Biodiversity

Coastal Ecology—Biodiversity

Summary: “In this lesson, students will explore the biodiversity of two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) national marine sanctuaries. Following a discussion of the term “biodiversity” and why biodiversity is important, students will take virtual trips (via video footage) to Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, located off the California coast, and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. They will then work in groups to further explore one of the two ocean treasures, noting the types of wildlife the sanctuary supports, the importance of the ecosystem, and the threats it faces. Groups will also consider how each sanctuary’s location might affect its health and long-term outlook. To conclude, the class will come back together to share their findings, and compare and contrast the two national marine sanctuaries.”

Concepts to teach: Habitats, Ecology, Biodiversity, Conservation

Goals: Students will be able to define biodiversity and virtually explore national marine sanctuaries while assessing future health of the sanctuaries.

Standards:
6.2L.2; 7.2E.3

Specific Objectives:

  1. Define biodiversity and ecosystem.
  2. Understand the importance of biodiversity to an ecosystem.
  3. Explore the threats to the Cordell Bank and Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale national marine sanctuaries.
  4. Consider the relationship between the location of each sanctuary and the long-term outlook for its health.

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Have students write reports that provide information about one of the two sanctuaries focusing specifically on the challenges faced by the sanctuary and the outlook for the future health of the ecosystem. Within the lesson plan, there is a suggested rubric to use to grade these reports.
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Web of Life

Coastal Ecology—Web of Life

Summary: This activity will give students a look at how all animals and plants in a system are interconnected and what can happen when just one organism is removed. Some of the discussion focuses on the sea otter- a species that is now extinct from the Oregon coast.

Concepts to teach: Food chains, Food webs, Interdependence, Endangered Species

Goals:

  • Define interconnectedness and explain its ecological implications.
  • Use vocabulary related to food webs and ecology.
  • Discuss the plight of the sea otter and how that has affected systems off of Oregon’s coast.

Standards:
6.2L.2, 7.2L.2, 8.2L.1

Specific Objectives:

  1. Explain why threatened or endangered species are important to the ocean.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of food web interactions.

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Assessments included in the OCEP Web of Life
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Recipe for an Ocean

Coastal Ecology—Recipe for an Ocean

Summary: This activity will inspire students to brainstorm the components that make up an ocean community and introduce them to the concepts of food chains, energy transfer and food webs. The second part of the activity, designed for older students, challenges them to create a food web in relation to the habitat each animal lives in to further the lesson between interconnectedness of the living community and habitats in the system. This activity is most effective when used after a field experience or at the end of an ocean unit.

Concepts to teach: Food chains and webs, community interactions, interconnectedness

Goals: Students will understand the relationships among living things and between living things and their marine environment.

Standards:
6.2L.2, 7.2L.2, 8.2P.2

Specific Objectives:

  1. Students will be able to define the parts of and create a food chain from a list of organisms.
  2. Students will be able to define the parts of and create a food web from a list of organisms and food chains.
  3. Students will be able to describe the interdependence of a marine community in relationship to the organisms themselves and those living in different ecosystems.

Activity Links and Resources:

  • Summary of Recipe for an Ocean from the Oregon Coast Aquarium
  • The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport has a variety of onsite lab classes, outreach programs, and lesson plans for Grades 6-8, including:
    • Go with the Flow —Explore biotic and abiotic factors that affect the physical distribution of organisms in tidepool communities.

Assessment:

  • Included in the Recipe for an Ocean lesson.
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Ocean Animal Adaptations

Coastal Habitats & Species—Ocean Animal Adaptations

Summary: The ocean is home to a variety of animal species, and each has structural and behavioral adaptations that allow for survival in marine ecosystems.

Concepts to teach: Adaptation, marine ecosystems, evolution

Goals: The ocean supports a great diversity of life.
Animal species are adapted to environments.

Standards:
6.2L.2, 8.2L.1

Specific Objectives:

  1. Students identify the major natural history characteristics of a marine animal.
  2. Students describe four body structures and 2 behavioral characteristics of a the organism which help it survive in a marine habitat.
  3. Students share their finding with others through an oral or written presentation.

