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Ecology
Revised March 2018
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 1 of 5
Activity
Student Handout
INTRODUCTION
Gorongosa National Park is a 1,570-square-mile protected area in Mozambique. Lion researcher Paola Bouley
and her team use motion-detecting trail cameras to learn more about Gorongosa’s lions. Lions are not the only
animal captured by these cameras. The photos provide valuable information on a variety of different animals,
including numbers to help estimate populations, behaviors, and interactions with other animals. The public has
identified animals and collected data from the photos on a citizen science website called WildCam Gorongosa
(www.wildcamgorongosa.org
). The WildCam Lab is a part of WildCam Gorongosa, where you can view trail
camera data on a map, filter, and download the data to investigate scientific questions.
Th
e process of science is iterative and adaptable. Scientific inquiry is often initiated by making observations
about the natural world. Observations can inspire questions about phenomena, to gain understanding about
how nature works. For scientists to answer a question, it must be testable, meaning that it could be answered
by designing an experiment and/or collecting data. After identifying a testable question, the scientist may form
a hypothesis, which is an explanation for the observed phenomenon based on observations and/or prior
scientific knowledge, and predict the expected results of the investigation if the hypothesis is supported. The
scientist can test the hypothesis through experimentation or further observation and then analyze and
interpret the collected data.
In
this activity, you will learn firsthand what it is like to be an ecologist studying Gorongosa’s wildlife. You will
use actual trail camera data to generate a testable question, form a hypothesis and prediction, and choose and
analyze the appropriate data to answer your question from the WildCam Lab. The results of your investigation
may contribute to the conservation effort in Gorongosa National Park.
You
can learn more about the trail camera project and help identify animals at WildCam Gorongosa
(http://www.wildcamgorongosa.org
).
MATERIALS
• Internet access, computers/tablets with spreadsheet software (Excel or Google Sheets)
PROCEDURE
Several online/supplemental resources are used in this activity:
• Gorongosa Interactive Map
• WildCam Lab for data sets
• Tutorial for analyzing data
Follow the instructions and answer the questions in the spaces provided.
PA
RT 1: Making Observations and Asking Questions
A: Launch the Gorongosa Interactive Map (
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/gorongosa-national-park-
interactive-map) to learn more about the natural features and vegetation types of Gorongosa National Park. In
the menu on the left side of the interactive, click on and off the different layers of the map. Clicking features on
the map will launch pop-up windows with additional information.
Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis
Using WildCam Gorongosa
Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis Using WildCam Gorongosa
Ecology
Revised March 2018
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 2 of 5
Activity
Student Handout
B: Visit WildCam Gorongosa (www.wildcamgorongosa.org) and create an account or sign in with your existing
account. Click the “Get Started” button and tour the site to familiarize yourself with WildCam and identify a few
animals.
C: O
pen the Data page of WildCam Lab (https://lab.wildcamgorongosa.org/students/data
). A legend in the lower
left of the screen explains how the map is color-coded by vegetation type and natural features. The orange dots
on the map show the location of cameras. When you click on any of the orange dots, a pop-up window with a
random selection of six images is displayed from that camera. Along the top of the pop-up window, information
is displayed about the camera location and vegetation type.
Sel
ect two orange dots from different vegetation types and document your observations in the table below:
Vegetation Type
Animal observations (types,
numbers, behaviors, etc.)
Environmental/landscape
observations
Use
the Venn diagram below to compare differences and similarities between the vegetation types:
Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis
Using WildCam Gorongosa
Ecology
Revised March 2018
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 3 of 5
Activity
Student Handout
The data on this map can be filtered by preset parameters. Click the “View Filters” button in the upper right
portion of the map for a drop-down menu of filters. Choose two filters to activate and then select two new
camera locations on the map. Document your observations in the table below:
Selected Filters
Vegetation Type
Animal observations (types, numbers,
behaviors, etc.)
Environmental/landscape
observations
1. Brainstorm possible research studies or investigations that could be developed using the information
(variables) that can be gathered from the trail cameras.
