Kaku and the Fishermen: teacher key

Barracudas, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Hawaiian fishermen once called in the kaku, the great barracuda, to help them. Read about that partnership and about how scientists now tag and track barracuda.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did the 'opelu do when a barracuda was near?
   • Swam away alone
   • Bunched up in a ball (answer)
   • Dived deep
2. How long did the pop-up tags stay on the two tagged barracuda?
   • 15 days (answer)
   • 471 days
   • 1792 days
3. Who first described the great barracuda for science?
   • A Hawaiian fisherman
   • Johann Julius Walbaum (answer)
   • A satellite
4. The 'opelu bunched up in a ball near a barracuda. Why did that help fishermen?
   • It made them easier to net (answer)
   • It made them swim away
   • It made them bigger
5. What does site fidelity mean in the Buck Island study?
   • A barracuda keeping to its own area (answer)
   • A barracuda swimming very fast
   • A barracuda in a school

Words

• kaku: Hawaiian barracuda
• ambush: wait and surprise
• parasitized: lived on by
• fidelity: keeping faith
• acoustic: using sound