ANGOLA — Students in the Small Animal Science program at the Carrier Educational Center learn to distinguish between normal and abnormal animal behaviors. This helps them identify when an animal may be ill, stressed, or anxious.

The upcoming Total Solar Eclipse is giving Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES students in Laura Valentic’s class a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe animals in a truly unique setting.

During the April 8 eclipse, which will stretch across a swath of the United States from 2:27 p.m. to 3:35 p.m., the Career & Technical Education students will participate in the Eclipse Soundscapes Project. In partnership with NASA, the project will review how eclipses affect life on Earth by revisiting a study conducted nearly 100 years ago.

William Wheeler and a team of collaborators invited the general public to observe how the Aug. 31, 1932, solar eclipse affected animal and insect behavior. The study compiled almost 500 personal observations from game wardens, naturalists, and members of the public. The responses noted changes in animal behavior and soundscapes during the eclipse.

“Eclipses have always presented scientists with unique opportunities to learn about our solar system,” said MaryKay Severino, co-lead of the Eclipse Soundscapes Project. “The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is not only an opportunity for NASA to gather a large amount of scientific data, it’s an opportunity for our participants to learn about the eclipse in a multi-sensory manner.”

The study caught Valentic’s attention. In their senior year in the Small Animal Science program, she said students learn about ethograms, a record of behaviors exhibited by an animal used in ethology, the scientific study of animal behavior.

Students also learn how to interpret and incorporate data to care for animals.

“To participate in a total eclipse animal behavior study is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Valentic said. “The fact that Soundscapes replicates a study from a century ago makes it even more amazing to know that we will be a special part of eclipse history.”

During the upcoming eclipse, students will collect multi-sensory data to determine what percentage of the solar eclipse is necessary to produce detectable changes in animal behavior.

Valentic was able to secure an AudioMoth device to collect and record Soundscapes data. According to its manufacturer, an AudioMoth device can listen at audible frequencies and well into ultrasonic frequencies.

“It is difficult to predict how animals, including people, will react to this natural phenomenon,” Valentic said of the eclipse.

See ECLIPSE, Page D2

“This is a great opportunity for the students to witness something unique and observe nature using all their senses.”

A science liaison and Gail Przewozny, a consultant teacher, are helping with the project at Carrier.

“There was so much information to pull together and having the perspectives of other educational specialists made the project inclusive and interesting,” Valentic said.

In addition to learning about animal behavior for care purposes, Valentic said some of her students want to work with other animals in various career fields.

“Besides our domesticated animals, students are interested in studying animal behavior in the area of wildlife biologist or even as a wildlife rehabilitator,” she said. “Through this project, they have been able to identify and research many different species native to our area and learn more about some they didn’t even know existed.”

Career and Technical Education programming serves students in their junior and senior years of high school, with students selecting the option to attend an E2CCB CTE program in their sophomore year. For more information, visit e2ccb.org.