Gray Whale Migration Off the California Coast
Latest Migration Data and Graphs

Make your own graphs using the data at the links below, or print and anayze our graphs. For background, see lessoon: Tracking Gray Whale Migration from California Observation Posts.)

Los Angeles Data	Whales passing per day February 1 - May 1, 2006	Channel Islands Data
Northbound and Southbound Los Angeles	Northbound Los Angeles	Northbound Channel Islands
Data Courtesy of the American Cetacean Society of Los Angeles and Channel Islands

Journaling Questions: Patience Made Patterns Appear!
For the past 89 days, from February 1st to May 1st, volunteers watched for whales and sent us the numbers. In total, they saw 1,492 northbound whales (888 whales from the Los Angeles Post and 602 whales from the Channel Islands post). Volunteers at Los Angeles watched during daylight hours, 7 days a week. At the Channel Islands, they watched and counted 8 hours a day. Much of the time these dedicated observers saw nothing at all! But they showed a lot of patience.

As this week's entry in your gray whale migration journal, write about the importance of patience in science. Consider questions like these:

• How many whales did observers at each site see per day, on average?
• Roughly how many hours did the volunteers watch for whales, if they watched 7 days a week during ALL daylight hours? If they watched an 8-hour shift each day?
• Look at the bars on the graph. What do the patterns tell us about gray whale migration? What questions would you try to answer next year, if you were the scientists?
• How would you improve the study next year, if you were in charge? (Remember: It took many years before this year to design this census study. Each year that they saw a need for improvements, they had to wait a whole year to refine their protocol.)
• What factors might limit this study? (You know it's done mostly by volunteers, but try to think of what would cost money, where the money comes from, and what choices must be made if there's not enough money or people.)

Hats off to the volunteers of the American Cetacean Society of Los Angeles and the Channel Islands!

• Gray Whale Migration Journal >>

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