Crop Damage Investigation
By Sal Rosas
The Problem
The problem in this investigation is crop damage in Channahon, IL due to rodent infestations.
Scientific Question
Has the death of the barn owls been the cause of the rodent infestation?
Background Information of Problem
The background information of this problem is 3 barn owls were found dead near Channahon. From these 3 dead barn owls, we can assume that the rodents around the crop areas have increased due to the missing of the owls food schedule.
Background Informationof Investigation
The investigation is showing how much biomass and jaws an owl pellet would have per day. This would be able to show us how much the owl would eat. it would then indicate if the 3 dead owl had a cause in the crop damage.
Investigation Process
scientists would get a pellet of owl vomit. They would tear the vomit and find bones of animals the owl would eat and throw up. From this, the scientist can be able to find how many prey the owl ate, the species of animal it ate. It could also be used to find the biomass of the food it ate.
Conclusion
A solution to the crop damage problem is to get new barn owls to lower the population of rodents in the crop fields. This would help the crops be able t grow without rodents eating them. My scientific question was "Has the death of the barn owls been the cause of the rodent infestation?" My answer to this question is yes, the owl death have been a big cause of the crop damage. Without the owls eating the rodents, it was easier for the rodents to reproduce around the fields. the offspring would then start eating the crops and then making a big crop damage on the fields. It is important to read this newspaper since its helping all the farmers around the world to fight off rodents eating their crops and causing crop damage. To fight of crop damage caused by the rodents, buy new owls for the replacement of the three dead ones to keep the rodent population stable.