Written by Olivia Twining
Remember in 5th grade when you examined owl pellets in Science class? You probably remember being a little grossed out, but do you remember the role that owl pellets play in the environment? Lets start with how an owl pellet is formed:
Click Here to view demonstration: http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/pelletform/index.htm
Four to six hours after an owl eats, often swallowing their prey whole because they cannot chew their food, it will regurgitate food that it cannot digest such as bones, claws, beaks, fur, or feathers. Because owls don’t have a Crop, a loose sac in the throat that stores food for later, the food they swallow goes directly into their digestive system. This “owl vomit” helps scientists study the role of owls in the food chain.
Pellets are easy to find and easy to interpret, “rendering a complete picture of the diet of the owls, as well as what prey species live in the area.” They are also helpful in the fact that they show what owls eat from place to place and from season to season. It has been said that “understanding any changes to the diets of owls is critical for conservation efforts.” If the pellets can tell us what the owls are eating, they can also tell us how other species are thriving in the environment. Scientists can observe that “the more an animal’s remains show up in the pellets, the better their overall population is.”
Owl pellets are beneficial to the owl’s health because they scour the digestive tract of the owl, particularly the gizzard. Scientists have also discovered small birds inside the pellets, which can help provide information regarding migration patterns. Pellets serve a number of purposes for helping Scientists answer questions about ecosystems in the environment.
In order to achieve a sustainable environment, we must be able to keep all populations thriving in their niche. The importance of owl pellets should continue to be taught in 5th grade science rooms, but should also be taught to kids later in life to keep people informed about their benefits to society as a whole.
Click Here to read more about Owl Pellets: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/61779.aspx
The thought of sifting through animal vomit grosses me out but I’m glad to know that there is actually a good reason for it. It is cool that just by seeing what owls eat we can tell so much about the health of their ecosystem. Obviously a big part of a successful population depends on the nutrients that it has access to. The most surprising part of this article was that owl pellets can help track the migration patterns of small birds. This makes me appreciate how connected everything in nature is and how one small aspect can make or break the whole system.
I agree with Catherine that observing these owl pellets seems reallly gross, but it actually has a good benefit to it. It’s weird to me that owl pellets is critical for conservation efforts. I never knew that owl diets can help us figure out things like this! It is also good because we can find migration patterns. All this new information also makes appreciative of the connection we have with nature and how such a simple thing can make an impact on the way of life.
I agree with Catherine here, the study of these owl pellets can unlock so much information that can be used by scientists. Not only can we learn of the Owl’s place in the ecosystem, but the place of many different animals.
Can owl pellets really unlock the secrets that could give scientists today a better look on how the environment is running? I do agree in that we can find out where the owl’s place is in the ecosystem and maybe some other different animals but owl pellets aren’t changing the world. What true impact do owl pellets have? If migration patterns and which spot the owl has in the food chain are the only factors one can gain from owl pellets, then this is definitely something that should stay with 5th graders.
Catherine, I completly agree that just because something so gross as Owl Vomit, is too disgusting to even think about, that doesn’t mean that there is no purpose for it’s existence. If owl’s didn’t vomit pellots, we would have no idea where they are on the food chain and that would be terrible. I am just wondering is this the only “gross” that is is actually important, or are owl pellots the only one.
Yeah I didn’t realize the ecosystem connection for owl pellets. Of course, when I disescted these I was much younger and didn’t realize that there was any significance beside that of the fact that it was regurgitated by an owl. Owl pellets show exactly what foods the owl eats and where those animals eaten as well as the owls fit into food webs. I also didn’t know about the bird migration pattern connection. It is also interesting that information about other species like population can be learned from owl pellets. Who knew that owl vomit was so significant. I sure didn’t.
Knowing this about owl pellets makes me want to do the Lab that was supposed to happen last week. I think its cool how the owl pellets show a perfect picture of what they ate. I totally agree with Catherine and that the vomit part grosses me out but what you can find out from this is remarkable and should be taught to more kids in middle school and highschool as well to remind the kids how important these pellets are.
I would have to agree with Dallas, I would love to get a start on the owl pellet lab and see first-hand what it’s like. Seeing what owls eat can help determine their diet, obviously, but also their migration patterns according to the habitat that the prey lives in. It would be cool to determine what animal is in our owl pellets for the lab to see where each specific owl has been. However, I think this lab should be given to older students who know and understand the cycles found in the ecosystem so that we can see what niche an owl’s pellet plays in its habitat.
I never knew an owl regurgitating could give so much neccessary information to scientists. I must say i was eating while reading this and it made me want to do the same as the owl’s do with their food. But, even in saying that, this article is very interesting to me. By the owl’s doing this action helps scientist to know where owl’s are migrating to for food and what kind of food they are eating. These owl pellets could also inform scientists if owl’s have changed their eating habits or anything of that matter. One important matter of fact that jumped out to me is that by seeing what the owl eats can tell scienstist if they are thriving in the environment. By knowing this about owls can tell if the owl is fitting in its niche and living sustainably.
