Owl Pellet Dissection Lab (Part 1 of 2)

For this lab we dissected an owl pellet

Part 1 Owl Pellet Dissection

·         What to submit for this part:

o   Completed Table 

o   Photo of chart with sorted bones 

o   Photo of reconstructed skeleton or skeletons 

o   Completed Table 2 (1.5 point)

o   Completed graph of species numbers 

Procedure

1.       Remove the pellet from the aluminum foil.

2.       Measure the length and width of the pellet and record these measurements in Table 1.

Table 1. Owl Pellet Measurements
Length	2 and ½ inches
Width	¾ inches

3.       Place the pellet on the dissecting surface. Carefully separate the bones from fur or feathers onto another part of your surface using your fingers and available tools.

4.       Carefully clean the bones by picking or scraping off debris and sort them according to type—skulls, jaws, vertebrae, etc.

5.       When you are sure that all bones have been separated, dispose of the other materials in the trash or compost bin.

6.       Identify the animals found in your pellet by matching the bones in your pellet with those in the Bone Sorting Chart.

7.       Place each bone beside the matching bone on the Bone Sorting Chart. You may have many of each type or just a few.

8.       Take a photo of your chart with the sorted bones.

9.       Reconstruct a partly complete (or complete – lucky you!) skeleton of one prey animal. Glue the parts on a sheet of paper and take a photo.

10.   Record the types and numbers of animals in Table 2.

Table 2. Kinds and Number of Animals Found in Owl Pellets
	# Rats	# Voles	# Mice	# Shrew	# Bird	# Other
Your Data	3		2	1	1

12.   Construct a bar graph of the data in Table 2 using the grid below or another source.

                          Rat                      Mice                Shrew                 Bird

1 filled in bar equals 1 animal

   Assorted Bones from owl pellet

   Bone Chart
   As I assorted the bone chart it became very apparent my owl ate mainly rats and mice.  There where a few bird, shrew and mole bones as well.

   On the bottom of the page on the bone chart I laid out a few rocks which were also in the pellet.

    This is the most complete skeleton I could come up with.  It is a rat, which we can tell by following our bone chart and it has a very distinctive skull shape which in identifying it.