Work The Web

Research the disappearance of the northern cricket frog (Acris crepitani) from southwestern Ontario and produce a report.

Northern (Blanchard's) Cricket Frog, a site maintained by Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, contains basic information on this frog.
For the teacher: This site is very concise; however, it does present information that will allow students to begin exploring the issue. Students will be able to research causes of decline and causes for concern, and a recent history of restoration efforts in Ontario.

Blanchard's (or Northern) cricket frog is a site maintained by the Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network. The page contains some good general information about Blanchard's cricket frog and its natural history.

For the teacher: This general site gives some very basic information about the appearance, distribution, and natural history of the Blanchard's Cricket Frog. Students may also be interested in looking further into this site and researching other amphibians and reptiles or into areas of Canada that have been designated Important Amphibian and Reptile Areas.

National Recovery Plan for Blanchard's Cricket Frog, sponsored by Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, is a very informative site about the frog recovery program at Point Pelee National Park in southern Ontario.
For the teacher: This well-documented site will help the student understand the issues involved in the Point Pelee National Park recovery program. As well, the site includes a lot of information on the frog itself and why it is disappearing.

The peregrine falcon was once considered endangered. Research Canadian efforts to restore this predator and report on their success.

List of Canadian Wildlife at Risk is maintained by World Wildlife Fund Canada.
For the teacher: This World Wildlife Fund Canada site contains an exhaustive list of wildlife at risk in Canada. It also defines what is meant by the various levels of "at risk" — from endangered to threatened.

Species at Risk in Canada, supported by Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, presents a full list of these species.
For the teacher: Students can access the full list of species at risk in Canada at this site, as well as obtain a broader view of the topic. The site includes government white papers, policy papers, species database, etc.

Endangered Species in Canada is sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
For the teacher: Students can explore many issues related to endangered species on this site. For example, you can read why it is necessary to protect species at risk, what is being done today, what are the problems in doing it, what is the Canada Endangered Species Protection Act, and what an individual can do to help protect endangered species.

Canadian wildlife biologists have been attempting to preserve the whooping crane. Are they succeeding? In a short essay, evaluate the success of their program.

The Whooping Crane page on Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service's site, is very detailed.
For the teacher: This detailed site presents the information students need to explore this issue. Photos of the bird are accompanied by good coverage of their zoological description, distribution, habitat, etc., as well as a good, but short, overview of recovery efforts and their success.

The Majestic & Endangered Whooping Crane: An Alberta, Canada Perspective — This site surveys the attempts to save the whooping crane from extinction.
For the teacher: This is a good site from a Canadian viewpoint on the whooping crane and recovery efforts. The site also has an excellent page of extra links to whooping crane information.

"Whooping cranes face uphill battle", was published in the Edmonton Journal, November 22, 1999. This article gives a brief description of the continuing recovery efforts.
For the teacher: This brief news item will help the student become quickly acquainted with the major issues of the recovery effort.

Explore the controversy over wolves in Yellowstone National Park

Background information:
The Yellowstone wolves site, mounted by Yellowstone National Park, follows the wolves on a pack-by-pack basis.
For the teacher: This site is especially good for the latest news on the status of each wolf pack in the restoration program. The map showing the distribution of the packs in the park is useful and clear.

Yellowstone Wolf Restoration — This Yellowstone National Park site describes the wolf restoration program from its beginnings.
For the teacher: This Yellowstone National Park site presents a detailed description of the restoration effort from the program's beginning to present day. It is especially informative about why the program was considered and how it was and is being carried out.

Bearman's Yellowstone Wolf Update page is a creation of Kevin Sanders, who is closely following the progress of the restoration program in Yellowstone National Park.
For the teacher: Kevin Sanders' site on the restoration of the Rocky Mountain Grey Wolf in Yellowstone National Park presents detailed information on the progress of the program, contains maps and updates of the packs, photographs, etc.

Yellowstone Wolf Tracker follows the ecological events associated with the wolf recovery program. The site is supported by the Wolfstock Foundation, an American non-profit organization.
For the teacher: A wealth of information is presented about the wolf recovery program from its beginning in 1995 to the present. Students can follow a pack-by-pack listing, read the observations of wolf watchers in the park, as well as view maps, news, photographs and other field notes. The student can even take a cyber tour of the park to learn about wolves.

Frontier View:
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation site is an American pro-hunting site, although it does not focus on wolves.
For the teacher: The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation site explores the support for hunting. The foundation believes that hunting is a long-standing tradition and part of our cultural heritage, and is a sound wildlife management tool.

"Wolf on the Doorstep of 10th Circuit Court of Appeals: Conservationists, Legal Experts In Court To Defend Yellowstone Wolves", appeared in Wolflines, March 4, 2000.
For the teacher: This site presents the Frontier view from the perspective of "the opposition". Wolflines is a bulletin published by the Defenders of Wildlife.

Reference Section, Waterton Park, Alberta gives a good in-depth look at wolf attacks on cattle and sheep.
For the teacher: The student will be able to judge for themselves about the controversy of whether or not wolves are a menace to cattle and sheep from this well-balanced report. The information is written for a general audience. It presents the history of public attitudes toward wolves, while also giving a lot of information on wolf behaviour.

Stewardship View:
Wolf Ecosystem Research — This detailed site describes a study in Algonquin Park on wolves from an ecological viewpoint. This detailed study is sponsored by the Faculty of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
For the teacher: This well-documented study allows students to explore how ecosystem studies can help in the effort to preserve wolves in their environments.

Defenders of Wildlife, an organization attempting to increase and restore wolf populations in the United States, has 15 links to its wolf conservation programs.
For the teacher: Defenders of Wildlife is an American non-profit conservation organization recognized for its efforts to recover and restore wolves in the United States. The site covers many issues concerned with wolf recovery in the United States including the Yellowstone program.

Ownership View:
Animal Alliance of Canada site gives a broad overview of animal rights issues.
For the teacher: The Animal Alliance of Canada site will help students explore animal rights issues. However, the site does not focus on wolves alone.

Research schools Karin attended. Report on what kinds of specialized learning are offered at each school.

Sault College offers a number of specialized courses, such as architectural engineering technician and water resources engineering as well as continuing education from college preparation to general interest to upgrading skills.
For the teacher: The College offers very comprehensive descriptions of all the courses offered.

Algoma University College offers a co-operative education program.
For the teacher: The College offers very comprehensive descriptions of all the courses offered.

University of Waterloo offers Cooperative Education and Career Services, which are work and study programs, as well as Distance and Continuing Education, including correspondence and Web-mounted courses.
For the teacher: The university offers very comprehensive descriptions of all the courses offered.

University of Ottawa offers Distance Education and a Co-operative Education program.
For the teacher: The university offers very comprehensive descriptions of all the courses offered.

Find out more about one of the following exotic species that have been introduced into ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere: eelgrass; starlings; Russian thistle. Write a report on your findings.

Eelgrass:

"The Eelgrass beds of our estuaries" appears in the Elements Online Environmental Magazine, published by the New Brunswick Environmental Network.
For the teacher: This page presents botanical and ecological facts about eelgrass in language that students can easily understand. This bilingual site offers a wide range of information.

An Overview of Key Conservation, Recreation and Cultural Heritage Values in British Columbia's Marine Environment. The language in this report, written by the Land Use Coordination Office for the Government of British Columbia, is fairly technical.
For the teacher: This site presents the British Columbia view on eelgrass. Students might find the university-level vocabulary of this report a challenge. However, it will help students assemble information on the distribution of eelgrass and details on the ecosystem it inhabits.

Starlings:
The European Starling site is part of Environment Canada's Canadian Bird Trends Database.
For the teacher: The basic zoological facts about starlings are presented. The student can use a map showing the range of starling populations and a graph charting population change These are accompanied by a photograph of a starling.

"Urban jungle: Not so darling starlings", written by Lawrence Papoff, describes the introduction of European starlings to North America and the history of their spread into Canada.
For the teacher: This article, which appeared in the magazine, The Next City published in Toronto, has solid information on how starlings spread into Canada from Europe and the United States. The writer also explores some of the affects starlings have on their environment.

Russian thistle:
This Russian thistle site is mounted by the Ontario Vegetation Management Association, which considers Russian thistle a weed.
For the teacher: Students can use this concise site for a botanical description of Russian thistle and a photo of the plant. Be aware that the Russian thistle is treated here as a noxious weed.

The Russian thistle site, mounted by the Manitoba Department of Agriculture and Food, is short but informative.
For the teacher: Good photographs of the Russian thistle accompany solid information on the biology, effect on crops and how to control this invasive plant — all from an agricultural viewpoint.

The Russian Thistle site, mounted by the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture and Food, contains the basic facts on this plant.
For the teacher: Although this site gives a good, but short, description of the botany and behaviour of the Russian thistle, the information is given with a herbicide control perspective. A botanical drawing of the plant is also included.