the claws will be visible. You can often tell the difference between hare and cottontail tracks by looking at the size relationship between front and hind tracks. In hares, the rear tracks are typically larger than the front tracks (see the photo on the right). In cottontails and other rabbits the size of the fronts and hinds is quite similar (see the photo below).

The front and rear tracks of rabbits can appear very similar, though under certain conditions and in certain substrates, the rear feet can splay outward much further. The tracks appear very asymmetrical in shape, with one toe leading ahead of the others. They have been described as “iron shaped,” though

The front tracks of the Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) measure 1-1 & 7/8” long by ¾ - 1 & 3/8” wide. Meanwhile, the rear tracks are 1 & ¼- 3 & ¼” long by 7/8 – 1 & 13/17” wide.  

The front tracks of the snowshoe hare(Lepus americanus) measure 1 & 7/8" - 3" long by 1 & 1/8" - 2 & 1/4" wide. While, the rear tracks are 3 & 1/4" - 6" long by 1 & 5/8" - 5" wide.  Similar Tracks: The tracks of squirrels can be confused with rabbits as squirrels also travel with a bounding gait. Squirrels, however, tend to show five toes on the rear feet and four toes on the front feet.

 

References: Elbroch 2003, Halfpenny 1999, Murie 1954, Rezendes 1999 

Tkaczyk, Filip A. 2009. Rabbit Tracks and Sign. Alderleaf Wilderness College. www.wildernesscollege.com/rabbit-tracks.html 

Science Week 8: Furry Creatures

And catching up, here are the Science Week 8 notes:

Some Notes:
Beetles are by far the largest order in the insect class, rodents are the largest order in the mammal class.
Rodents do not inhabit oceans or large lakes, but are found from the Arctic to the dry land of the Antarctic.
Rodents have 2 upper and 2 lower chisel-like teeth called incisors. These are in the front of the mouth with a space between them, and the grinding teeth behind them. These are large, very hard, and very sharp teeth used for gnawing.

image courtesy of Mirriam-Webster Online Visual Dictionary

Common rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, porcupines, beavers, hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs.
Rodents have sharp incisors that they use to gnaw wood, break into food, and bite predators.
Most eat seeds or plants, though some have more varied diets.
They have historically been pests, eating human seed stores and spreading disease. Rodents evolved some time around the end of the Cretaceous period c 65 million years ago. In terms of number of species — although not necessarily in terms of number of organisms (population) or biomass — rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40 percent of mammalian species belonging to the order.[1] Their success is probably due to their small size, short breeding cycle, and ability to gnaw and eat a wide variety of foods.(Lambert, 2000) There are about 2,277 species of rodents, about 42% of all mammal species.
Rodents are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica, most islands, and in all habitats except for oceans.  from ScienceDaily.com 

Most rodents have four toes on each front foot, and five on each hind foot.
Rodents are an important group, aiding in destroying weed seeds and insects. They themselves are food for meat-eating animals that might prey on man's poultry or livestock. Rodents destroy more property than other mammals, but they are also more useful than most other wild animals. Soil development and tree planting are tasks performed by rodents.
Rodents build dams that help preserve the water supply of the forests.
Of all the rat species, the Brown rat is the most destructive known to man.
Beavers and muskrats are valuable for their fur.

Some Links:

Mammals at Our Homeschooling Journey blog
Rodents resources at HomeschoolShare

Science Week 7: Mammals

Apparently Blogger ate my draft for the past couple of weeks. Figures. I wasn't online to catch it, so Blogger got wonky on me. Live and learn.

Week 7 began our 12 week Mammal study. Now, considering we are almost daily coming in with new mushrooms (remember way back to Weeks 1 and 2?), and the collection of mosses and lichens is still growing in my window (yeah, that was Week 4). I have no delusions that Mammals will last a mere 12 weeks.

What I did for our first dabble into Mammals was turn our science book into an ebook of sorts. I selected the main notes we needed, added some Google images and printed it off so everyone had their own booklet for our study. Using a hardbound science book like we are (Rod & Staff's God's Marvelous Works, book 2), and having 6 full time students and 1 teaching assistant, I only have one book to go around. I should probably find a couple more, but so far this has worked for us. Printing off the selected passages, adding our own notes and finding some images online worked perfectly for us. I'm not sure of the copyright issues, but
I'll pass our PDFs along as we make them. I lay no claims to the information in them. Anyone with Internet access and interest can easily find the same information available, I merely tucked it together into something that works for our family.

At SCRIBD: Week 7 Mammals PDF
At Google DOCS:  Mammals 1 PDF

Bear in mind, I don't make ebooks, I don't upload things online, I am totally clueless here. If something isn't right, definitely let me know and I'll pretend I have a clue as to how to fix it for you, LOL.

Some Notes:
Mammals and birds are the only two warm-blooded, vertebrate classes of animals on Earth.
Vertebrates are any living creature with a backbone.
Mammals have a physical structure more in common with man than any other animal.
Mammals are animals, but not every animal is a mammal. Insects, reptiles, and birds are animals but are not mammals.
Mammals have hair, usually a thick growth, though some (elephants and whales) have sparse hair. Each hair grows from a pit in the skin. The individual hairs have a small muscle at their root that enables them to be raised, such as in fear or anger when an animals lifts its hair on end.
Some hairs have sense organs. These usually grow around the eyes and mouth.
Mammals feed their babies milk.
Mammals have live birth. Some reptiles, some fishes, some amphibians, and some insects give birth to living young as well, but only 2 mammal species lay eggs. The only vertebrates that never bear live young are birds.

Here is a great collection of Mammal Characteristics from About.com
Basic Mammal Groups
Kidzone Mammal interactive pages
National Geographic Mammal Pages
San Diego Zoo pages, Mammals and other animals
MIKIDS pages
EarthLife pages for mammals (links to additional pages at the bottom of their page)
Exploring Nature pages
Mammals of Arkansas coloring book PDF (here are books for Birds, Fish, and MudBugs)

The Burgess Animal Book, free to read online, audio download, and at Project Gutenberg.  The blog, Teach Beside Me has a great post of links to use as a Burgess Animal Book for Children reading companion as well.  Definitely worth visiting!
List of Science-related lapbooks at HomeschoolShare you might add to your mammal studies. To narrow it down, here is the Animal page.
Lapbook Lessons Mammals pages
Links to All Things Free for Homeschoolers blog page of zoology
eNature mammal field guide
A nice Squidoo page on mammals

And of course, check out CurrClick for several great resources!