Hawaiian monk seals are an endangered species endemic to the Hawaiian islands. There are currently about 1100 individuals remaining. The Hawaiian monk seal is the only species of seal native to Hawaii. The common name comes from it's resemblance to a monk, with short hair on its head. It is also a solitary animal. They spend the majority of their time hunting, eating and basking on sandy beaches. Adult males are usually about 300 to 400 pounds while adult females tend to be larger, about 400 to 600 pounds. Every year they experience a dramatic molt, where they shed their hair and outer layer of skin.
Hawaiian monk seals eat teleosts, cephalopods and crustaceans. Their predators are Tiger sharks and Galapagos sharks.
Hawaiian monk seals' breeding season lasts from August to December. They mate in the ocean. Each female over the age of four bears one pup on average. Birth occurs about nine months later in March and June on the beach. The pups are nursed for about six weeks, where the mother doesn't leave the pup or eat the entire time. After the six weeks the mother leaves the pup on its own to hunt in the sea.
photo courtesy http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2009/03/25/four-seal-species-in-danger-of-slipping-away/
This is a good introduction to the species' natural history. Cool and charismatic animal, too. You should include a description of the graph shown above -why have numbers been increasing? what happened in 1995 to make them turn around? Maybe you talk about this on other pages, but here it is a bit out of place. Also, you should reference your statements.
ReplyDeleteNathan Churches
I would try to format your text with indentations and maybe spaces between paragraphs. Definitely cite your sources for specific claims about the animal. Its an interesting question though, if, for example, it all came from one source, do you just put a citation at the end of the page, at the end of each paragraph? I don't know for sure. At the end of each sentence seems a little extreme, and for a webpage, it would really break up the flow for the reader in what is supposed to be an educational website. Maybe ask your TA or Josh about this.
ReplyDeleteAlso, cite and interpret the graph. Use a caption to give a source and brief description so that it doesn't just look like its floating in space. Then be more descriptive of its contents and their significance in the main body of text.
Or maybe that graph is your original figure,in which case you attribute it to yourself. If it is your original figure, then you should probably go into a lot of detail describing the basis for it. Where did you find the data?, for example. Describe what is actually original about it. Tell what you synthesized.
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ReplyDeleteI like the layout of your blog! Very simple and organized! However, there are a few things that you might want to consider. First of all, it would be nice to go a bit more into the ecology and background of the the species, its significance, etc. 2) you need to cite the information on your site. 3) It would be nice if you listed all the threats the monk seals are facing and if there is something being done to help them- use some stats? 4) Your original figure doesn’t fit into the first page that well. Maybe leave the first page for the introduction? Also how did u make that graph and which information did u use? You need to include this information with the graph or it will seem like you just made it up. Lastly, maybe have a page where you talk about why we should care and give some resources that people can check out if they are interested - Pooja
ReplyDeleteGood introduction and a nice layout to the site. Mostly I would just suggest the same things that have already been said, especially about the figure at the bottom of the page. It seems out of place but with some relevant information for some other page maybe. Other than that I like this page!
ReplyDeleteOwen Townsend