Animal Observation Journal and Report

Animal Subject: California Salamander

4-5 page report (900 words), Double Spaced

1. A concise overview of the” California Salamander” ecological and evolutionary character: including its habitat, physiology, social life, adaptations, attitudes toward humans, etc.

2. A brief discussion of the different methods of observation practiced, and how they contributed to your understanding of the species.

3. The section of the paper should make direct connections to at least 2 insights from Frans de Waal’s book Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? and/or John Muir Laws book.

4. A verbal/written analysis of your data and reflections on what you’ve learned about your species through observation. Along with identifying potential connections to variables (such as environment, weather, time of day, etc.), this part of the report should discuss any theories you developed in the field, how you tested them, and/or how you confirmed them (or attempted to confirm them) by consulting existing research on your species.

5. This written analysis should be (350-450 words). And it should use Frans de Waal’s Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? to reflect on the challenges and rewards of observational approaches to understanding nonhuman species.

6.