I just had a thought when reading your comment…If scientists were to analyze human vomit, would they gain better insight regarding the human species? I’m sure they would be able to decipher one’s eating habit and make inferences as to where we are going (migrating) to get our food, as well as the kinds of food we are eating and whether or not we are thriving in our environment. I know it seems gross but isn’t that kind of interesting?
I think, like others, that owl pellets can help scientists learn a lot about our ecosystem. These pellets are one of the strongest ways we can learn about owls and the food they eat. The post was right when saying we must continue to keep all populations “thriving in their niche.” It really is a point of emphasis to keep all animals in their habitat in order to learn the most from them. I think our lab over owl pellets will really help us understand how important owl pellets are to learning more about an animal and the way it lives. Im excited to see and learn more about an animals life via its regurgitation.
I never did that in the 5th grade but I would have probably been really grossed out about it. I agree that they should keep teaching it in the 5th grade but they should also brimg it up again in high school, such as in environmental science, because it might make a bigger impact or we might just appreciate it more. All of this was new to me and it’s cool how the vomit of just one animal can help bring to light stuff about other animals. No more counting birds; only checking vomit. I am just kidding but it really is cool.
Well the idea of dissecting the owl pellets doesn’t really gross me out but the fact that the person in the picture is holding it with their bare hand does….I had no idea that the pellets could be such an indicator of the health of habitats and environments. This makes them extremely helpful and interesting. I agree with Dallas, these owl pellets are a great way to teach younger kids about habitats.
I did this in 5th grade at Parish and I completely couldn’t remember any reason why owl pellets are important. Now that we are older, the importance of studying owl pellets means more because we didn’t really know much about environments and ecosystems or how they worked when we were in the 5th grade. It’s really cool that such a small thing such as owl pellets can give so much information about the environment, ecosystem, food chain, and migration pattern based on what they find in them!
It’s amazing how much information one can get from a ball of poo. This shows how important each species can be to the environment. With only the owl, they can determine the population size of other animals and the, migratory patterns of other species. If this owl was to disappear it would be a nightmare to gather up all that information, and we wouldn’t know how healthy the environment would be.
It is amazing Santiago, but it’s not a ball of “poo”. That would imply that the owl’s anus is inside of its mouth. When in reality, that is not the case. Basically, as Olivia stated, the pellet is a ball of things that the owl eats that it could not digest. It is very interesting how we are able to track an animals role in the environment through this undigested ball of wonder.
I never knew why owl pellets were often used in science classes. But this is really interesting to know that they are actually used for many different reasons. What a clever way to find out more about an ecosystem and about the patterns of certain animals. So much information can come from a single owl.
Just like examining fossils can help us better understand our present world, owl pellets provide good insight as to how species interact within a given environment where owls are prevalent. “Understanding any changes to the diets of owls is critical for conservation efforts.” If the pellets can tell us what the owls are eating, they can also tell us how other species are thriving in the environment.” Owl pellets can provide us with the necessary data needed to better our understanding of the habitat as well as work toward conservation.
I can’t help it… I was grossed out as a 5th grader when it came to owl pellets. All I really thought about was that I was dissecting barf. Until reading this article, that’s exactly what I still thought about it. Now I realize why they are important and I understand why we still study them. I can’t say that I won’t be grossed out still, but I can promise I’ll appreciate it a little more this time. Thanks Olivia!
When Mr.Cohen told us we were going to be dissecting owl pellets, I just about had it, but after reading this article, I can at least say that it has some purpose. It is interesting that scientists can tell owls prey and the environment around them just by their waste. Back to Allie’s comment though, I think that it would be an interesting and telling experiment if scientists analyzed humans vomit. You can tell a lot about a person by the food they eat, and this could also show link back to the movie we watched, FOOD INC. By analyzing peoples vomit scientists can tell where and what people are eating, and maybe how to fix it?
I understand the significance of the owl pellets and how scientists are able to use pellets for taking in data for aspects of different species. What I’m curious in is how can we get involved. How can we keep a sustainable environment for populations in their niche? Are we able to? Do we control whether or not sustainable environment is achieved? And how does this tie into owl pellets? May someone help me out?
I agree with Chris here, is there anyway we can make their enviornment better for them? I think it is really neat how from just one pellet you can tell almost everything about the entire ecosystem. I am sure that is why Mr. Cohen wanted us to do this lab, because he wants us to see what other ecosystems are like and we can see that through the owl pellets. If more scientists use these they could help out more and maybe give us more insight on how we can help.
I completely agree that the owl pellets are important to study as they teach us about owls and also other species in the environment they live in. Everything in the natural world is connected and therefore learning about an owl’s niche will also assist in other areas. I also did a pellet experiment but I could not remember the significance. Few people can hear a statement and remember it down the line without any sort of reinforcement. So, I agree with Olivia that reinforcement down the line should take place in order for those learning about it to take ownership of the material and be able to actually use it someday down the road.
Looking back on my post, I can see how the reinforcement in nessicary. Although many fifth graders will not remember the significance of the lab, when it is reintroduced they will appriciate the significance of what owl pellets actually are researched for.
I also agree that its good to use owl pellets to learn more about owls. I think this method should be used in other ways with other animals, to prevent weird testing on animals.
Thks