Pilot whales are extremely social animals, living in pods that sometimes contain hundreds of individuals. Their social bonding is so strong that they sometimes follow each other to their deaths upon beaches, an event which happened in 2002 on Cape Cod. Students will learn about pilot whales' sociability and bonding and will consider how Crittercam might help scientists learn more about their social behaviors. Students will write research plans proposing questions that scientists could ask when using Crittercam to study pilot whale social behavior in deep water.

Geography, life sciences

Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface"

Two hours

• Computer with Internet access

Students will

• describe their prior knowledge of whale social behavior;
• read and answer questions about pilot whale social behavior;
• read and answer questions about pilot whale strandings;
• discuss the advantages and disadvantages of pilot whales' social bonding;
• read and view pictures of Crittercam;
• discuss how Crittercam could help scientists study pilot whales' social organization and behavior; and
• write research plans proposing questions that scientists could ask when using Crittercam to study pilot whale social behavior in deep water.

Ask students to describe some of the information they already know about whale behavior. Do they think whales are sociable or solitary animals? Do they communicate with one another?

Have students look at photographs of short-finned pilot whales and long-finned pilot whales. Explain that pilot whales are toothed whales, like sperm and killer whales (orcas). The other major whale group is baleen whales, including humpback, blue, and gray whales.

Have students go to the Web site of the International Fund for Animals. Ask them to click on "Save Animals" at the top of the page. This link will take them to a page with a list of animal fact sheets. Have them click on both species of pilot whale, one at a time, and look at the map of each species' geographical range. Ask students which species lives in temperate oceans and which lives in tropical areas. Write the two species with their general locations (temperate or tropical) on the board.

Ask students to link to the fact sheet for long-finned pilot whales and scroll down to the section on "Natural History." Have them read this section and answer the following questions, either on paper or in a class discussion:

• How social are pilot whales with each other? What evidence do we have to support this answer?
• What is the average size of a pod?
• What may be the biggest "mortality factor" (cause of death) for pilot whales?

Explain that short-finned pilot whales, which live in tropical waters, are very similar in behavior to the long-finned species.

Have students read Roving Pods Stay Together, Even in Peril, which describes the reasons scientists have hypothesized for pilot whales' stranding themselves in shallow water and on beaches. Explain that this article was written at the time of a major stranding of long-finned pilot whales on Cape Cod in Massachusetts on July 2002. Ask students to answer these questions, either on paper or in a class discussion:

• Under what circumstances is pilot whales' sociability a disadvantage?
• What happens if one member of a pod ends up swimming toward shore?
• Why do whales die if they become beached?
• What are some theories that scientists have presented to explain why pilot whales strand themselves?
• Which theory do you think makes the most sense, and why?

Explain to the class that, as they may have already gathered from their reading, pilot whales spend most of their time in deep water and regularly feed in depths of 2,296-2,624 feet (700-800 meters). They sometimes surface, however, and can be spotted on whale-watching expeditions. This surface swimming is not risky behavior unless they are in shallow water.

Ask students to think about what they have read and to consider the benefits and drawbacks of pilot whales' social bonding and sociable behavior in both deep and shallow water.

• Why would pilot whales have evolved their capacity to remain extremely close to one another?
• Why might they need this skill in deep waters, where they feed?
• Why might they need this skill in shallower waters?
• When can this skill get them into trouble?

Have students go to the Crittercam Chronicles, click on the seal, and read the first paragraph about Greg Marshall's idea to design Crittercam. Ask them to click on the sea turtle and read the next paragraph. They can then scroll to the right, using the scroll bar at the bottom, and click on the whale to read about how Crittercam has been used on whales. If they click on "about whalecam," they will see some technical information about the camera that was used on sperm whales. As they go through this information, ask them to think about how Crittercam could help study pilot whales.

Discuss the ways that Crittercam might help scientists answer questions about pilot whales' social structure and behaviors in deeper water. We already know a good deal about their bonding behavior in shallow water, including the fact that they sometimes lead each other into danger. What might we be able to learn about the whales' social organization by using a camera to "follow" them into their deep feeding grounds? Might we be able to learn anything that could allow us to help them when stranded in shallow waters? What questions might scientists investigate when using Crittercam to study pilot whale social organization and social bonding?

Ask students to pretend that they are scientists who have the opportunity to use Crittercam on pilot whales, either in the tropical waters of Hawaii or in the temperate waters of New England. As scientists, they are particularly interested in learning more about pilot whales' social behaviors. Ask them to write research plans that describe:

• the species of pilot whale they will be studying and where it lives;
• at least four research questions that they will try to answer with Crittercam (e.g., "do pilot whales share food with each other in the deep waters?", "do they help each other find prey?"); and
• why Crittercam will be a valuable (or essential) asset to their studies.

Have students read the whole story of the pilot whale stranded on Cape Cod. The first page tells about how the whales were stranded the first day but survived and went back to sea, with the help of many human volunteers. The links toward the top of the article provide additional information and describe how the story turned tragic the next day.

Ask students to write "fact sheets" or create flyers that could be given to vacationers who witness a pilot whale stranding in the future. The materials should describe why pilot whales strand themselves, why it is dangerous for them, what volunteers can do, and why it is difficult to make sure the whales get back to sea for good.

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0229817.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Cape Cod Times: Roving Pods Stay Together, Even in Peril
International Fund for Animals
Long-finned Pilot Whale
National Geographic: Crittercam Chronicles
Short-finned Pilot Whale Underwater Photographs