Developing a Research Question

Let the games begin. Or rather continue. In this post I will be exploring some possible research questions for Project Two.


1. Can animals significantly understand human language?

Koko the gorilla is a perfect example of an animal that seems to understand human language. Koko is a female lowland gorilla who has learned a number of signs in sign language. She was even said to have signed "sad" after her "friend" actor Robin William's death. And everyone knows that when you say "no" or "good girl" to a dog, they seem to understand what you mean. But are they really understanding these words, or are they just learning patterns and tones?

I would be very interested in researching more about this topic, especially since my intended career is with gorillas. I always feel like a bit of a novice when people want to know more about gorilla communication, so researching this topic would give me answers to some questions I have always wanted to know about animal-human communication.

Rifkin Adam "Koko the gorilla with her birthday gift, a kitten. Using sign language, she named it 'All Ball'" 2/9/15 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

2. Do animals have a form of verbal inter-species communication?

Animals certainly seem to understand each other. Whether or not this understanding comes from physical signs or verbal messages is the question. There has been study into whale and dolphin communication, and whether or not the sounds they make are arbitrary or meaningful. Researchers have found that there are patterns in the sounds that they make, but whether or not they are able to actually communicate verbally is an ongoing debate.

This subject would interest me because of my interest in animals and their communication. To me, I find it hard to believe that animals would NOT have a form of verbal communication. However it would be interesting and beneficial for me to have a more well rounded and researched knowledge of the topic.



3. Do the positives of ecotourism outweigh the negatives?

Ecotourism is the touring of often endangered lands to promote help the area's economy. The money from this ecotourism can go to protecting these areas or rehabilitating them. However obviously there is a risk of harming the endangered land even more with all of the human activity that comes from ecotourism. Would it be better to section off the lands and ban human access to preserve them, or is the money and human pleasure that comes from ecotourism worth the additional risk?

I would be interested in researching this topic because as a future zoologist, the conservation of the animals and their natural habitats would be very important. I would even possibly be studying them in their natural environment, and so it would benefit me to know it my being there would actually be harmful. I started to learn about this subject in Environmental Science last year, and I thought the struggle between human aesthetic desires and conservation was an interesting one.