Using Data to Investigate Elephant Evolution

In this activity, students work with authentic research data to explore the impact of poaching on African elephants. The data set was collected from elephant populations that have suffered historically heavy poaching and shows changes in certain traits, such as tusk size, over time. Through a series of data exploration exercises that develop their quantitative literacy skills, students examine evidence of evolution in these elephant populations.

This activity uses a guided inquiry approach. Students come up with their own ways to investigate the data at the beginning and are then guided through more specific graphical and statistical analyses. There are two versions of the “Student Handout,” which can be customized based on your needs. In “Version 1,” students explore the data mainly using graphical representations. In “Version 2,” students also analyze the data by conducting statistical analyses.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.