Monk seals in the Mediterranean and Hawaii are gravely endangered, and the Caribbean population of monk seals was declared extinct in 1996. Hawaiian monk seals are believed to be the only population that has a chance of recovery, so scientists are working hard to study the species' habitat and behaviors.

Students will use the Internet to learn about monk seal research and the ecosystem reserve that's been established in part to protect the seals. They'll consider the particular challenges scientists face in studying monk seals on projects such as Crittercam, and they will write questions they would ask if they were conducting monk seal research. The students will conclude by writing plans they would use on a trip to study the Hawaiian monk seal.

Geography, life sciences

Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"

Two hours

• Computer with Internet access

Students will

• locate Hawaii on a map;
• view pictures of monk seals;
• read and answer questions about an article on monk seals;
• read the home page for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, and discuss the benefits of the reserve;
• work in groups to list research questions they would ask on a study of Hawaiian monk seals; and
• write plans they would use on a research trip to study the seals.

Ask a student to locate Hawaii on a wall map for the entire class.

Have students look at this map of the Hawaiian Islands. Ask them to find the main Hawaiian Islands. Explain that people live on these islands and most of them have cities, towns, and vacation resorts.

The northwestern Hawaiian Islands, on the other hand, are not inhabited by humans. Many of them are part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. Although Hawaiian monk seals live in the waters of both parts of Hawaii, they are mostly found near the northwestern islands.

Have students look at these pictures of monk seals. You can also have them watch a video (click on the photo of the monk seals) captured by placing a Crittercam on a monk seal's back.

Have students read Monk Seals: Dogs that Run in the Sea. As they read, ask them to write down the answers to these questions:

• Why are Hawaiian monk seals facing extinction?
• Do scientists have any reason to believe that Hawaiian monk seal populations might make a comeback? If so, what evidence do they have?
• What difficulties and challenges arise for people who want to study Hawaiian monk seals?
• How can scientists study monk seals at sea, and why would they want to do so?

Discuss students' answers as a class. In particular, focus on the challenges that arise in studying monk seals and the ways scientists deal with these challenges. For example, the seals are difficult to study when they are feeding at sea, so scientists have used satellite transmitters and video cameras (Crittercams) to "follow" them on their dives.

Have students go to the home page for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve and read the text. Explain that "consumptive or extractive uses" means uses that take something out of the ecosystem or disrupt it significantly. After students have read the paragraphs, discuss these questions as a class:

• What is the purpose of this reserve?
• Why would it be good for scientists studying the monk seal to have this reserve set up?

Ask students what they would do first to help the monk seal. They should realize that they would first need to gather information about the monk seal and find out why it's in danger. If they didn't gather this information, they wouldn't know the best way to help the seal.

Explain that scientists have used Crittercam to study the feeding behaviors of young monk seals. The scientists' goal has been to discover why so few monk seals survive past the age of one. Describe to the class the results of these studies. You may also want to print them so students can have their own copies.

• Young monk seals are very social. They swim together.
• Young monk seals are in danger of being eaten by sharks and being attacked by adult male monk seals.
• Strong young monk seals go to the same deep areas as adults to find their food, but weaker ones don't go that deep and have a hard time finding food.
• Both young and adult monk seals go to the ocean floor and overturn rocks with their snouts to find and eat fish hiding in the rocks.
• Some young monk seals are not strong enough to overturn the rocks.

Discuss how these Crittercam discoveries might help scientists figure out why young monk seals have problems surviving past their first year of life.

Divide the class into small groups. Ask each group to pretend it is a team of scientists who will visit the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve to study monk seals. They will continue the efforts of previous expeditions, including the one that obtained the Crittercam results described above.

Have groups discuss and list the questions they would ask in their investigation. These questions should go beyond the ones already answered by previous Crittercam investigations. For example, good questions to ask would include "Do adult seals ever steal prey from younger seals?" and "How likely is it that a seal will be strong enough to make it into the deep water?"

If students find this activity difficult, begin by coming up with a couple of questions as a class and then have groups continue to brainstorm additional questions. Each group should try to list at least six questions.

Discuss the groups' questions as a class.

Also discuss how Crittercam might be helpful in investigating the groups' questions. Ask students how they think this technology might help monk seal conservation.

Have groups prepare plans for their research in French Frigate Shoals or another island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. Their plans should include these components:

• at least four questions they'd like to investigate
• the challenges they expect to find, and how they would deal with these challenges
• how technology, including Crittercam, can help them

If there's time, have groups share their plans with the class.

• Have students read about monk seal research being conducted at the Waikiki Aquarium and ask them to describe how this research might help in monk seal conservation efforts.
  
  
• Extend the Opening section by having students learn more about the monk seal's behavior and habitats. They can use either of these Web sites:
  
  Earthtrust: Hawaiian Monk Seals
  Fact Sheets: The Hawaiian Monk Seal

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.

Hawaiian Monk Seal
NOAA: Monk Seals—Dogs That Run in the Sea
NOAA: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve
NOAA: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Mission Plan
National Geographic: Crittercam Chronicles