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How Are Elephant Seals Adapted to Their Environment?

Students create posters or skits based on specific adaptive characteristics of elephant seals. Most of these adaptations will be observable on the field trip.

Time required: 2 - hours Location: classroom Suggested group size: 30 students, divided into teams Subject(s): science Concept(s) covered: adaptation: biological water conservation, fasting, waste removal, thermoregulation, delayed implantation, diving mammals, secondary sexual traits, etc. Adapted from: MARE: Marine Activities, Resources and Education, Regents of the University of California Written by: Trudie Behr-Scott, Hill Middle School Leila Raim, Volunteer, Point Reyes National Seashore Last updated: 11/27/00

Student Outcomes
At the end of this activity, the students will be able to:

• Produce a poster outlining one specific elephant seal adaptation.



• Lay a foundation for elephant seal behaviors to be observed on field trip.

California Science Standard Links (grades 6 – 8)
This activity is linked to the California Science Standards in the following areas:

6th grade:

5c - organisms can be categorized by functions
5e - resources available and abiotic factors

7th grade:

5a - animals have levels of organization for structure and function
5c - bones and muscles work together to provide a framework for movement
5d - reproduction

National Science Standard Links (grades 5 – 8)
This activity is linked to the National Science Standards in the following areas:

• Content Standard C - Structure and function in living systems; regulation and behavior; diversity and adaptations of organism

Materials
To be provided by the teacher:

• Poster paper, scissors, drawing supplies

To be photocopied from this guide:

• Adaptation Note Taking Guide activity sheet - one per student (40K PDF document)
• Elephant Seal Adaptation Cards activity sheet - one per class (64k PDF document)

Vocabulary
Adaptation, blubber, conservation, delayed implantation, fetus, gestation, metabolism, proboscis, toxin

Procedures

1. Introduce concept of adaptation
   Lead a discussion of adaptations. What are some examples of adaptations for humans, cats, dogs, or other types of mammals?



2. Form teams
   Divide students into teams so that each Elephant Seal Adaptation Card (15 total) has students responsible for making a poster. Each student team will receive an adaptation card, a note-taking guide, and poster paper. Each team will produce a poster highlighting their particular adaptation.
   Group that receives "Thermoregulation: Size Matters" as an adaptation will produce life-sized silhouettes of elephant seals instead of a poster. Silhouettes of a female and pup can be drawn inside a male silhouette or on a separate piece of paper. Use a grid method to transfer drawing (1" = 3 to 4 feet) or project the images onto paper using an overhead projector. Students can trace the image at an appropriate size.
   
   Group that receives Vocalizations as an adaptation will need to visit a website and share sounds with other students. http://www.parks.ca.gov/central/bayarea/an228/an228m.htm Keyword: elephant seals and sounds



3. Display posters
   
   Hang posters where they will get attention and teach others about elephant seals. Try a parent open house or the auditorium. Use the "Size Matters" adaptation posters as a safety message instructing students to remain at a distance from elephant seals.



4. Optional skit activity
   Students working in teams will receive an adaptation card and be instructed to portray their adaptation using theatrics and drama. Other students will guess what is being portrayed.

Extension ideas

1. Have students design and draw animals suited to live in a cold, dark environment under great oceanic pressure. What adaptations help your animals cope with physical conditions of the deep sea? How do they find food, avoid being eaten, reproduce, and communicate with one another?
   (source: Sea Searcher's Handbook: Monterey Bay Aquarium)



2. Explain how natural selection favors animals that have adapted to their environment. Imagine an elephant seal that evolved to live in a different environment. What would that elephant seal look like? What would it eat? How would it defend itself? Would an elephant seal need its blubber if it lived in the desert? What adaptations would it need to live in outer space? Choose a different environment (forest, marsh, city, etc.) and draw an elephant seal in that new environment. Create new body parts that it will need to survive in its new home. Label the parts.
3. Have students create adaptations for an organism facing challenges in its environment (western snowy plovers, red-legged frogs, and native grasses).
4. Discuss evolution of marine mammals from land mammals. Why would land mammals return to a marine environment?

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