2. Rem
ember that a research question is testable, which we seek to answer through investigating, collecting,
and analyzing data. Before coming up with your own testable research question using trail camera data,
determine whether the following question is testable using trail camera data:
During which season is the abundance of animals in the limestone gorge vegetation type highest?
Explain your answer and include what information (variables) you would need to study this question and
whether you could obtain the information from trail camera data alone.
3. A s
ample spreadsheet from trail camera data below shows the parameters which are collected from the
WildCam database for a set of images. Which research questions, identified in question 1 above, are
potentially testable using this data? Star or circle each idea that you think you could answer.
Mo
dify your ideas into questions which could be answered with trail camera data, and write your testable
research questions below, underlining the variables you can use from the spreadsheet.
Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis
Using WildCam Gorongosa
Ecology
Revised March 2018
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 4 of 5
Activity
Student Handout
PART 2: Hypothesis and Prediction (Expected Results)
Before exploring your own research question, let’s walk through making a hypothesis and prediction using the
example research question:
During which season is the abundance of animals in the limestone gorge vegetation type highest?
By turning on layers and clicking through the information in the Gorongosa Interactive Map, you might discover
that the limestone gorge has streams that flow year-round and lush, green vegetation, even during the dry
season. Vegetation typically dries out and dies in the other vegetation types during the dry season.
Example hypothesis: In the limestone gorge vegetation type, animals are most abundant in the dry season
because they are attracted to the water and green vegetation that are scarce in other areas.
Before analyzing data, scientists will typically predict the results or observations that would be generated if the
hypothesis were supported.
Example prediction: In the limestone gorge vegetation type, I will find more animals in photos during the dry
season than during any other season.
4. Based on your observations in Part 1, what might be a hypothesis that would explain the relationships
between the variables you are going to explore with your research question?
5. Ba
sed on the information you’ve learned and gathered so far, what are your expected results? Explain the
source(s) of your information you used to make your prediction.
An
independent variable is the variable you are studying the effect of, and the dependent variable is the variable
that is affected by (or depends on) the independent variable. For the example question “During which season is
the abundance of animals in the limestone gorge vegetation type highest?” the independent variable would be
the season and the dependent variable would be the number of animals found in the limestone gorge in each of
those seasons.
6. Identify the variables for your testable question:
Independent: _____________________
Dependent: ______________________
PAR
T 3: Actual Results and Interpreting Data
You will use the Tutorial on Scientific Inquiry Using WildCam Gorongosa to practice how to filter and analyze
data using the example research question so that you can then apply this analysis to your research question.
Before you begin, you will need to download a data set from WildCam Lab and save it to your computer. Go to
https://lab.wildcamgorongosa.org/
and enter the site as an Explorer. Click the data tab and download the data
per your teacher’s instructions. Open the downloaded spreadsheet and follow the directions for making a pivot
table and bar graph (Parts B, C, and D of the tutorial).
Next, you will follow these same steps for your testable research question (Part E of the tutorial). Submit your
graph per your teacher’s instructions.
Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis
Using WildCam Gorongosa
Ecology
Revised March 2018
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 5 of 5
Activity
Student Handout
PART 4: Analysis and Feedback
Answer the following questions based on the pivot table and graphs you made for your research question:
7. Describe the trends that you see in your graph.
8. Di
d the data support or disprove your hypothesis? Explain using evidence from the graph.
9. We
re your predictions accurate? Explain using evidence from the graph.
10. Ho
w would you revise or write a different/new hypothesis based on your analysis of the data?
11. Wh
at are the limitations in using trail camera data in answering your research question?
12. Re
search is often a nonlinear, or iterative, process. Input of additional information, revisions to the
investigation, and peer review happen throughout the research. Explain how you might approach the study
of this subject differently were you to conduct similar research again.
13. Did
the data inspire revised assumptions about Gorongosa and/or the specific animals/places you were
exploring? What new questions or ideas do you have?
Optional Extension: Using the techniques you learned and practiced in this activity, choose another area of
study to research (suggestions: choose different parameters, e.g., day/night, time of year/season); select a new
question or idea from question 13 above or identified at the end of Part 1).
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