Science density games

The official narrative goes as follows: Population trend has slowed since the early s because of increasing bear densities, which has reduced survival rates, primarily of cubs and yearlings. Loss of whitebark pine has had little or no effect. This claim has shown up most recently in a publication in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

There is much that could be said about the problems with this government rhetoric. It is hard to know where to begin. A list may be the way to do it:. Bottom line: the government's estimates of density at the scale of home ranges! Their time series of dancing density maps makes for a good gee-whiz show, but offers little genuine insight.

It has done just the opposite. Not to belabor the point, but how can you have putative effects rooted in increasing density when densities have declined? A goodly number of these young bears get killed by other bears, and even wolves, that are attracted to rich concentrations of proteinaceous foods. The IGBST offers no cogent explanation for the contradiction of their arcane statistical analyses with these obvious facts. Second, the IGBST did not critically examine the full suite of behavioral changes underway amongst Yellowstone grizzlies, including a a shift to eating more livestock a nutritious but highly hazardous food , b a shift to eating more elk calves likewise a nutritious but declining food , c a shift to pursuing more hunter-killed elk also nutritious, also highly hazardous, also declining , and d a shift to eating more moths nutritious, but almost certain to be lost as a food as the climate continues warming.

In fact, the changes afoot are complex and multi-faceted. But most are rooted in the loss of whitebark pine and, in some measure, losses of cutthroat trout and elk.

What we have is another classic example of statistical gimcrackery being substituted by agency scientists and managers for a sophisticated and comprehensive analysis. Good for over-awing and intimidating the public, but without offering much genuine insight. What he meant by this is that birth and death rates of animals are driven by levels of predation, disease, and intra- and interspecific competition, along with the quality and abundance of foods, especially those eaten by females.

If population density has any effect at all, it is through somehow modifying these critical factors. There is no direct effect of density.

Even in New York on a subway. Invoking density as an explanation for anything is equivalent to assuming that animals are ping-pong balls moving at random, with each ball equal in all of its effects. Gizmos enhance student learning. I like how this gizmo gets students to think about what causes something to float or sink.

Great for calculating and making predictions. This is a quick way for them to see how densities of various objects compare with each other. Fantastic for expaining buoyancy and density. Excellent discussions arise from this gizmo. I used this Gizmo with my 8th grade science students and the visual cues were extremely helpful for them.

I use a different lesson plan for my high school students, but they enjoy the visual that this Gizmo provides as a review of density Recommended for: Chemistry Gizmo User from Texas. It a great way to help student understand that different object may have a greater or less density, Recommended for: 6th Grade Science Gizmo User from Florida.

It's a great way to reinforce density concepts. My kids loved it. I always have students who think that the "heaviest" object has the most density. Great motivator for hard-to-reach students! Love this Gizmo! But, for Activity A, I have the students collect data section 3 first. Easier comprehension. This is an awesome way to introduce density to 8th graders. No one leaves without a clear understanding once they have interacted with it! Only subscribing teachers can contribute lesson materials.

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