2. By Ellen Lee Period 6 Code 8 Owl Pellet Project

3. Introduction

4. Comparative Question: Do owls in the north or south of the U.S eat more voles? Hypothesis/Prediction: Since voles like to live in open grasslands, the north has a larger population of voles. The north of the U.S has several grasslands, which means there are numerous amount of voles. If there is a high population of voles there would be a high population of owls hunting for their prey.

5. Method

6. Prey Animal and Assembled Skeleton Townsend Vole (Microtus Townsendii)

7. Graphs

8. Data Tables AnimalVolePocket Gopher MouseShrewRatBirdMoleTotal # found49102101063 Percent78%16%3%2%0%2%0%100% Exterior of pelletPrey Animal FoundNumber of EachNon-Prey items found (if any) Length (cm)6 cmVole1 Height (cm)2 cmMouse2 Width (cm)6 cm Mass (g)7 g Table 1: Personal Owl Pellet Data Table 2: Types of Prey Animals per Pellet Period 6 Results

9. Data Tables Prey Animals per pellet 1234567>8Total # of pellets in class Total # prey animals in class Number of pellets 185430002163 Percent5%5% 38%23%19%14%0% 100% Table 3: Number of Prey Animals per Pellet Period 6 Results: AnimalVolePocket gopher MouseShrewRatBirdMoleTotal # found26027374030331 Percent79%8%11%1%0%1%0%100% Table 4: Types of Prey Animals Found in Owl Pellets Entire Grade Results

10. Data Tables Prey Animals per pellet 1234567>8Total # of pellets Total # of prey animals in class Number of pellets 830322011401106331 Percent8%8% 28%30%19%10%4%0%1%100% Table 5: Number of Prey Animals per Pellet- Entire Grade Results Average number of prey animals per pellet (mean) Type of prey animal contained by most pellets (mode for Table 4) Number of prey animals contained by most pellets (mode for Table 5) Lowest to highest number of prey animals in one pellet (range) 3vole31-8 Table 6: Entire Class Statistics

11. Data Table & Graph: Comparative Question Barn Owls in North Eating Voles73.2% Barn Owls in South Eating Voles63.4%

12. Discussion

13. Conclusion

14. Personal Reflections I had so much fun with this experiment of dissecting owl pellets! I thought this whole procedure was very interesting. My favorite part of the project was assembling my prey skeleton, although it was a pain when I had missing bones! I hope the future sixth graders will enjoy and cherish this project as much as I did.