Guide 9A Fitness
Resources
Additional activities, a behind-the-scenes gallery, recommended books, and more.
About this Guide
Animals for Children
I was raised with ducks, for some reason they were all named “Ducky Blair,” and I have strong memories of their care especially being nipped repeatedly during feeding time. Pressure is always on parents to get pets for their kids, to teach responsibility, animal life stages, and more. After a lifetime with animals, I’m a firm believer that first pets like mealy worm beetles (Tenebrio molitor) or Triops teach skills and concepts, and once children find the smallest animals fascinating, they have a world of wonder ahead.
Lesley
Additional Activities
Pet Store Field Trip
If you are in a city or do not have time to head out into the field, pet stores offer amazing opportunities for observations and inferences related to animal structure and behaviors. Now that so many people have smart phones, few stores now limit photography or videos, although it may be polite to ask. Of course the issue develops, that you may want to adopt them all :).
New Vistas
Animals often live in areas that humans have difficulty accessing, like coastal birds nesting on rocky outcroppings. Investing is optical equipment like binoculars or a telephoto lens immerses you in the animal’s habitat safely, with minimal impact on the animals themselves. It is an investment, but equipment can last for many years.
Weather vs. Climate
Weather has a significant impact on fitness. In case you are wondering what the difference is between weather and climate, it is the time scale. Weather is the temperature and precipitation over a short period of time. Climate is the accumulation of those weather events over years, decades, and longer. So we are talking about the weather when we are discussing that day’s temperature and rainfall, but we are talking about the climate if we talk about average seasonal conditions over time. Start collecting weather data on a regular basis now, and in a human lifetime, you can observe climate trends.
Goose Dock
A decade ago a pair of Dusky Canada Geese showed up in one of our recently excavated ponds and Mark built a nesting platform for them the next day. Of course, they immediately left and we haven’t seen the geese land at that pond since. However in the mean time, other animals have come and gone, including thousands of Pacific Tree Frog tadpoles that hid under the protection of the floating platform. So, it ended up being a success, just not in the way we intended.
Just for Fun
Birds exhibit some of the most elaborate structures and behaviors related to mating. Zoos are now including more aviaries and outdoor bird venues to attract visitors.
This macro video shows guppy iridescence and the strong variation of colors and patterns that female guppies can see but is more difficult for us to detect without magnification.
Behind-the-Scenes
Interpretive Centers
We are historically cheap when it comes to paying for outdoor experiences, but have changed our tune now that we are collecting media for this course and are benefiting from information at parks and refuges. This trip was right before the pandemic.
Park Excursions
Some of our favorite photos and videos have been coming from parks where people have been regularly feeding an/or sheltering the animals. The ability to get close to human habituated animals almost feels like cheating.
Recommended Books
A used animal behavior textbook is a good starting place if you want to learn more about animal behavior research.
Guppies are a great starter fish that are relatively easy to maintain and breed.
Birds bring animals behaviors directly to our parks and yards: find out what they are up to.
Build a Library
Whether its digital or print, collect resources that assist in exploring, describing, and explaining the natural world.
Fitness Product Page
Complete this guide’s products before advancing on to the next guide
Back to Behaviors
Module 9 Overview
This Guide
9A: Fitness