How To Use The Activity Guides... 2 How To Use The Ocean Portal Activity Guides Introduction to the Ocean Student Worksheet...

Transcription

1 Ocean and Sustainability Curriculum for American Spaces by the Smithsonian s Ocean Portal Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair of Marine Science, Smithsonian s National Museum of Natural History Emily Frost and Hannah Waters, Ocean Portal Producers Send any questions or comments to ocean@si.edu, or contact us on Facebook ( or Twitter ( Guide for Facilitators Introduction: The Ocean Portal is excited to work with the State Department to provide ocean content for American Spaces around the world. We hope that this guide provides you with inspiration and useful suggestions for teaching about the ocean, its creatures and its value, in any coastal or inland setting. Table of Contents How To Use The Activity Guides... 2 How To Use The Ocean Portal... 2 Activity Guides Introduction to the Ocean... 4 Student Worksheet Coral Reefs Student Worksheet Overfishing Student Worksheet The Poles Student Worksheet Three Ice Realms Background Reading Climate Change Student Worksheet Coastal Ecosystems Student Worksheet Sea Turtles Student Worksheet Pollution Student Worksheet Sharks Student Worksheet Bycatch Student Worksheet Acidification Student Worksheet Wrap Up Certificate of Course Completion

2 How to Use The Activity Guides The Curriculum The activity guides in this curriculum were designed to give students in American Spaces an overview of many different ocean animals, ecosystems, and conservation issues. Many of the activity guides were designed to interplay with one another. The purpose here is twofold: to reinforce core ideas around ocean science and conservation, and to demonstrate how all ocean issues are connected to one another and to people. While designed to be used as a set (with a certificate of completion at the end), individual activity guides can easily be used separately to teach about particular issues. Similarly, single activities within a guide specific to one topic can be chosen and used on their own. Our aim was to make as flexible a curriculum as possible to reflect the wide variation of needs and wants among American Spaces around the world. You can access this packet online anytime at the American Spaces page on the Ocean Portal: There, you can also find PDFs of each activity guide, individual activites, and printible versions of Ocean Portal pages. The Activity Guides Each activity guide is broken up into different activities, listed with the approximate amount of time needed for each. Activities include reading comprehension, reading and discussion questions, vocabulary, and hands-on activities. Each guide typically has more activities than you can use in an hour-long period; practitioners can pick the activities that fit the needs of their space and students and ignore those that don t look as appealing. That said, it s recommended that all activities begin with the suggested introductory discussion to provide the topical background upon which the later activities draw. The activities are designed to appeal to different age and reading levels, and also take technological considerations into account. Each activity guide has a printible version that can be presented without an internet connection. (Although if you do have internet access, that is preferable to make full use of the Ocean Portal and its rich multimedia.) At the end of each lesson, we've included a list of links to more background and other activities you could use in your American Space, relevant to the lesson. How to Use the Ocean Portal The Ocean Portal is the Smithsonian s website about the ocean, found at The homepage carousel highlights the most recent items we ve published, and the most recent blog posts appear in the left column below. The clickable map sorts our site content based on ocean region (see more below). To the right of the carousel, small boxes lead to information-rich fact sheets on different topics. Today s Catch updates every weekday with a photo or video, and the news feed below pulls in 2

3 news related to the ocean from reputable sources like National Geographic and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The site hosts a wide variety of informational content, all of which is designed to stay relevant regardless of new ocean science findings. There are several ways to find information on whatever topic you re looking for. The dropdown navigation menu at the top breaks the site up into five main categories, with additional dropdown options that bring you to 39 categories based on ocean species, conservation issues, art, careers and more. Clicking will lead to landing pages for each topic; some articles are featured at the top, and all content in that category is displayed on a grid at the bottom. The site can also be navigated by geographic region a useful tool for finding stories in the region of your American Space. Navigate to the Your Ocean map (accessible on the homepage or at Hovering over the map will highlight different ocean regions. The five primary ocean regions (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, and Arctic) are further subdivided based on ocean temperature, which defines ecosystems within those regions. Clicking on a region will lead you to a new page with just those stories from that region listed at the bottom. A third way to navigate the Ocean Portal is through the search function found at the top of every page. Type in your search term and hit enter or search. The search results page can be filtered more finely by checking boxes on the left. You can filter by content types (e.g. blog post, slideshow, video, article), content topics (which match those in the dropdown menu), by Ocean Portal-generated tabs (for other organizational categories), or by grade level if you re looking for lesson plans. 3

4 Introduction to the Ocean American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal For those of us who can't see the ocean from our windows, it's easy to forget the critical role the ocean plays in human life. The salty water of the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Ocean plants produce about 50 percent of the planet's oxygen. Seawater absorbs a third of the carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere. And right in your kitchen, seaweed extract helps keeps your peanut butter and ice cream creamy! So even though the ocean may be far away for some, the health of the ocean affects us all, and we all have a role to play in caring for it. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout for students Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: -Understand that the ocean is vast and diverse. -Understand how people are connected to the ocean -Describe some ways that human actions can help the ocean Activity 1: Intro Discussion (5-10 minutes) Explore the Your Ocean map on the Ocean Portal as a group or break out into small groups ( If you don't have an internet connection, look at the ocean on a map and look at photos of ocean life from books. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Is the ocean the same everywhere? What are some differences you expect to see between different ocean regions? What qualities do you expect have the greatest influence on ocean ecosystems in different areas? What connects you to the ocean? Have you ever been to the ocean? How did is make you feel? What was your favorite part? Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (20 minutes) Read about life on Planet Ocean ( Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. 4

5 ANSWER KEY: 1. How deep is the deepest valley found in the ocean? The deepest valley in the ocean is 10.9 km (6.8 miles) deep. 2. Where does more than 25 percent of marine life live in the ocean? More than 25 percent of marine life can be found in and around coral reefs. 3. How much of the oxygen in the air we breathe is from the ocean? What makes the oxygen? Half of the oxygen we breathe (50%) in the atmosphere comes from plants, algae, and bacteria in the ocean. 4. What types of ecosystems can protect coastlines from storms? Seagrass beds and mangrove ecosystems found on shorelines can protect coasts from severe storms that can cause erosion and destruction. Coral reefs also break the power of the waves as they move towards the shore. Activity 3: Beach, Stream or Trail cleanup (hands-on, location dependent, 1 hour to half day) Whether you live near the ocean or in the middle of a large city, your actions are connected to the ocean. We rely on the ocean for oxygen, food and weather regulation among many other things. We also can impact the ocean with our use of fossil fuels (like gas, coal, oil), which have byproducts (like carbon dioxide) that increase its temperature and acidity. And trash dumped anywhere whether on the beach or on the side of the road hundreds of miles inland usually ends up in our waterways. Locate a beach, stream or street where you can safely remove accumulated trash and use this as a starting point for discussing how trash can end up in the ocean. Beach cleanup: MATERIALS NEEDED: Work gloves Trash collection containers (reusable bucket, plastic milk jug with the top cut off, reused plastic shopping bags) As containers are filled, dump them into a central collection site, such as a dumpster, trashcan, or large trash bag. 5

6 Note: Future lessons use collected trash for art projects; wash and save your collection if you intend to do these activities! DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: How does trash get to the ocean from far away? Rain washes it into rivers, which run into the ocean. Do certain kinds of trash travel faster than others? Trash that floats, like drinking straws and other light plastics, reach the ocean more quickly. Why is trash in the ocean a problem? It can entangle ocean animals, making it hard for them to swim, or animals may eat the plastic. They can choke on it, or it fills their stomachs, causing them to starve to death. And it has an impact everywhere in the world: trash has been found frozen in ice in the Arctic, in the deep sea, and even in the relatively pristine Southern Ocean. Activity 4: Explore A Success Story Read the article Cabo Pulmo Giving Optimism to Coral Reefs individually or out loud from the website ( (or print out the PDF version). Discuss the following as a group: How can marine protected areas help ecosystems recover when so many ocean animals can swim in and out of the protected space? How does enforcing the law play a part in the success of efforts to protect marine species and ecosystems? How do scientists measure success of a marine protected area? Does counting biomass make the most sense to you? Activity 5: Waters of the Earth (Hands-on, 1-2 hours) Earth as seen from space is clearly a water planet. About 70 percent of the surface of the planet is covered by water. Water is found in the ocean, rivers, ponds, lakes, groundwater, ice caps, glaciers, and in the atmosphere as water vapor and clouds. Water changes state and moves from place to place through the water cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Although Earth's water supplies seem almost limitless when viewed from an ocean beach, water forms only a thin film on the surface of the 6

7 planet. The average depth of the oceans is about km, while the average radius of earth is 6,371 km. What to Expect: Some of these volumes are so small that the class will need to gather around the display to see the water being added. The clear bottles with blue colored water in them, clearly labeled, make a dramatic display for the school or community. MATERIALS: - Seven two-liter bottles - Food coloring - Water - Labels for bottles - Graduated cylinders or measuring cups - Calibrated droppers for 1 ml. PROCEDURE: 1. Color about 2 liters of water blue with food coloring. 2. Using the chart below, fill each two-liter bottle with the amount of water for each category. For younger students: have students measure out the volumes, add each amount to a separate bottle. (For older students: have students use these figures to calculate volumes. Students can fill the bottles and set up a display for the school in a prominent place.) Type of Water Percentage of Earth s Water Supply Volume of Water to Use in Bottle All of the Earth s water 100% 2000ml All Earth's salt water 97.2 % 1944 ml (oceans) All Earth s fresh water 2.8% 56 ml Fresh water locked up as ice 2.3% 46 ml Underground fresh water 0.4% 8 ml Surface fresh water ~0.05% 1 ml Water in soil and air ~0.01% 0.2 ml DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1) What did you find surprising about this activity? 2) Was there more or less surface water than you expected? 7

8 3) What types of water can people and animals drink? Is that a lot or a little of the world s total? EVALUATION: 1) Students can make a bar graph showing the percentages of water in different forms. 2) Students can calculate volumes for each percentage, answering the question, "If ocean water volume is about 1,360,000 km3, what is the volume of water in each of the other categories?" EXTENSIONS: Have students calculate the average volume of water used per person per day in your community. How much water is used by the community annually? Source: Demonstration set-up by Pete Barsness. Adapted from Project Wild Aquatic, "How Wet is Our Planet." 1987, Western Regional Env. Ed. Council. Activity 6: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. Why is the ocean important? 2. How are humans linked to the ocean, even if they don t live near it? 3. What are some ways we can help the ocean? Background & Media The Census of Marine Life 5 Simple Things You Can Do For The Ocean What s Working When It Comes To The Ocean? Warming, Rising Acidity and Pollution: Top Threats to the Ocean Additional Activities Tide pool creative writing: 8

9 Why do we explore the ocean?: Macro and micro beach transects: 9

10 Introduction to the Ocean American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Those of us who can't see the ocean from our windows might feel disconnected from the life there. It might seem that, because the ocean feels far away, its problems will only harm people that make their living directly from the sea. But this isn t true: the sea is far more important than that. It's easy to forget the critical role the ocean plays in human life. The salty water of the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Ocean plants produce about 50% of the planet's oxygen. Seawater absorbs a quarter of the carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere. And right in your kitchen, seaweed extract helps keeps your peanut butter and ice cream creamy! Objectives: -Understand that the ocean is vast and diverse. -Understand how people are connected to the ocean -Describe some ways that human actions can help the ocean Read about life on Planet Ocean ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. How deep is the deepest valley found in the ocean? 2. Where does more than 25 percent of marine life live in the ocean? 3. How much of the oxygen in the air we breathe is from the ocean? What makes the oxygen? 4. What types of ecosystems can protect coastlines from storms? 10

11 Additional Reading and Media Your Ocean interactive map The Census of Marine Life 5 Simple Things You Can Do For The Ocean What s Working When It Comes To The Ocean? Warming, Rising Acidity and Pollution: Top Threats to the Ocean 11

12 Coral Reefs American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Coral reefs are the most diverse of all marine ecosystems. They teem with life, with perhaps one quarter of all ocean species depending on reefs for food and shelter. Because they are so diverse, coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the sea. Coral reefs are also very important to people, providing food, protection of shorelines, jobs based on tourism, and even medicines. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands-on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: -Understand what corals and coral reefs are -Understand that coral reefs are the most diverse ocean ecosystem -Explain how other ocean animals rely on coral reefs Activity 1: Introduction to Coral Reefs (10-15 minutes) As a group, look through the Bizarre and Beautiful Coral Reef Animals slideshow ( Show the photos on a projector or on individual computer monitors (or, if you have no computer access, print off the PDF version of the slideshow), and read some of the captions aloud. This part of the lesson is to get a sense of the diversity of life that lives on a coral reef, and what a healthy coral reef looks like. Talk about the variety of animals portrayed different kinds (fish, slugs, turtles, crabs, etc.) and different sizes (very tiny to very big). Talk through discussion questions as a group: What was your favorite animal and why? Did you notice coral in the pictures? - Go back through pictures and point out the living rock in the background of nearly all of them. 12

13 Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (15-20 minutes) Read as far as you can through the Corals and Coral Reefs topic page ( Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. Are corals animals, vegetables, or minerals? Corals are a combination of all three! The coral polyp is an animal related to sea anemones. It has a symbiotic relationship with single-celled algae (called zooxanthellae) that produces food for the coral by using the energy in sunlight, a process called photosynthesis. They also build a small cup-shaped home for themselves out of calcium carbonate, a mineral. 2. Label the parts of a coral on the diagram to the right. 3. What is the difference between a coral animal and a coral reef? coral polyp The simplest coral animal is made up of a single polyp, which is typically small and builds a cupshaped calcium carbonate home. When polyps divide to make new polyps, a colony is formed. These colonies cement together to form large ridges just below the ocean s surface that many other animals live on and around. The large ridges are called reefs. zooxanthellae 4. Where are coral reefs found? Corals are found across the world s ocean, in both shallow and deep water, but most reef-building corals are found in shallow tropical and subtropical waters. However, there are also some reefs in deep water they grow very slowly because in the dark there are no algae to make food for them. 5. How do coral reefs help people? 13

14 Coral reefs provide food for people. They also help to protect our shorelines from large storms and provide jobs within the tourism sector. Some medicines that we use were even found by studying animals from coral reefs. 6. List three threats to coral reefs. Any three of the following: Overfishing, destructive fishing practices, pollution, a warming ocean, changing ocean chemistry (ocean acidification), invasive species. 7. What can you do to protect coral reefs? Be careful not to touch or move any corals or animals living on reefs when you are swimming; make sure to properly throw out or recycle any garbage; reduce your carbon footprint; participate in beach cleanups; teach other people about coral reefs and why they are important; don t buy jewelry or souvenirs made from coral or coral reef animals; don t keep coral reef animals as pets unless you know they are raised or collected sustainably. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "polyp" The polyp is the simple structure of a coral animal. It has one open end, a mouth, surrounded by tentacles with stinging cells that help the coral capture small organisms for food. 2. Define "coral bleaching" Coral bleaching occurs when water temperatures get too high and the small algae that live in corals die, causing a normally colorful coral reef to turn white. 3. Define sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. What is the difference? Sexual reproduction occurs in corals when eggs are fertilized by sperm and develop into free-swimming larvae. Asexual reproduction occurs when coral polyps or colonies are formed by budding, when a coral polyp reaches a certain size and divides, or by fragmentation, when a part of a coral colony breaks off and forms a new colony. In asexual reproduction, the new corals are clones of (genetically identical to) the original animal, and are not formed by a fertilized egg. 14

15 Activity 3: Hands-on Reefs Unleashed (30-60 minutes, computer & internet connection required) Go to the Smithsonian Q?rius site: Watch Smithsonian marine biologist Nancy Knowlton explain how and why she and her colleagues document the diversity of life in our planet's ocean. Complete the identification challenge, finding life from plastic pieces left in the ocean. Then move on to compare the different species and uncover their DNA secrets. Activity 4: Explore A Success Story Read the blog The Reefs of American Samoa: A Story of Hope ( (or print off PDF version). Discuss the following as a group: What are some threats to coral reefs in American Samoa? Why are reefs so important to Samoans? What are some of the impacts of runoff on coral reefs? How do you work to improve an ecosystem with so many various potential stressors? Activity 5: How Do Coral Reefs Form? (45 minutes) Modified from National Park of American Samoa Coral reefs provide a variety of habitats, each with its own set of characteristic species. Different species of coral come in different shapes and forms. These activities will give students an understanding of how coral reefs are formed. Starting from a single polyp to a coral with skeleton attached, and finally to a coral reef. Students will identify three different types of corals most commonly found in American Samoa and understand their growth by applying hands-on activities. OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1. Explain how coral reefs are formed. 2. Identify three shapes of corals. 3. Name three threats to coral reefs. BACKGROUND: The islands of American Samoa are blessed with an abundance of coral (over 250 species). Corals are animals like us, although that may not be readily apparent because many look like rocks. In a sense, corals are indeed partly rock, because only the outer thin layer of the coral is inhabited by the coral animal itself. In that way, corals are like large trees: the inner part is hard and provides structural support, while the outer part is 15

16 the living, growing organism. And, like trees, most coral animals are permanently attached to one spot on the reef. The coral rubble that Samoans traditionally spread outside their houses and the coral rocks along our beaches are old, dead pieces that broke off the reef during a storm, got tumbled around and were tossed up on the beach. Living corals grow primarily on the outer reef flat and in deeper water. Although they take varied shapes, the coral animals inhabiting their surfaces are similar. They look somewhat like miniature sea anemones (matamalu, ulumane in Samoan) or upside-down jellyfish (alualu) with short tentacles that give the coral a slightly fuzzy appearance when the tentacles are extended. Each single coral animal is called a polyp, but the coral branch or block we see on the reef is not a single animal but a colony of hundreds or thousands of tiny polyps living side by side, giving the appearance of being a single coral. The coral's short tentacles can be pulled back into the hard part of the coral when the animal is disturbed or when the coral is exposed at low tide, so even a live coral can look like a rock at such times. It seems inconceivable that these tiny coral polyps can build the hard coral rocks that we see on the reef. They do this by secreting layers of a hard substance (calcium carbonate) beneath their living cells. It s as if each tiny polyp built a rock-solid house for itself but then, as it grows bigger, it decides to close off the bottom rooms in its house. Then it grows some more and closes-off another layer of bottom rooms, and so on. In this way, the coral polyp always lives in the outer, top layer, which has been built upon layers and layers of rooms below. Each polyp also cements its house to those of its adjacent neighbors, which strengthens the whole structure, resembling a solidly built high-rise apartment complex. Adding on these new rooms is a slow process. Growth varies from about 0.5 to 3 inches (12.7mm to 76.2mm) per year depending on the species. Over very long time periods, these corals grow into massively strong reef structures that can bear the brunt of powerful waves that crash upon them day after day. The largest corals on our reefs may be hundreds of years old. Corals are one of the few organisms on earth that continually build on top of their old houses, forming such large solid structures. This is not like a bird that might build its nest on top of another nest, because both of these nests decay and disappear in a short time. In fact, most organisms on earth leave little trace after they die as their bones or shells disintegrate (dust to dust). Not corals. They build structures much larger and longer-lasting than the Egyptian pyramids. What other organism can do this (except modern man with his steel and cement)? MATERIALS: Three different colors of clay Scissors Egg cartons Tape 16

17 Paper ACTIVITY 1: Shapes of Corals Organize the class into four groups or more depending on how many students are in the class. 1) Hand out three different colors of clay to each group. Tell each group that they are going to form a type of coral using clay. 2) Have each group divide the clay into 10 little clay balls. 3) Let each group know that each color represents a certain type of coral. It would either be massive, branch, or table coral. 4) Explain that the growing process of corals takes one year to grow to 0.5 to 3 inches (12.7mm to 76.2mm). 5) Have them add on a layer for each year. This will give students an idea of how corals grow Ask: Name three threats that corals encounter. (Natural Disasters, Human Activities, Global Warming) Ask: What type of coral do you think would stand a better chance when encounter hurricanes? (Massive) Why? Due to their form, they grow wider and more stable on the ocean floor. ACTIVITY 2: Build A Coral Coral skeletons and reefs are composed of thousands or millions of coral polyps. In this activity, students will create their own corals out of egg cartons. (Each egg cup holds a single coral polyp.) 1. Begin by cutting the top half and the closing flap off an egg carton, leaving just the section with the twelve egg cups. Place this upside down on a table and punch a hole in the bottom of each egg cup with scissors. To shorten the activity, cut the egg cup tray into thirds, giving each student a section of four egg cups rather than all twelve. 2. Cut a sheet of paper into three strips horizontally. Each strip will become a coral polyp. 17

18 Roll each strip into a tube about the diameter of your finger. Tape the tube to keep it from unrolling and tape the bottom of the tube shut. 3. To make the tentacles of the polyp, make several cuts from the top of the tube, ¾ of the way to the bottom of the tube. Get the tentacles to bend/curl by running each fringe over the blade of a scissor or a metal ruler. 4. Insert one polyp tube in each egg cup, pulling it partway through the hole. Tentacles should be on the top of the egg carton. After each group builds their coral, ask them to come to the front of the class and place their finished product together. The idea of reef building will be more clear to students when their individual corals are placed together. Have students view massive coral reefs on the slide presentation. Relate to the class how these massive reefs can exist from a tiny polyp. To discuss at intro or while students are building their corals: - Although each polyp is a separate animal, the polyps are linked in a colony. The shape of the egg carton suggests the channels that link neighboring polyps. Polyps in the colony share food. - Corals get food in two ways. Small zooplankton are captured by stinging cells on the tentacles. They are then brought into the polyp where they are digested. You can simulate this with the model. The simple digestive cavity of the polyp is basically a hollow cavity, with one open end (surrounded by the tentacles). Coral also get food from their symbiotic algae, the zooxanthellae, which live in their tissue. - During daylight hours, coral polyps pull back as far as possible into their skeleton. Living tissue always covers the entire coral colony. During the night the tentacles extend to feed. You can show this by pulling the tube back. CONCLUSION INQUIRY QUESTION: How do coral reefs form? STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE: 18

19 Our coral reefs are already affected by global warming and pollution, to name a few threats. We need to take action now by not littering our ocean, and report any harmful fishing methods such as fish poisoning substances and dynamite, etc. Activity 6: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. Discuss the diversity found on coral reefs. 2. What is a coral? How does it relate to a coral reef? 3. How do other animals rely on coral reefs? Background & Media Video about connecting coral reef protected areas: Article about Australia s Great Barrier Reef: Slideshow showing two views of coral reefs: Article on recovery of bleached Panamanian coral: Article on boring sponges and their relationship to coral: Article on marine protected areas and coral reefs: Additional activities Have extra time? Try IDing life growing on an artificial reef on the National Museum of Natural History Q?rius website: Symbiosis and Coral Anatomy: 19

20 Coral Reefs American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Coral reefs are the most diverse of all marine ecosystems. They teem with life, with perhaps one quarter of all ocean species depending on reefs for food and shelter. Because they are so diverse, coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the sea. Coral reefs are also very important to people, providing food, protection of shorelines, jobs based on tourism, and even medicines. Objectives: -Understand that coral reefs are most diverse ocean ecosystem -Understand what corals and coral reefs are -Explain how other ocean animals rely on coral reefs Read as far as you can through the Corals and Coral Reefs topic page ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. Are corals animals, vegetables, or minerals? 2. Label the parts of a coral on the diagram to the right. 3. What is the difference between a coral animal and a coral reef? 4. Where are coral reefs found? 5. How do coral reefs help people? 20

21 6. List three threats to coral reefs. 7. What can you do to protect coral reefs? Vocabulary scavenger hunt: 1. Define "polyp" 2. Define "coral bleaching" 3. Define sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. What is the difference? Additional Reading and Media Bizarre and Beautiful Coral Reef Animals slideshow: Video about connecting coral reef protected areas: Article about Australia s Great Barrier Reef: Slideshow showing two views of coral reefs: Article on marine protected areas and coral reefs: ID life growing on an artificial reef: 21

22 Overfishing American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Many human cultures from around the world have a deep connection to the ocean, and 3 billion people rely on fisheries for 20 percent of their protein. The ocean may seem like it can provide an endless amount of fish, but the fact is that fish can t reproduce fast enough to keep up with modern fishing practices, particularly when combined with other threats to the ocean such as warming waters, pollution and ocean acidification. Many fish populations around the world are facing collapse due to large-scale trawling and other types of commercial fishing. We have many challenges ahead to conserve the sea's biodiversity, resources, and value to human culture and society, but also many possibilities available right now to meet these challenges. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands-on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Understand various types of modern fishing - Understand that fish populations can be easily harvested past the point of sustainability if care isn t taken to manage them wisely - Explain some ways that fishing can be sustainable Activity 1: Introduction to Overfishing (5-10 minutes) As a group, look through the world fisheries slideshow ( Show the photos on a projector or on individual computer monitors (or, if you have no computer access, print off the PDF version of the slideshow), and read some of the captions aloud. This part of the lesson will help to familiarize students with fisheries around the world. If you have time, take a look at the Sustainable Seafood overview ( and talk through some of the ways that humans are using technology to support fisheries and some solutions to the overfishing problem. Talk through discussion questions as a group: What are some of the various ways that fish are caught? What is bycatch? What food from the sea do you eat? Do you know how it is caught? 22

23 Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 minutes) Read through the Helpful Herbivores article aloud as a group or have students read individually. Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. How does seaweed harm coral? Seaweed and corals both get their energy from sunlight. When seaweeds grow on top of coral, it blocks the sunlight from reaching the corals cutting off their energy source and killing them. Seaweeds also produce chemicals that may cause corals to get sick. 2. What kind of fish are important to protecting corals from seaweed and why? Herbivorous fish like parrotfish are very important because they eat harmful seaweed growth. 3. What causes seaweed to grow out of control on coral reefs? Seaweed can grow out of control on coral reefs for many reasons. When nutrients such as fertilizers are added to the water, it can help seaweed grow very fast just like when you add fertilizer to your lawn to make the grass grow better and more quickly. Overfishing herbivorous fish can allow seaweed to grow out of control because there is no longer a force removing excess seaweed, like a lawnmower on land. 4. What is resilience and how does it help coral reefs? If the reef isn t healthy because of warm water, acidification, pollution and overfishing and then a big disturbance like a storm or disease hits the coral, it will make it harder for the coral and ecosystem to recover. Being able to bounce back from a disturbance means that a coral reef is resilient. (Imagine trying to clean up after a storm hits your house when you already have a broken leg it would be much more difficult.) This slow recovery of the coral gives the seaweed a chance to overgrow the coral and take over the reef. 5. How can marine protected areas help stop seaweed growth? Marine protected areas can help stop seaweed growth by creating a safe space without human disturbance for a healthy reef to grow. For example, banning fishing in an area of a coral reef allows seaweed-eating fish to thrive. Then those 23

24 fish can help clean up seaweed within the marine protected area, and swim out to other areas and clean seaweed there too. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "ecological resilience" (n) the ability of an ecosystem to rebound after a disturbance examples: After a hurricane hits, a coral reef is able to grow back to a healthy state After a fire, the trees are able to grow back into a healthy forest 2. Define "herbivorous" (adj) animals that only eat plants and never eat other animals/meat 3. Define marine protected area (n) an area of ocean that is protected from human disturbances, such as fishing, mining, swimming, and boating (there are different kinds of marine protected areas that offer different levels of protection). Activity 3: Fishing for the Future (hands-on, min) Adapted from WETA/PBS Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture Series: Through a fishing simulation, students model several consecutive seasons of a commercial fishery and explore how technology, population growth, and sustainable practices impact fish catch and fisheries management. (Intended for grades 6-12) OBJECTIVES: Students will: - Experience the tragedy of the commons as it relates to fishing resources. (The tragedy of the commons occurs when resources such as the water we drink, and the fish we eat shared by everyone (or held in common) are used at a rate that exceeds the resources sustainable limit. Ultimately, as population grows and consumption increases, the commons collapse. The phrase was first coined by Garrett Hardin in 1968.) - Consider social, environmental, and economic impacts of overfishing. - Identify sustainable fishing practices. MATERIALS: Plain M&Ms (or other candy/nut) one 14-ounce bag for up to 30 students 24

25 Peanut M&Ms (or other candy/nut different than first item) one 14-ounce bag for up to 30 students Small cups, 1 per student Serving bowls, medium size, 1 per group Spoons, 1 per group Popsicle sticks, 2 per student Watch, for timing activity Handout Fishing Log, 1 per student BEFORE YOU BEGIN: 1. Check for peanut allergies in your class. You can do the activity using only plain M&Ms, if necessary, by selecting one color out as a special color. 2. For a class of 20, you will have five or six groups of three to four students each. Each group will start with 20 plain and 10 peanut M&Ms. Count out the first round of M&Ms and place them in cups or bags. 3. Copy the Fishery Facts and Fishing Log handouts. THE ACTIVITY 1. Introduce and discuss the concept of sustainability using the following definition: Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without limiting the ability of people, other species, and future generations to survive. Ask why sustainability might be an important goal for a society and what might be difficult about realizing this goal. 2. Tell students that today they re going to go fishing and explore some of these sustainability issues. 3. Explain the game rules: a. Each student will be a fisher whose livelihood depends on catching fish. b. Peanut M&Ms represent the largest and most valuable fish (tuna, swordfish, et cetera). 4. Plain M&Ms represent the next most-valuable fish (cod, salmon, et cetera). a. Each fisher must catch at least two fish (large or small) in each round to survive (i.e., get enough fish to either eat or sell). b. When the fishing begins, students must use the fishing rod (popsicle stick) in one hand to pick up fish (M&Ms) from the ocean (bowl) and deposit them into their boat (cup). 25

26 c. The fish remaining in the ocean after each fishing season represent the breeding population, and thus one new fish will be added for every fish left in the ocean (bowl). 5. Divide the class into groups of three or four students and have each group choose an ocean name such as North Atlantic, North Pacific, Arctic, Mediterranean, etc. 6. Give each group one serving bowl and each student one cup, one popsicle stick, and one copy of the handout Fishing Log. 7. Put 20 plain and 10 peanut M&Ms in each group s bowl. 8. Say start fishing and give the students 20 seconds for the first season of fishing. 9. Have each fisher count his or her catch (M&Ms in their cup) and record the data in their Fishing Log. 10. Fishers who did not catch the two-fish minimum must sit out for the following round. 11.Add one new fish for every fish left in the ocean (bowl). 12.Allow fishers to use one popsicle stick in each hand during the second session to represent new technology. 13.After the second fishing season, give one fisher from each group a spoon representing more new fishing technology such as trawl nets, sonar equipment, etc. Continue the game for round three. 14. Ask, What happened when ocean group [name] ran out of fish? How are the fishers going to survive now? (One option is to move to another ocean.) Allow students to invade other ocean groups when their ocean is depleted, but don t tell them that they can do this beforehand. Fishers may either go as a group to another ocean or they may disperse to other oceans. 15.Repeat fishing, recording, and replenishing fish stocks until either sustainable fishing is achieved or until all (or most) groups fish out their ocean. REFLECTION: 1. Have students do a free-write on the following quote by John C. Sawhill, relating it to the fishing activity: In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy. (John Sawhill is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy.) 2. Use the following sample questions to lead a discussion about the activity: 26

27 - How did you feel when you realized that you had depleted your fish stock? - How did you feel when other fishers joined your ocean group? - How does this activity relate to real ocean and fishery issues? - What s missing in this game? (Impacts to nonhuman animals that rely on fish for their survival, population growth, et cetera.) - What happens to a resource when you have infinite population growth, growing technology, and a finite resource? - Are there any commonly owned resources in our region or community? If so, what are some similar issues around them, and how can they best be managed? (Air is a commonly used resource how do we deal with air pollution? Forestry or animal grazing rights also sometimes create similar discussions. You might also talk about city, national parks, and other public lands, and the competing uses and needs.) 3. Have students brainstorm ways to have a sustainable fishery. What rules could be developed? (For example, limits on type of equipment allowed, amount and type of fish, shorter seasons.) Activity 4: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. What are some types of modern fishing and what species are caught? 2. Can fish be caught with no regulations? 3. What are some ways that fishing can be sustainable? Background & Media Video from PBS about overfishing around the world: Sustainable Seafood Glossary of Terms: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Rough Going For Orange Roughy: Additional activities Game of Life: Marine Fisheries Collapse: ofc.htm 27

28 Lobster math: Catch, Tag and Release: Boom and Bust (exploring fisheries management): s_boombust.pdf Net Results (modeling economics of fisheries): 28

29 Overfishing American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Many human cultures from around the world have a deep connection to the ocean, and 3 billion people rely on fisheries for 20 percent of their protein. The ocean may seem like it can provide an endless amount of fish, but the fact is that fish can t reproduce fast enough to keep up with modern fishing practices, particularly when combined with other threats to the ocean such as warming waters, pollution and ocean acidification. Many fish populations around the world are facing collapse due to large-scale trawling and other types of commercial fishing. We have many challenges ahead to conserve the sea's biodiversity, resources, and value to human culture and society, but also many possibilities available right now to meet these challenges. Objectives: - Understand various types of modern fisheries - Understand that fish populations aren t endlessly sustainable - Explain some ways that fishing can be sustainable Read through the Helpful Herbivores article ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. How does seaweed harm coral? 2. What kind of fish are important to protecting corals from seaweed and why? 3. What causes seaweed to grow out of control on coral reefs? 4. What is resilience and how does it help coral reefs? 29

30 5. How can marine protected areas help stop seaweed growth? VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "ecological resilience" 2. Define "herbivorous" 3. Define marine protected area Additional Reading and Media World Fisheries from Sea to Table slideshow: Sustainable Seafood overview: Video from PBS about overfishing around the world: Sustainable Seafood Glossary of Terms: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Rough Going For Orange Roughy: 30

31 Fishing for the Future, 8 of 8 Fishing Log Ocean Group: Fishers: Record your group s catch and fish left in ocean after each season: Season Catch Fish Left in Ocean High Value Fish Medium Value Fish Total Catch 1 2 Write a brief description of the status/health of your fishery: Season Catch Fish Left in Ocean High Value Fish Medium Value Fish Total Catch 3 4 Discuss changes in fishing practices or regulations. Are any fisheries in trouble? What did they do and how did that impact your fishery? Season Catch All Fish Left in Ocean High Value Fish Medium Value Fish Total Catch 5 6 Write a brief description of the status or health of your fishery now: How could you have made your fishing sustainable? The Curriculum Guide

32 The Poles American Spaces Activity Guide By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal We often think of the poles together, but life and the physical characteristics of the Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean are vastly different. The Arctic Ocean covers the North Pole and is mostly surrounded by land from northern Canada, Russia and Greenland. It's also relatively calm because it s largely covered by ice. Polar bears and walruses roam about. The Southern Ocean, with no surrounding land as protection, is more turbulent. It supports penguins and a large number of distinctive species because it has been isolated for 30 million years. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Understand the differences and similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic - Learn about the variety of animals found in the poles and how they adapt to cold - Explain how climate change will impact the poles Activity 1: Introduction to the Poles (5-10 minutes) Visit the Antarctic and Arctic as a group by reviewing two slideshows ( and Show the photos on a projector or on individual computer monitors (or, if you have no computer access, print off the PDF version of the slideshow), and read some of the captions aloud. This part of the lesson will help to familiarize students with the two Poles and help them get a sense of the differences and similarities. Watch a video highlighting the various kinds of sea ice: Talk through discussion questions as a group: What are some similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic? Some differences? What are some of the different forms of sea ice? 31

33 Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 minutes) Read through the Poles overview (online or from a printout of the PDF) as a group or have students read individually. Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. What forms the basis of the food web in the Arctic Ocean? Ice-Algae and phytoplankton form the base of the food chain; they are eaten by zooplankton, which in turn are eaten by larger animals like walrus and other marine mammals. Organisms that aren t eaten by larger fish and mammals eventually die and sink to the bottom so animals that live on the sea floor eat are able to feed. 2. What isolates Antarctica from the other continents? Antarctica is isolated from the rest of the continents by the Circumpolar Current, which swirls clockwise around the landmass. 3. How do penguins in Antarctica handle the freezing temperatures? Emperor penguins huddle together in groups in order to block the freezing winds from one another. They take turns in the middle where they are protected from the cold. 4. How many species can be found in both the Arctic and Antarctic? What are some of these species? Researchers taking part in the Census of Marine Life found over 200 species that appeared to live in both polar seas, including cold-water worms, crustaceans, sea cucumbers and pteropod snails. But, further genetic testing proved that they were in fact, not the same species and that the miles between do make a difference. Some animals make fantastically long migrations, moving from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again, living an endless polar summer. 5. What is sea ice? What are the different kinds of sea ice? Sea ice is ice made from seawater. The first step in forming sea ice is the formation of crystals and water slush called frazil ice. It then becomes a thin layer of ice on the water s surface called grease ice. Thicker pack ice then forms. Thick sea ice (also called multi-year ice) remains frozen as ice over the summer and is at least two years old. Thin sea ice breaks, melts and re-freezes every year. 6. How are the poles changing? 32

34 The typical ratio of thick and thin sea ice is changing now due to warmer water and air temperatures. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT 1. Define glacial ice : Glacial ice forms on land, and is made of freshwater snow packed down tightly over many years. 2. Define indigenous : native to a particular area 3. Define hemoglobin : an iron-rich protein found in blood that carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the body, and gives blood its red color. 4. Define fast ice : sea ice that is attached to the shore Activity 3: Three Ice Realms (Hands-on Activity, 1-2 hours) Adapted from NOAA Ocean Explorer lesson plan: Through reading comprehension and discussion students will learn about the different layers of the polar Arctic Ocean: pelagic, benthic and sea ice. Grade Level: 5-6 Learning Objectives: - Students will be able to compare and contrast the pelagic, benthic and sea ice realms of the Arctic Ocean. - Students will be able to name at least three organisms that are typical of each of these three realms. - Students will be able to explain how the pelagic, benthic and sea ice realms interact with each other. Teaching Time: One or two 45-minute class periods, plus time for student research and preparation Seating arrangement: Three groups of students Maximum Number of Students: 30 Background Information: The Arctic Ocean is the most inaccessible and least-studied of all the Earth s major oceans. Although it is the smallest of the world s four oceans, the Arctic Ocean has a total area of about 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square miles) or roughly 1.5 times the size of the United States. Its communities can be divided into three main groups. 33

35 - The Sea-Ice Realm includes plants and animals that live on, in, and just under the ice that floats on the Ocean's surface; - The Pelagic Realm includes organisms that live in the water column between the ocean surface and the bottom; - The Benthic Realm is composed of organisms that live on the bottom, including sponges, bivalves, crustaceans, polychaete worms, sea anemones, bryozoans, tunicates, and ascidians. These realms are linked in many ways, and food webs in each realm interact with those of the other realms. Sea ice provides a complex habitat for many species that are called sympagic, which means "ice-associated." The ice is riddled with a network of tunnels called brine channels that range in size from microscopic (a few thousandths of a millimeter) to more than an inch in diameter. Some areas of Arctic sea ice persist throughout the year, and endemic species (species that are not found anywhere else) have developed in the multi-year sea ice of the deep ocean basins. Diatoms and algae inhabit these channels and obtain energy from sunlight to produce biological material through photosynthesis (a process called "primary production"). Bacteria, viruses, and fungi also inhabit the channels, and together with diatoms and algae provide an energy source (food) for flatworms, crustaceans, and other animals. In the spring, melting ice releases organisms and nutrients that interact with the ocean water below the ice. Large masses of algae form at the ice-seawater interface and may form filaments several meters long. On average, more than 50% of the primary production in the Arctic Ocean comes from single-celled algae that live near the iceseawater junction. This interface is critical to the polar marine ecosystem, providing an energy source (food) for many organisms, as well as protection from predators. Arctic cod use the interface area as nursery grounds, and in turn provide an important food source for many marine mammals and birds, as well as migration routes for polar bears. In the spring, the solid ice cover breaks into floes of pack ice that can transport organisms, nutrients, and pollutants over thousands of kilometers. Partial melting of sea ice during the summer months produces ponds on the ice surface called polynyas that contain their own communities of organisms. Because only 50% of this ice melts in the summer, ice flows can exist for many years and can reach a thickness of more than 2 m (6 ft). When sea ice melts, more sunlight enters the sea, and algae grow rapidly since the sun shines for 24 hours a day during the summer. These algae provide energy for a variety of pelagic organisms, including floating crustaceans and jellyfishes called zooplankton, which are the energy source for larger pelagic animals including fishes, squids, seals, and whales. When pelagic organisms die, they settle to the ocean bottom, and become the 34

36 energy source for inhabitants of the benthic realm. These animals, in turn, provide energy for bottom-feeding fishes, whales, and seals. This lesson is intended to introduce students to the "Three Realms" of marine life and to the diversity of organisms that inhabit these realms. Learning Procedure 1. To become more familiar with the Hidden Ocean expedition, you may want to visit the expedition s Web page ( for an overview of the expedition and background essays. You should also review the following essays from the 2002 Hidden Ocean Expedition: Deep Sea Benthos html Spineless Wonders: The Pelagic Fauna Arctic Sea Ice: Channels of Life tml Use PDF versions of these web pages if no internet connection is available, found at the end of this activity guide. 2. Briefly review the geography of the Arctic Ocean, highlighting the activities of the Hidden Ocean expedition. Introduce the "three realms" of marine life. You may also want to briefly discuss Arctic climate change and why it is so important to gather information on the species that presently inhabit the three realms as soon as possible. 3. Divide students into three groups. Tell students that their assignment is to: Research one of the three realms; Find out what kinds of organisms inhabit their assigned realm; Obtain a picture of each organism; Work with other groups to assemble a collage that illustrates the inhabitants of the three realms; and Prepare a brief report describing their assigned realm and how it interacts with the other two realms. 35

37 You may want to bring a bit of taxonomy into the lesson by having students include a label on their images giving the classification of the organism (phylum and class) as well as its common name. 4. Direct students to the Arctic Ocean Biodiversity Web site and to the Hidden Ocean expedition pages on the Ocean Explorer Web site. Call students attention to the Photo and Video Log section of the Ocean Explorer Web site, which contains images that they may want to use for their collage. 5. Have each group present an oral summary of their written report, then lead a discussion of students collage of the three realms. These reports and discussions should include the following points: Many inhabitants of the sea ice realm are endemic to this ecosystem. Sea ice inhabitants include protozoa, turbellaria, nematodes, rotifers, and amphipods; in the spring larvae and juveniles of benthic animals are also found in the ice. In addition to providing a feeding ground for larvae and juveniles of benthic animals, the sea ice realm is linked to the pelagic realm by Arctic cod which feed on the amphipods that inhabit the underside of ice floes; the cod, in turn, are an important food source for seals, birds, whales, and predatory fishes. Fauna of the pelagic realm (water column) are dominated by small crustaceans and "jelly animals"; the latter are not well-known because they are usually destroyed in sampling nets. Pelagic realm inhabitants include protists, cnidaria, ctenophores, polychaetes, pteropods, cephalopods, heteropods, cladocerans, ostracods, copepods, mysids, amphipods, euphausiids, decapods, chaetognaths, tunicates, and fishes. Inhabitants of the benthic realm are constrained by food supplies, because they depend primarily on food particles that settle from higher in the water column or that are transported from the continental slopes. This means that many other organisms have had access to the food particles before they reach the bottom, so benthic organisms are left with what has been missed or rejected by inhabitants of the pelagic realm. Benthic realm inhabitants include polychaetes, crustaceans, bivalves, fishes, anemones, and tunicates. Shells of scaphopods and gastropods have also been recovered from deep areas, but these may have been deposited from the continental shelves. 36

38 Be sure students understand that the sea bottom page on the Arctic Ocean Biodiversity web site includes images of organisms found in shallow waters as well as those of the deep benthos. The "Me" Connection: Have students write a brief essay explaining why they think it is important (or not important) to explore areas such as the Canada Basin. If some students believe these activities are unimportant, point out that many of the most promising drugs for serious human diseases (such as cancer) are being found in rather unimpressive organisms that live in the deep sea. Activity 4: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. What are some differences and similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic? 2. What are some animals found in the Arctic and Antarctic? How do they adapt to the cold environment? 3. How will climate change impact the polar regions? Background & Media Video of receding ice cover in the Arctic over time: Ice-loving Seals and the Loss of Sea Ice: Climate Change at the Poles: The Sant Ocean Hall, Life at the Poles Exhibit: Archaeologists Study Early Whaling Community in Quebec, Canada: Cold-water Diving with WHOI: Additional activities Where have all the glaciers gone? Expedition to the Poles: 37

39 Arctic Lesson Plans from NOAA: Forces of Change lesson plans: 38

40 The Poles American Spaces Student Worksheet By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Most of you know that the Earth s poles are cold. But did you know that there are hundreds of organisms especially adapted to living in these extreme temperatures? Did you know that the communities at the North and South poles are dramatically different from each other? Or that there is a difference between sea ice, ice shelves, and icebergs? We often think of the poles together, but life and the physical characteristics of the Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean are vastly different. The Arctic Ocean covers the North Pole and is mostly surrounded by land from northern Canada, Russia and Greenland. It's also relatively calm because it s largely covered by ice. Polar bears and walruses roam about. The Southern Ocean, with no surrounding land as protection, is more turbulent. It supports penguins and a large number of distinctive species because it has been isolated for 30 million years. How do polar organisms adapt to these harsh climates? Icefish, for example, have antifreeze in their blood, while Arctic terns fly from pole to pole, logging some 20,000 miles per year, in order to avoid the harsh polar winters. Polar bears and walruses in the Arctic have thick layers of blubber that help them keep warm, but also provide them with stores of energy. Objectives: - Understand the differences and similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic - Learn about the variety of animals found in the poles and how they adapt to cold - Explain how climate change will impact the poles Read through the Poles overview ( aloud as a group or have students read individually. Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. What forms the basis of the food web in the Arctic Ocean? 2. What isolates Antarctica from the other continents? 39

41 3. How do penguins in Antarctica handle the freezing temperatures? 4. How many species can be found in both the Arctic and Antarctic? What are some of these species? 5. What is sea ice? What are the different kinds of sea ice? Vocabulary scavenger hunt: 5. Define glacial ice 6. Define indigenous 7. Define hemoglobin 8. Define fast ice Additional Reading and Media Video of receding ice cover in the Arctic over time: 40

42 Ice-loving Seals and the Loss of Sea Ice: Climate Change at the Poles: The Sant Ocean Hall, Life at the Poles Exhibit: Archaeologists Study Early Whaling Community in Quebec, Canada: Cold-water Diving with WHOI: 41

43 Arctic Sea Ice: Channels of Life by Rolf Gradinger, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska in Fairbanks NOAA Ocean Explorer For use with the Smithsonian Ocean Portal American Spaces Poles activity guide Original source: Sea ice is a unique feature of the polar oceans. Its extent and thickness vary with the seasons. Ice is mainly formed during the winter months and melts in summer. In the Arctic, about 50% (7 million square km) of the winter sea ice melts during the warmer months. Typically, the thickness of "level" sea ice ranges from 2 to 4 m. A Complex Structure When sea ice forms, small spaces between the ice crystals remain and are filled with a salty solution called brine. Thus, sea ice consists of a mixture of ice crystals and brine channels, which form a three-dimensional network of tubes with diameters of a few micrometers to several cm. A specialized, sympagic (ice-associated) community has adapted to the variable conditions in this matrix. In 1852, Sutherland was the first to describe life in Arctic sea ice as "minute vegetable forms of exquisite beauty. More than 100 years later, in 1985, Rita Horner published the milestone book Sea Ice Biota, which is till the standard textbook concerning the history and scientific progress of sea-ice research. Since then, a wealth of new information has been gathered concerning the structural role of sea ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Studying the deep Arctic basins remained a challenge because of its permanent multi-year ice cover and many unsolved scientific questions. American and Russian drifting ice camps, such as T3 and NP22, produced the first descriptions of the biota in these deep basins. In 1994, the American trans- A resin cast of the microscopic brine channel system within the sea ice (modified after Weissenberger et al. 1992). About 10 to 30% of the ice volume is filled by a salty fluid (brine). The fluid is found in channels and pockets between and within the ice crystals, and forms the habitat for specialized sea ice biota. The diameter of these brine channels is normally less than 1 mm. 42

44 polar section revealed surprising insights into the biology of these areas, demonstrating large regional differences within the central Arctic, and much higher biological activity in the ice and the water column than was previously assumed. A Microscopic Haven Until recently, diatoms were considered to be the most important microorganisms inside the ice in terms of abundance and productivity, but a greater complexity is now appreciated. Several hundred unicellular species of algae are the main primary producers in this environment. Largely based on studies of sea ice known as "coastal fast" and "first-year level" ice, algal primary production contributes from 4 to 26% of the total primary production in seasonally ice-covered Arctic waters. This fraction can be expected to increase to 50% or more in perennially ice-covered waters due to the reduction in shortwave radiation penetrating the water column. The production of dissolved organic material within the ice, mainly from the waste of ice algae, supports the growth of ice bacteria. Viruses and fungi also have a surprisingly high biological diversity within this extreme habitat. Small protozoans and metazoans, in particular turbellarians, crustaceans and rotifers, feed on ice algae and may, in certain periods or locations, restrict the development of algae. Unicelluar algae are the main primary producers in sea ice. More than 200 diatom species are known to grow in Arctic ice. Melosira arctica may grow within the brine channels but also attaches to the bottom of the ice floes. Image courtesy of Arctic Exploration 2002, Rolf Gradiner, NOAA/OER Ice organisms tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and experience rapid changes in light intensity, temperature and salinity. These fluctuations cause an uneven distribution of the ice biota within the floes, with the bulk of the organism biomass concentrated in the lowermost centimeters of ice floes. Strong interactions between the ice biota and plankton exist during periods of complete ice coverage. A unique, partially endemic fauna, comprising mainly tiny crustaceans (amphipods), thrive permanently at the underside of the ice floes. Moving along the bottom of the ice, they feed directly on the bottom community and use brine channels as shelter against possible predators. They serve as mediators for particulate organic matter from the sea ice to the water column and benthos (ocean bottom) through the release of wastes, and as food for fish and seals. 43

45 Juvenile stages of zooplankton and meroplanktonic larvae of benthic organisms also enter the brine channel network on shallow Arctic shelves to feed on the rich ice bottom community while being relatively well protected from pelagic predators. In early spring, when the water column is still devoid of food, calanoid copepods, such as Calanus glacialis, perform diel (daily) vertical migrations from deeper parts of the water column to feed on phytoplankton that accumulate just below the ice. Thus, ice production is linked with the other Arctic marine realms through sedimentation and life cycles. A Little-known Realm The multi-year sea ice cover of the high Arctic, especially within the Canadian Basin, has been poorly studied. It may be that these areas, which form oases for species aggregations and production in the central Arctic, are the most sensitive to global climate change -- yet we know very little about them. The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has decreased by about 2.8% per decade since Ice-thickness studies by submarines indicate a tremendous decrease in the mean ice thickness and ice volume. The ice cover of the Arctic Seas consists of individual ice floes separated by areas of open waters (leads or polynyas). Floe sizes range from several m to km. In summer, light blue, freshwater melt puddles may cover up to 60% of the surface of the ice. Arctic exploration will tackle questions concerning the existence of life in this unique environment, looking for life on top of the ice, in its interior, and at the ice-ocean boundary layer. These studies will help us to understand the marine biology of the Arctic as a whole, and will also support climate predictions in an ever-changing world. 44

46 Life on the Arctic Deep Sea Floor by Bodil Bluhm (Research Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska in Fairbanks) and Katrin Iken (Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks) NOAA Ocean Explorer For use with the Smithsonian Ocean Portal American Spaces Poles activity guide Original source: oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02arctic/background/benthos/benthos.html Rich benthic community in the European Arctic. Feather stars, basket stars, this particular sea cucumber (all in the group of echinoderms) and anemones prefer hard bottom as a substrate.. Image courtesy of Arctic Exploration 2002, v. Juterzenka, Piepenbu Animals that live on the sea floor are called benthos. Most of these animals lack a backbone and are called invertebrates. Typical benthic invertebrates include sea anemones, sponges, corals, sea stars, sea urchins, worms, bivalves, crabs, and many more. Recent research indicates that the diversity of species living in the deep-sea may rival the species richness found in tropical coral reefs! At first, scientists found this puzzling because we believed that few lifeforms could withstand the harsh, deep regions of the oceans. However, now we know that marine benthic organisms are well adapted to their environment and can live and thrive even in the cold dark waters of the deep sea. 45

47 These animals adapt to permanently low temperatures such as those found in the Arctic by having low metabolic rates. This means that organisms in cold waters live and work at a "lower speed than organisms in warmer waters. This does not mean, however, that deep-sea organisms do not do as well as organisms from warmer waters. Rather, coldadaptation means that these animals' enzymes and metabolic processes work best at ambient low temperatures and at high pressure. Most marine invertebrates lack gas-filled body compartments (like lungs in humans) that would collapse at high pressure. Thus, most deep-sea organisms would die in tropical temperatures or if they were kept in an aquarium. They would need to be kept in special pressurized tanks. Many deep-sea organisms, including organisms in polar regions, also grow very slowly. In fact, some arctic deep-sea organisms grow as much in 10 years as some tropical organisms grow in one year! This means that polar and deep-sea species live to be much older than tropical species. A polar sea urchin can get as old as your grandmother, but a tropical one would likely die before its 10th birthday. Going Hungry at Depth Food availability strongly determines how well Arctic benthic organisms and communities will develop and grow. Sunlight usually cannot reach below 200 ft, which prevents marine micro- and macro-algae significant food sources from growing on the deep sea floor. Hence, sea floor animals depend primarily on food particles that rain down from the top of the water column Brittle stars dominate vast areas of the investigated Arctic sea floor. The locally high abundance and biomass is determined by the amount of food available and is sustained by only few species. Image courtesy of Arctic Exploration 2002, v. Juterzenka, Pi or are transported downward along the continental slopes. A good portion of this food rain is eaten by animals in the water column, leaving the deep-sea creatures with what little remains. Deep-sea areas, therefore, tend to be areas of limited food availability and often have bad quality food. Moreover, ice-covered areas get even less algal production than nonice-covered areas, resulting in even less food rain for the Arctic deep-sea benthos. So Much Research, So Little Knowledge The Arctic Ocean is characterized by broad, shallow continental shelf areas (average depth around 50m) which are often nutrient-rich and biologically active. Some shelf areas of the North American Arctic are teeming with benthic life such as worms, bivalves and crustaceans, which have been studied extensively. However, we know little about benthic communities at deeper areas of the Arctic Ocean, especially the Canadian Basin with depths around 3000 m. The long seasonal ice cover and the great depth render the sea 46

48 floor of the deep Arctic Ocean extremely hard and expensive to access and sample. Only now do we have adequate ships and equipment to venture into these habitats but the deep Arctic Ocean remains a challenge. Our Goals For this expedition, we hope to observe and identify Arctic deep-sea fauna and explore their food web. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on board will be our eye at the sea floor. For the first time, we will see what kind of organisms manage to live in this extreme habitat, and how abundant they are. These in situ (onsite) and real-time observations also will tell us something about their lifestyle and hopefully their feeding habits. By using ROV technology, we expect to discover species that have not yet been seen in this area or may even be new to science. These collections may change our current view of the seemingly impoverished Arctic deep-sea fauna. Our second objective is to learn about the benthic food web of the deep Arctic benthic community. Even with the use of an ROV, it will be a rare and lucky occasion if we are able to observe this. Thus, to augment our observational data, we plan to study naturally occurring isotopes, in particular carbon and nitrogen isotopes, to determine relative trophic positions of species on the broad scale of communities or ecosystems. During this expedition, we hope to trace food sources and follow organic matter flowing through the triangle of the pelagic, the sea ice and the benthos. The results will tell us which species feed on relatively fresh material (good quality food), which feed on other animals, and which survive on old, reworked detritus (bad quality food). The food web analysis of a whole ecosystem will help us identify key players as well as environmental key factors in the largely unexplored Arctic deep-sea ecosystem. These scientists are working on a box core. A box core works like a cookie cutter for sediment. It removes a piece of the sea floor with all the animals in and on it. Here, the sample has been taken and the metal sides of the core are screwed back togethe Click here for more information on recent expeditions studying deep-sea Benthos: Diving to Extremes 47

49 Spineless Wonders: The Pelagic Fauna by Russ Hopcroft (Assistant Professor at the Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska in Fairbanks) NOAA Ocean Explorer For use with the Smithsonian Ocean Portal American Spaces Poles activity guide Original source: Plankton nets are the most common tool employed in water column research. They have changed little since this picture was taken 90 years ago. They do not adequately collect the full range of organisms that drift and swim throughout the oceans. For more than 100 years, we have collected animals that drift in the water column with plankton nets. These nets are pulled blindly through the water, collecting primarily the smaller, slower, more numerous and more robust species. Thus, we have been able to adequately sample only a small fraction of the diversity present in the pelagic realm. As a result, we have a notable gap in our understanding of the linkages between algal production, the production of planktonic herbivores, and in turn the production of their predators in the oceans. We are unable to accurately predict when, where and how these softbodied animals regulate the flow of the materials and energy through oceanic food webs. In contrast, we know a great deal about the more numerous crustacean zooplankton such as the copepods (the sea s insects) and euphausiids throughout the world's oceans. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and submersibles offer opportunities for direct observations of the species that are normally missed by plankton nets because they are either too rare, too fragile, or too fast for us to catch. Undersea vehicles have substantially expanded our knowledge about behavior, biodiversity and vertical distribution of pelagic animals. In addition, submersible tools can permit us to capture live, undamaged specimens. ROVs and submersibles also allow us to make observations on finer scales of space and time than is possible by plankton nets. During this expedition, we will search the water column under the Arctic ice-sheet for new species of gelatinous zooplankton and cephalopods. We will photograph living animals and their behavior, and we will collect specimens for morphological analysis and molecular fingerprinting. We also plan to assess the vertical distribution and abundance 48

50 of this fauna relative to that of potential prey and the physical structure of the water column. Pelagic Fauna in the Arctic Gelatinous zooplankton are translucent creatures, often vividly pigmented, as bizarre as they are beautiful. These animals are ubiquitous in the oceans, and many species have persisted for hundred of millions of years. However, we know relatively little about species such as ctenophores, siphonophores, hydromedusae, scyphomedusae, pteropods, heteropods, and pelagic tunicates like salps, doliolids, pyrosomes and larvaceans. The most obvious explanation for this disparity is their extreme fragility. Collecting these animals with nets usually destroys most soft-bodied species or breaks them into fragments that are usually ignored, discarded, misidentified, or simply recorded as jelly. The large copepods, such as Neocalanus, are the best known players in Arctic and subarctic pelagic ecosystems. Image courtesy of Arctic Exploration 2002, NOAA/OER. Furthermore, conventional preservatives typically dissolve the natural rich iridescent colors of live animals and often liquify them. Therefore, it is not surprising that scientists underestimate the basic biodiversity as well as the biomass and abundance of gelatinous animals, especially in Arctic seas. Historically, some scientists assumed that these zooplankton are unimportant to ecosystem function. However, recent investigations have demonstrated that these softbodied animals are capable of much higher rates of ingestion, growth, and reproduction than crustaceans, which allows them to respond more rapidly to shifts in primary productivity. This fact is especially true in Arctic polynyas, and large populations have been recorded in the Bering Straits. The physonect siphonophores are actually colonies of individuals, each specialized for different functions such as swimming, feeding and reproduction. Image courtesy of Arctic Exploration 2002, Marsh Youngbluth, NOAA/OER. Until recently, the importance of large populations of carnivorous species has been unappreciated in Arctic surface waters. For example, in the eastern Canadian high Arctic, we have estimated that the ctenophores consume up to 9 percent of the populations of the larger copepods every day. We expect that other gelatinous predators, when numerous, will have similar ecological impacts, particularly medusae and perhaps siphonophores. Several marine scientists have observed mounds of jellyfishes several feet high extending for miles along the shoreline near Barrow, Alaska. On this expedition, we expect to find many unidentified species of predators, including 49

51 ctenophores, siphonophores, hydromedusae, and scyphomedusae. These species feed on copepods, euphausiids, larvaceans, other jellies, and fishes. When we learn more about the diversity, occurrence and density of these groups, we will be better able to make predictions about their impact on prey populations in the Arctic. Presently, the number of species recognized for each group varies depending on the source. A review of the major papers and monographs indicates six species of ctenophores, 45 species of medusae, 12 species of siphonophores, four species of pteropods and five species of larvaceans. Based on our submersible experience in other oceans, we expect to find at least twice as many species in each group during this expedition. In contrast to the fragile gelatinous zooplankton, we know even less about Arctic cephalopods because they are adept at avoiding nets and trawls. We expect to use the ROV as a beacon for pelagic cephalopods that come to feed on fishes and crustaceans, which will be dazed by the lights of the vehicle. Observations of cephalopods in the water are particularly useful because we can see swimming behaviors and subtle taxonomic characters such as color patterns and skin texture. Gentle collection of specimens with ROV samplers also will provide us with accurate records of size and other shape measurements. Although cephalopods play an important role in Arctic food webs as effective predators, we still know little about cephalopod fauna. In fact, we know of only seven cephalopod species that reside in the Arctic, and we know nothing about their ecological roles. Recent research on Antarctic cephalopods has revealed a much higher diversity than we first believed. We expect to find a similar case for the Arctic. Click here for a list of pelagic fauna resources. This small jelly has many small golden droplets of oil. The larger white spheres are eggs. Image courtesy of Arctic Exploration 2002, Kevin Raskoff, NOAA/OER. 50

52 Climate Change American Spaces Activity Guide By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal With over seven billion people, the impact of our collective actions on planet Earth is huge. Coal, oil and natural gas (all fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide when burned) fuel almost everything that we do: driving cars, flying in planes, and using electricity to power our lights and our electronics and heat and cool our buildings. When carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, they trap the heat from the sun and warm the entire planet, both the atmosphere and the ocean. The consequences of this warming are far-flung and not totally understood, but include changes in weather patterns, rising seas, and much more. Carbon dioxide also dissolves into the ocean, making it more acidic. Many of these impacts will be long-lasting as carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for centuries. The situation is not hopeless, however, and people are increasingly aware that we need to do something in order to prevent catastrophic changes. There are ways that humans can change in order to release less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, including making use of renewable energy sources like the wind and the sun. