http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/duk_/lessons/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2.xmllessontext/xmlEngineering K-Ph.D. Program, DolphinEcholocationBycatchSoundMarine MammalsFood ChainEcosystemFrequencyWavelengthPeriodSignalEcholocationSoundAttenuationFood ChainEcosystemBiotic FactorsAbiotic FactorsGillnetBy-catch

Echolocation is the ability to orient by transmitting sound and receiving echoes from objects in the environment. As a result of a Marco-Polo type activity and subsequent lesson, students learn basic concepts of echolocation. They use these concepts to understand how dolphins use echolocation to locate prey, escape predators, navigate their environment, such as avoiding gillnets set by commercial fishing vessels. Students will also learn that dolphin sounds are vibrations created by vocal organs, and that sound is a type of wave or signal that carries energy and information especially in the dolphin’s case. Students will learn that a dolphin’s sense of hearing is highly enhanced and better than that of human hearing. Students will also be introduced to the concept of bycatch. Students will learn what happens to animals caught through bycatch and why.

After learning how echolocation works, students discuss how net designs can be made easier for dolphins to "see" using echolocation and therefore less likely for dolphins to entangle themselves in. Engineers also borrow concepts such as echolocation from nature. For instance, sonar on submarines is simply a type of echolocation Student should be able to define “echolocation” and list three benefits for the dolphin species.Students should be able to state that dolphins have a better sense of hearing than humansStudents should be able to define all lesson key words and be able to make statements in a discussion that relate the keywords to dolphins and their behaviors in the ecosystem.Students should be able to explain why dolphins need their echolocation abilities especially when hunting deep below the ocean’s surface.Students should be able to reply that dolphins are mammals and not fish, and give at least one reason why.Students should be able to define by-catch and explain what happens to the animals affected.Students should be able to explain how dolphins can use echolocation to avoid nets.Students will be able to discuss how nets can be better engineered to protect dolphins from bycatch by taking advantage of echolocation.1TeachEngineering.orgTom Rose, Billyde Brown, Neera Desai, Kim Goetze, Mina Innes, Angela Jiang, Matt Nusnbaum Aruna Venkatesan, Vicki Thayer, Amy Whitt (Authors), Pratt School of Engineering and Duke Marine Laboratory, Duke Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/duk_/lessons/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2/sample_echo_disc_quest.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/duk_/lessons/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2/echo_diagram.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/duk_/lessons/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2/dolp_anatomy_trans.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/duk_/lessons/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2/assess_6thgrade_echo_worksheet.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/duk_/lessons/duk_bycatchunit_musc_less2/assess_7thgrade_echo_worksheet.pdfAu, W.W.L. The Sonar of Dolphins. Springer-Verlag, New York.Barrett-Leonard, L.G. et al. 1996. The mixed blessing of echolocation: differences in sonar use by fish-eating and mammal-eating killer whales. Animal Behavior 51: 553-565.Cranford, T.W. et al. 1996. Functional morphology and homology in the odontocete nasal complex: implications for sound generation. Journal of Morphology 228: 223-285.Deecke, V.B. et al. 2002. Selective habituation shapes acoustic predator recognition in harbour seals. Nature 420: 171-173.Harrison, Sir Richard, et. al. Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1994.Mark Carwardine, The Book of Dolphins. Dragon's World Ltd, 1996.http://www.inkokomo.com/dolphin/echolocation.htmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/17963/head.html"In the Wild with Robin Williams" video 1997. Available at amazon.comMarine Mammal Biology, An Evolutionary Approach. 2002. Edited by: R. Hoelzel. Blackwell Science, Ltd., Oxford, U.K.Biology of Marine Mammals. 1999. Edited by: J. Reynolds III and S. Rommel. Smithsonian Institution, WDC, USA S10283BBNorth_CarolinaScience1.03 Observe and discuss how behaviors and body structures help animals survive in a particular habitat.44S10283BDNorth_CarolinaScience1.05 Recognize that humans can understand themselves better by learning about other animals.44S10283E1North_CarolinaScience1.05 Explain and evaluate some ways that humans affect ecosystems.&#8226; Habitat reduction due to development.55S102841ENorth_CarolinaScience1.05 Analyze evidence to:<br />&#8226; Explain observations.66S102849DNorth_CarolinaScience7.01 Describe ways in which organisms interact with each other and with non-living parts of the environment:<br />&#8226; Coexistence/Cooperation/Competition.66United StatesCopyright 2012 - Engineering K-Ph.D. Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2008-09-266Teacher