Tag: Ruth Francis-Floyd

Diagnostic Methods for the Comprehensive Health Assessment of the Long-Spined Sea Urchin, Diadema antillarum

Using a dissecting microscope to examine D. antillarum. This animal was to be necropsied, so spines were cut prior to the exam. If the procedure is planned as a nonlethal exam, the spines should not be damaged.

This 55-page document contains a wealth of information on the long-spined sea urchin, which is an important animal in coral reef ecosystems. The publication discusses diagnostic methods for Diadema antillarum and provides reporting forms for laboratory and diagnostic work. Written by Ruth Francis-Floyd, Jan Landsberg, Roy Yanong, Yasu Kiryu, Shirley Baker, Deborah Pouder, William Sharp, Gabriel Delgado, Nicole Stacy, Tom Waltzek, Heather Walden, Roxanna Smolowitz, and Greg Beck, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine—Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, May 2020.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm244

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 9: How Do Whales Stay Warm?

Exposed oyster beds at low tide along the shoreline at Anastasia State Park in Northeast Florida. Oyster beds, mollusks, shellfish, coastline, state parks. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.

This 9-page document is the ninth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students investigate the roles that blubber, body shape, and body size play in preventing heat loss in marine mammals. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm234

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 16: North Atlantic Right Whales and Ship Strikes

A boat off the coast of the Florida Keys. Photo taken 03/02/15.

This 7-page document is the sixteenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students learn why ship strikes are a threat to North Atlantic right whale survival, and what conservation measures are in place to reduce this threat. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire, Jessica Hardy, Brenda Cannaliato, and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm241

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 4: How Big Are Cetaceans?

Dolphin closeup.

This 12-page document is the fourth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students gain an understanding of the size of different cetaceans through engaging activities. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm229

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 12: Identifying Individual North Atlantic Right Whales

Exposed oyster beds at low tide along the shoreline at Anastasia State Park in Northeast Florida. Oyster beds, mollusks, shellfish, coastline, state parks. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.

This 4-page document is the twelfth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students learn about the New England Aquarium’s right whale database and match photographs of individual right whales. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire, Ruth Francis-Floyd, and Brenda Cannaliato, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm237

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 8: Food Chains

Small fish swim in large schools in the shallow water.

This 6-page document is the eighth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students identify components of baleen and toothed whale food chains and trace energy flow. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire, Brenda Cannaliato, and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm233

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 3: Researching Individual Whale and Dolphin Species

Dolphin closeup.

This 55-page document is the third lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students learn about individual cetacean species through a game. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm228

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 2: Cetaceans–What Makes a Whale a Whale?

Exposed oyster beds at low tide along the shoreline at Anastasia State Park in Northeast Florida. Oyster beds, mollusks, shellfish, coastline, state parks. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.

This 7-page document is the second lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students learn about general whale and dolphin biology. Written by Ruth Francis-Floyd and Maia Patterson McGuire, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm227

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 1: Starting to Learn about Whales

Exposed oyster beds at low tide along the shoreline at Anastasia State Park in Northeast Florida. Oyster beds, mollusks, shellfish, coastline, state parks. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.

This 14-page document is the first lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It will help students start to learn about whales and practice reading comprehension and writing skills. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm226

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Outline

Dolphin closeup.

The Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum provides a series of individual lessons covering cetacean (whale and dolphin) biology and ecology. The curriculum uses charismatic megafauna to engage students and inspire them to want to learn more. This 3-page document provides a brief overview of the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm225

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 13: North Atlantic Right Whale Migration

Exposed oyster beds at low tide along the shoreline at Anastasia State Park in Northeast Florida. Oyster beds, mollusks, shellfish, coastline, state parks. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.

This 6-page document is the thirteenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn about the migration path of North Atlantic right whales and the ways researchers are studying the movement of these whales. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm238

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum–Lesson 7: How Do Whales Eat?

Small fish swim in large schools in the shallow water.

This 10-page document is the seventh lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn the differences between how baleen and toothed whales feed. Students will also learn how sound waves are used for echolocation. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm232

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 6: Cetacean Behaviors

Dolphin closeup.

This 4-page document is the sixth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn about whale and dolphin behaviors. Written by Ruth Francis-Floyd and Maia Patterson McGuire, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm231

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 11: Introduction to Right Whales

Exposed oyster beds at low tide along the shoreline at Anastasia State Park in Northeast Florida. Oyster beds, mollusks, shellfish, coastline, state parks. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.

This 10-page document is the eleventh lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn about North Atlantic right whale life history. Written by Ruth Francis-Floyd and Maia Patterson McGuire, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm236

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 14: How Do Right Whales Communicate?

A boat off the coast of the Florida Keys. Photo taken 03/02/15.

This 3-page document is the fourteenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn how baleen whales use sound to communicate, and how human-created noise in the ocean may affect their ability to do so. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm239

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 17: How Can We Reduce Threats to North Atlantic Right Whales?

Fishing boat nets and rigging. Photo taken 10-24-16.

This 13-page document is the seventeenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn about ways to minimize ship strikes and whale entanglements. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm242

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 10: Summarizing What We Know about Cetaceans

Hard at work on a laptop.

This 5-page document is the tenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students learn about different types of poetry and write poems to express what they know about whales and dolphins. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm235

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 18: Bringing It All Together

Hard at work on a laptop.

This 6-page document is the eighteenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information that will help students develop persuasive essays and corresponding presentations about North Atlantic right whales. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm243

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 15: Technology and North Atlantic Right Whales

A boat off the coast of the Florida Keys. Photo taken 03/02/15.

This 6-page document is the fifteenth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information and activities that will help students learn the ways that technology is being used to study North Atlantic right whales. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm240

Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum: Lesson 5: Scientific Names: Understanding Where Those Funny Words Come from

Dolphin closeup.

This 7-page document is the fifth lesson in the Cetaceans 4th Grade Curriculum. It contains information and activities that will help students interpret the scientific names of certain whales and dolphins. Written by Maia Patterson McGuire and Ruth Francis-Floyd, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine–Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, June 2019.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm230