"Seasonal and Long-Term Changes in Relative Abundance of Bull Sharks from a Tourist Shark Feeding Site in Fiji" Evaluation

Summary:
     Feeding sharks and rays have become a popular activity for tourist. Some are concerned that feeding the sharks can be harmful to the population of sharks. This study count bull sharks at a marine Reserve in Fiji. The main goal was to answer the following questions: 1) What are the changes of abundance of the bull shark? 2) How many sharks use the feeding site? 3) What is the female to male ratio of sharks? 4) How does the reproductive cycle vary each season? From the results of these questions show how the number of sharks going to the site change each year and what the reproductive cycle of the shark is.
     In order to attract sharks at this site, a diver dives down to different levels and releases food into the water. Sharks come because they are attracted to the chum and then the tourist can feed the sharks. From 2003 to 2009, bull sharks were counted and observed at each feeding. They counted how many bull sharks came, what sex they were, if they were pregnant, if there were any mating scars and if they had any other type of distinguishing features. Some sharks were named and they observed when that specific shark would come back.
    The results showed that each day 0 to 40 sharks would come to the feeding site. Over the long term there was an increase in sharks. The average female to male ratio was 3:4 but the overall was 3:6. Females had mating wounds from December to February. After the females left pregnant in the months October through December she would come back having gave birth.

Evaluate:
     The article is accurate because it goes into detail about the study that the report was on. It does not stray from the main topic at all. The authors are specific and the study has a clear purpose. The report on the study is broken down into headings that make it clear as to how they conducted the study, why, and what the results were. The way the report was written was slightly confusing at first but once they clearly stated the purpose it was easier to follow. The report could have been more concise. There was some redundancy in the report. It could have been shorter and more to the point. The study was ethical. They did not harm the sharks or the people who were feeding the sharks. They simply observed and counted the bull sharks. Overall the readability was not at a low reading level. It was a little difficult to read. But it was still understandable. As a reader, I am satisfied with the report and how it was written.
      The intended purpose was made clear, which was to count and observe the bull sharks. They wanted to see if the population increased and what the reproduction cycle was like in the area. The audience was directed towards other scientist, and conservationists. Someone who was at least in 11th grade could understand the study. It was not a very complicated study but the report was not written for a lay audience. The organization of the document was very good. The sections were broken up. The results were broken up into subheadings which made it easy to see the findings.

Reference:
Brunnschweiler, J.M., & Baensch, H. (2011). Seasonal and Long-Term Changes in Relative   
      Abundance of Bull Sharks from a Tourist Shark Feeding Site in Fiji. Plos one,6(1), doi:  
      10.1371/journal.pone.0016597.

 

"Dolphin Shows and Interaction Programs: Benefits for Conservation Education?" Evaluation

Summary:
     Dolphins and other marine organisms are being threatened due to anthropogenic factors. Dolphins are effected by overfishing, pollution, and boating. Educational programs in aquariums are set up through shows and interactive programs to teach people about the marine environment and conservation. This study's goal is to see if these programs are effective in helping educate the public.
      This study was conducted to see if attending dolphin shows and going to interactive dolphin programs would change a persons behavior, attitude, and/or conservation knowledge. A survey was given to individuals over the age of 18 who either attended a dolphin show or interactive program, or did not. Surveys were given to participants before their experience, directly after their experience, and three months after. The surveys asked questions about the participants general knowledge, conservation behaviors, attitude toward conservation and overall experience.
     The results showed that the experience was entertaining and for the interactive program it was an experience of a lifetime. After both shows, the audience had an increase in conservation interest both long term and short term. Participants had increased interest in dolphins and marine animals. The number of dolphin shows the participant attended seemed to be a factor in their interests. Overall, both interactive and non interactive dolphin shows were successful in educating the public on conservation efforts regarding the oceans.

Evaluation:
     This report seemed to be very accurate. The authors went into great detail about the experiment that took place. They did not leave out any details and the experiment made sense. The report had all the parts that were necessary to be an accurate report. The report was clear. The headings clarify each step of the process. The authors explain why they did the experiment, how they did it, and what they found as results. The experiment is ethical because all participants knew what they were participating in and why. The experiment itself was ethical because the goal was to determine how to educate people on marine conservation. The report was very easy to read. The reading level was at a low level that I could easily understand. There weren't too many big words and the sentence structure is not complex. I think that the report was overall satisfying to the reader.
     The purpose of this report was to explain what the experiment was, how it was conducted, and what the results were. The audience was directed to a lay audience. The vocab was not complicated and it was easy to follow. The study was not hard to follow. The organization of the document was easy to follow. The headings made it clear as to what they did in the experiment.

Reference:
Miller, L.J., Zeigler-Hill, V., Mellen, J., Koeppel, J., Greer, T., & Kuczaj, S. (2012). Dolphin Shows
     and Interaction Programs: Benefits for Conservation Education?. Zoo Biology, 32. 45-53.

