Manatee Match
​Inquiry Activity
 ​A learning activity by Tom J. McConnell, Megan Reneker, Jessica Bockover, 
Alaina Page & Barbara Giorgio-Booher, Ball State University. 
Produced for Conservation Tales: Manatees (2018) 

Manatee researchers and conservation workers share a database of information to help them identify individual manatees. Manatees sometimes have scars or injuries that can be used to identify the animals because they create unique markings. When researchers can identify an individual animal, they record the location where it was found, date and time, and what the animal was doing. That information can help researchers understand where manatees travel, how long they live, how often they reproduce and more.

Researchers at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium train new researchers to identify animals based on these marks by using sets of cards. The researcher practices matching photographs with diagrams that show the scar patterns of known manatees. In this activity, you can practice the same skills! 

Objectives:

• I can match photos of manatees with scar charts to identify the animals.
• I can describe factors that make identifying manatees more challenging.
• I can design ways to use the skills in this activity to study other species of animals.

Download Lesson Plan Materials

Download the Teacher's Guide, and Student Handout. Sets of the Manatee Match cards can be purchased on the Conservation Tales eStore page.

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Teacher's Guide

Student Handout

For the Teacher
Grade Level: 2-8
Class Periods: 1-2

NGSS Standards
Disciplinary Core Ideas

• ETS1B

​Practices 

• Developing and using models and tools
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Engaging in argument from evidence ​​ 

​Croscutting Concepts

• Patterns
• Cause & effect

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Conservation Tales acknowledge support from Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.