Population Ecology Graphing Activity: Loons and Power Boats

Life science and ecology students participating in this activity will graph the declining territorial pairs of loons in the upper Midwest over twelve years. They will also graph the increasing number of personal watercrafts, wake boats, and tritoons with powerful engines during the same time range.

The common loon is an iconic waterfowl bird in the Northwoods and the Minnesota state bird. While several factors have been attributed to the loon’s demise, students will see the trendlines on the two graphs and make the inverse correlation of how the increased use of wake-producing watercraft is likely a prominent factor disrupting the bird's nesting areas, resulting in its population decline.

After students have graphed the information from the source data tables, they will perform calculations and data analysis in conclusion. This four-page lesson comes with a complete key in color and built-in grids for graphing. This PDF file will become editable upon conversion to Microsoft Word using Adobe Acrobat.

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