Long Distance Movements of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins and other species of Bottlenose Dolphins

Summary:
      This study was performed in order to find out the paterns of migration of Bottlenose dolphins in the Oita region, where they came from, and their range. This study took place in Kyushu, Japan, in     Western Japan.
     First, the crew interviewed locals to find where there were sitings of dolphins so they had areas where they could begin to look for pods. Then they set off and looked for dolphins themselves. Some used just their eyes and others used binoculars to look for the dolphins. The crew could tell the difference between  common Bottlenose dolphins and Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins by their dorsal fins. The crew followed and tracked these different pods and species of dolphins.
     They found Indo-Pacific dolphins in Tsukumi Bay which was 2 kilometers west from where they were first sited. Then the group was observed going southwest along the coast. Two groups of Common Bottlenosed dolphins were sighted. One group was traveling east from Tsukumi Bay.The second group was found in Usuki Bay. The Common Bottlenosed dolphins were found in deep sea water whereas the Indo-Pacific Bottlenosed were found in shallow waters.
    The Indo-Pacific Bottlenosed dolphins were first sighted in the Oita area. The crew also found two groups of Common Bottlenosed dolphins and tracked them for two years in areas that Indo-Pacific dolphins inhabited as well. However, the Common Bottlenosed inhabited deeper depths than the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific dolphins could be found within a small area and very easily. They had a distinct migratory pattern. Common dolphins are found in a wider range of areas in temperate, tropical marine areas.

Evaluate:
    The purpose of this report on the migration and range of dolphins, was to explain what the study was, how they cinducted the study and what they found as results. This report was written to inform the audience of what occured during the experiment and what was found.
     The audience for this  report for a low-tech audience. The vocabulary was not complicated but there were no definitions. Some of the terminology could have been unclear to a lay audience. The report discusses locations, anatomy, and bodies of water that might be unclear to a lay audience. This report was not written at a fourth grade level.
     The organization was formated well. The report had headings for the introduction, methods and tools, results, and discussion. It also had subheadings further describing the data and observations the crew made. The report also had graphics and tables that neatly organized the data that was found.
     This report was easy to read, clear, and accurate. The report was also ethical. Overall, the report clearly told the audience what the study was, what they did, and what the results were.

Work Cited

Shirakihara, M., Shirakihara, K., Nishiyama, M., Iida, T., & Amano, M. (2012). Long-Distance Movements of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) and Habitat Preference of Two Species of Bottlenose Dolphins in Eastern Kyushu, Japan. Aquatic Mammals, 38(2), 145-152. doi:10.1578/AM.38.2.2012.145

Effects of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish on Coral Reefs

Summary:
     This scientific article is about a study conducted off the island of Moorea, where there were outbreaks of a "Crown-of-Thorns" starfish, also called by its scientific name, Ancanthaster. This specific study tracked where the starfish where distributed around the island and how they effected the coral reef communities.
     This study used two specific methods for collecting the data. One method was a survey taken periodically at three different sites. These sites were small and varied throughout the shores of the island. The second approach to collecting data was on a larger scale. The data was collected from all the coral reefs around the entire island of Moorea. To survey the reefs a SCUBA diver was towed around by a boat slowly around Moorea.
     In the study, there was evidence of high densities of Ancasnthasters and proof their numbers were growing. There was also evidence that they were spreading all over the shores and reefs around Moorea.  The impacts the seastars had on the communities were distructive. Coral had a high mass mortality which resulted in a decline in reef life in general.There was an increase in turf algea in the coral reefs. Overall, Anacanythasters were growing in number in the reefs off of Moorea and they were destroying the coral and ruining the reef communities.

Evaluation:
      The purpose of the article was to inform the reader of the study that was performed. The report's intention was to explain that the experiment was about the effects of seastars on coral reef communities specifically off the coast of Moorea. The report also described how the experiment was conducted and what the results were.
     This report was for a high-tech audience. There were no definitions of words, so it was assumed the reader new what everything meant. Scientific names of animals were used instead of their common names. It was not written on a fourth grade reading level so everyone could understand it. The sentence structure was complex as well. A low-tech audience might be able to follow the report but might still struggle.
     The organization of the document was easy to follow. There were headings for the introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. There were also subheadings breaking down the larger sections. The graphics were also labeled and had easy to read captions.
     The article was accurate in describing the study. This article was also ethical. However, it was not conise or easy to read. Some sections were difficult to understand, and there was a lot of extra details that were not necessary to the report.

Work Cited

Kayal, M., Vercelloni, J., de Loma, T., Bosserelle, P., Chancerelle, Y., Geoffroy, S., & ... Adjeroud,  M. (n.d). Predator Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci) Outbreak, Mass Mortality    of Corals, and Cascading Effects on Reef Fish and Benthic Communities. Plos One, 7(10),