Activity Links and Resources:

  • Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures lessons from PBS KQED – This website offers a variety of lesson plans focused on adaptations of marine animals such as sharks, dolphins, orcas, seabirds and invertebrates including:
    • Inside-out Adaptations—Students learn about the unique adaptations of sea stars and then research and develop a presentation on the adaptations of two other organisms
  • The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport offers on-site lab classes, outreach programs, and classroom lesson plans for Grades 6-8 including:
    • Ocean Commotion (6-8)—Students investigate marine invertebrates from four phyla and how they’ve adapted to this rough-and-tumble environment.
    • Supporting materials for Ocean Commotion
  • Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport has a variety of on-site lab and field classes for grades 6-8, including:
    • Animal Adaptations—Adaptations of invertebrates living in tidepools, sandy beaches and estuaries
    • Squid Dissection—Anatomical and behavioral adaptations of cephalopods.

Assessment:

  • Students prepare a report on their findings of a particular marine animal, in which basic natural history characteristics are described and structural and behavioral adaptations identified.
  • Compare and contrast a marine organism with a terrestrial organism using a Venn diagram.
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Squid Dissection

Coastal Habitats & Species—Squid Dissection

Summary: Students will dissect a squid, learn about squid anatomy and adaptations, and then compare their dissected specimen to an octopus.

Concepts to teach: Squid anatomy and adaptations, Compare and Contrast

Goals: Students will investigate and discuss internal and external squid anatomy. Some features of the squid will be compared to similar features on an octopus.

Standards:
6.2L.2

Specific Objectives:

  1. Observe the external and internal anatomy of a cephalopod
  2. Identify adaptations that allow this organisms to survive in a marine ecosystem
  3. Identify organs and structures associated with major body systems

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Student worksheets included the COSEE and LaRosa guides.
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Rocky Shore Survivors

Coastal Habitats & Species—Rocky Shore Survivors

Summary: Students become intertidal organisms and role-play various tidal situations to understand how they adaptations for survival are necessary and effective.

Concepts to teach: Adaptations and Survival; Rocky Shores Habitat

Goals: Students will learn about the challenges and benefits of living in the rocky shores and the adaptations inhabitants use to survive such a dynamic environment.

Standards:
6.2L.2, 8.1L.1

Specific Objectives:

  1. Identify with intertidal organisms and role play various adaptations for survival
  2. Become familiar with invertebrates of the Oregon Coast
  3. Introduce various tidepool creatures to peers
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of the pros and cons of rocky shore living

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Assessments are included in the OCEP Summary.
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Ocean Observation

Introduction—Ocean Observation

Summary: This activity will help familiarize students with methods scientists use to study the coastal ocean in the Pacific Northwest, and will encourage them to pose and investigate their own questions about the ocean.

Concepts to teach: Physical and Earth Science, Inquiry

Goals: To show students how technology enables scientists to study local and global ocean characteristics.

Standards:
6.3S.1, 6.4D.2, 7.3S.1, 7.4D.2, 7.4D.3, 8.3S.1, 8.3S.3, 8.4D.1

Specific Objectives:

  1. Students will be able to describe the various methods used by NANOOS researchers to study ocean characteristics, events, and ecology
  2. Students apply information found on the NANOOS Web Portal to answer questions.

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Assessments included in the NANOOS lesson plan and OCEP summary.
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Tidepool Inquiry

Introduction—Tidepool Inquiry

Summary: These field activities introduce students of all ages to the intertidal habitats of rocky shores while safely exploring tidepools. Using guided inquiry and structured group investigation, students will observe species living in this diverse habitat to make and test hypotheses about adaptations and interactions that are occurring in the community.

Concepts to teach: Rocky shores, interactions and change, adaptations and survival, tidal cycles, community interactions, ecosystem balance.

Goals: Students will better understand the inhabitants of Oregon’s Rocky shores, by way of observation and guided exploration.

