Case Study:

The story of the decline and recovery of the Midwest Peregrine Falcon population makes an ideal case study, rich in levels of inquiry, including but not limited to biological issues, environmental and political activism, duration of the recovery, and data that are available from this web site.

The following are some suggested issues for discussion and inquiry:
  • History of DDT, the "perfect pesticide."
  • Plight – drastic decline in Peregrine Falcon numbers throughout its range in North America during the 1950s and 1960s.
  • Recognition that the decline was due to eggshell thinning caused by DDT.
  • Mobilization of concerned individuals, organizations and governmental agencies to pass legislation to ban DDT.
  • Recognition by the 1970s that the environment might have recovered enough to support a Peregrine population.
  • Mobilization of individuals to help re-establish a Peregrine population (raise money, volunteers, Peregrine breeders, site selection, business and general population buy-in, etc.).
  • Expanded involvement over a large geographic area.
  • Continued monitoring.
  • Genetic analysis of individuals and population (data to be added to computer database in the future).
Genetic Analysis of Blood Samples:
We are just now entering the planning stage of how we will be analyzing the more than 2000 blood samples collected since the beginning of the project. Our initial thoughts are to create a genetic profile of each individual through microsatellite analysis. This would allow examination of topics ranging from population structure and gene flow to details of Peregrine matings. Genetic profile data would be added to the searchable database as they become available.
We gladly solicit any case study material users might develop. We would be please to include download case study material or links to such material on our site.

A great web site to visit to learn more about developing and using case studies in biology is LifeLines Online.

Please email comments or questions to: falcon@umn.edu
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