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James Woodenlegs first learned to communicate using Plains Indians Sign Language from his family, growing up on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. Also known as “hand talk,” the language has been used by both deaf and hearing Indians from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico for at least 200 years, possibly much longer. Woodenlegs is working with sign language scholars Jeffrey Davis and Melanie McKay-Cody to document and preserve hand talk, one of thousands of the world’s endangered languages.
(Source: DCMP)
The scientific team visits the Chagos Archipelago, a tropical paradise with some of the healthiest coral reefs on the planet. They want to study reefs seemingly untouched by man but instead become witnesses to a bleaching incident that transforms the reefs right before their eyes. Part of the "Global Reef Expedition" series.
For nearly 40 years, Dr. Ellen Ketterson and her research team from Indiana University have been studying juncos in the mountain forests of Virginia. This segment introduces viewers to the junco, the researchers, and the core methods they use to study birds. Set in field, lab, and aviary locations, one landmark study is highlighted in detail: a long-term field experiment investigating the complex effects of the hormone testosterone on behavior, physiology, and evolutionary fitness. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 2).
Juncos, also known as snowbirds, are readily observed in backyards, city parks, and forests. These little gray birds are so common they can be easily overlooked. But for scientists who study animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology, the junco is a rock star. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Intro).
Throughout North America, the species known as the dark-eyed junco exhibits striking differences in feather color, body size, and behavior from place to place. These variations among subspecies have caught the attention of biologists interested in diversification, evolution, and speciation. This segment features footage from junco habitats across the continent as researchers try to decode the riddle of the Junco’s evolutionary history. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 3).
Less familiar to residents of the US and Canada are several junco groups that inhabit the highlands of Mexico and Central America. In this segment, researchers from around the world travel to remote high elevation habitats to study unique junco groups. They explore the concepts of endemism, geographic isolation, and the role of genetic data in classifying species. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 4).
Researchers hitch a ride with the Mexican Navy to visit the breathtakingly beautiful but critically endangered island habitat of Guadeloupe Island. Led by Drs. Borja Mila and Ellen Ketterson, the team sets out to collect some of the first modern data and genetic samples from the juncos found on the remote island, with the goal of learning the origins and evolutionary history of this mysterious species. What they find could have important implications for the future of this fascinating but imperiled population of juncos. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 5).
Scientist William Rowan is renowned for his research on the dark-eyed junco. Before Rowan, it was unknown what environmental cues animals used to time the seasonal changes in their biology. Through a groundbreaking experiment with the junco, Rowan discovered the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. Shot as an historical re-enactment, this segment provides a glimpse into the history and human dimensions of scientific research and reveals one of the first studies that made juncos well-known to biologists. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 1).
Recapping themes from the prior modules and previewing the junco research of the future, this closing segment reinforces the broad range of important scientific findings involving the Junco. Featuring sound bites from more than a dozen diverse scientists who study juncos, this segment emphasizes the importance of emerging genetic and genomic research tools to complement research in the field. Viewers are reminded to consider all that can be learned from a little backyard bird. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Outro).
In contrast to the peaceful wildlands featured in the prior segments, the urban campus of the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) seems like an unlikely place to find field biologists studying juncos. But in the early 1980s, some juncos decided to make this atypical urban and coastal habitat their year-round home. Since then, scientists have documented a remarkable array of changes in the physical traits, behaviors, and physiology of the colonist population of juncos at UCSD when compared to juncos from the nearby native range. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 6).
The blackspotted puffer fish lives in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. To scare away predators, it puffs its body up like a balloon. However, this fish is poisonous, so it's not safe to eat. Now, that's one weird animal. Part of the "Weird Animal" series.
Highlights the importance of elephants in Indian culture. Shows how they are trained, how people care for them in captivity, how they are represented in culture, and how human needs are affecting their native habitats. Follows a female mahoot (elephant handler) travelling with elephants on the annual summer migration, a three-hundred-mile journey east across northeast India.
Can we bring back species that are on the brink of extinction? A Native American wildlife biologist Robert Mesta, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, combines scientific training and traditional Indian values to help bring the Arizona bald eagle off the "endangered species" list.
There are three manatee species worldwide: West Indian, West African, and Amazonian. These large creatures average 10 feet long and 1,200 pounds; however, they are incredibly graceful aquatic animals. They also play an important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, but they face two major threats: loss of habitat and collisions with boats and ships. Part of the "Endangered Ocean" series.
Anthony Marr champions the cause of the endangered Bengal tiger, focusing on 40 tigers at an Indian national park. From 100,000 animals in 1900 to less than 5,000 today, the tigers face extinction from lack of space, poachers, desire for folk medicine, apathy, and ignorance. Shows tigers hunting, eating, resting, and with new cubs. Photography supports facts about this most exotic and revered predator. NOTE: One brief mating scene.
What began as an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean ended as the most deadly tsunami in recorded history. Ten years later, scientists have a better understanding of these events, and coastlines are far better prepared for such a catastrophe, thanks in large part to the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research at Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Part of the "Danger Zone" series.
Christmas Island, discovered December 25, 1643, is just a spec of land in the Indian Ocean. The annual red crab migration at the beginning of the rainy season, however, is so massive it can be seen from the air. It has been named a wonder of the natural world. Follows this terrestrial arthropod from its rainforest burrow, across dangerous landscape to the ocean to mate.
Travels to over a dozen locations exploring the state of global fisheries. Explores the consequences in the Indian Ocean of nets with mesh so fine that even seawater only trickles out, the potential extinction of tuna in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, and the impact of land-based sources of pollution on coastal fishing areas. Part two of this series reports on the search for solutions.
Moko is an explorer. As he travels the world continent by continent, he makes many friends and discovers many natural phenomena which sometimes delight him, and other times scare him. Each animated episode recounts an adventure and takes an "original story" approach to explaining these natural phenomena. In this episode, Mei-Lei takes Moko to the rice fields. The sky is blue and Moko thinks that in this country there just aren't any clouds. Mei-Lei tells him to wait until nightfall, that the rains will dance over the village. Moko doesn't believe her, there isn't a cloud in sight! Suddenly, the sky darkens and Mei-Lei wants to return to the village, but Moko wants to know more. He climbs the hill behind the village to get a better look at the sky. The wind picks up and a great wave of rain washes everything in its wake. Moko and Mei-Lei take shelter from the monsoon behind a rock. To make the rain stop Mei-Lei starts to sing and dance. Bit by bit the rain subsides and the two friends decide to return to the village. Moko thinks that Mei-Lei's dancing was magical and had the power to stop the rain.
Nate explores the "Chemistry of Color" exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art to find out more about color and pigments. The exhibit charts the relationship between chemistry and art over a period of more than 4,500 years. Part of the "Artrageous With Nate" series.
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Resources to teach younger students about animals
A collection containing 58 resources, curated by DIAGRAM Center