Standards:
6.2L.2, 6.3S.1, 7.3S.1, 8.3S.1

Specific Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

  1. Explore tidepools in a way that is safe for themselves and the habitat.
  2. Identify the dominant organisms in the tidepool ecosystem.
  3. Explain specific adaptations of species living in the rocky intertidal by making scientific hypothesis based on field observations.

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Students create a personal meaning map for tidepools, where they draw and label what they know about tidepools prior to the field visit. After the field visit, students add to their personal meaning maps new information that they learned from the trip. The post-trip contributions can be drawn on the same page as the pre-trip map in a different color pen, or the students may make an entirely new map from scratch. Evaluate pre- and post-trip contributions for detail and accuracy.
  • Create a food web using the animals discovered during the field experience.
  • Data sheets and pre- and post-assessment ideas available in the “How Wealthy is Your Tide Pool?” lesson from Yaquina Head
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Estuary Food Pyramid

Coastal Ecology—Estuary Food Pyramid

Summary: When animals eat plants or other animals in order to survive, there is a flow of food energy through the ecosystem. What starts out as energy from the sun is converted into food energy by organisms that use photosynthesis, and is transferred to other organisms as they consume food. The layers of the resulting food pyramid, called trophic levels, represent available energy. In this activity, students will construct an example of a food pyramid for estuary organisms and examine this flow of energy.

Concepts to teach: Food pyramid, energy flow, trophic level

Goals: Students construct an example of an estuarine food pyramid to depict energy flow through trophic levels.

Standards:
6.2L.2, 7.2L.2, 8.2P.2

Specific Objectives:

  1. There are three major categories of living organisms in an ecosystem and each has a special role. They are: producers, consumers, and decomposers
  2. The food energy produced by producers is cycled through the ecosystem through food chains and complex food webs by way of a series of energy levels called trophic levels.
  3. Energy is lost as it flows through the ecosystem. A food pyramid reflects fewer and fewer organisms at each level, supported by larger numbers of organisms at the trophic level just below.
  4. Students will learn that climate change has the potential for far reaching affects within marine food webs.

Activity Links and Resources:

  • Estuary Food Pyramid lessons from the NOAA Estuary Education website—Students build a food pyramid to examine the flow of food energy through the estuary ecosystem by placing organisms in the correct order on a food web energy pyramid.
  • Estuary Web of Life lessons from Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve address these essential questions:
    • How do the plants and animals in an estuary get energy to live and grow?
    • How are plants and animals dependent upon each other within a system?

Assessment:

  • Assessment included in the Estuary Education lesson.
  • Have students create their own Estuary web of life. Have them demonstrate their knowledge by including at least 1 producer, consumer and decomposer in their 6+ species web.
  • Compare estuarine food webs to freshwater food webs explored in Watersheds: Making the Connection topic guide
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Surveying the Shoreline

Coastal Ecology—Surveying the Shoreline

Summary: Wrack, the debris cast ashore, wash up along many tidally influence shores in Oregon and are often a main nutrient source for communities living along a shoreline habitat. The source of the wrack varies depending on the location, but time and again evidence of the watershed to ocean connection is visible along the shore. This activity can be adapted for classroom use by collecting wrack and using it inside or for field use depending on location, time availability as well as the presence of wrack at the field site. This activity is appropriate for estuarine shorelines as well as beaches and shorelines along the open coast.

Concepts to teach: Cycles, productivity, balance and interconnectedness.

Goals: Students will learn about the watershed-estuary-ocean connection by exploring and identifying shoreline wrack and identifying the organisms that live and depend on it.

Standards:
6.2E.1, 6.3S, 7.3S, 8.3S

Specific Objectives:

  1. Students will be able to identify wrack and how explain how it occurs onshore
  2. Students will collect data on the contents of the wrack and make a graphical representation of their findings
  3. Students will analyze their data and provide an explanation for the results
  4. Students will be able to define at least 2 species in the community that depend on the presence of wrack

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Examine worksheets for completeness and detail
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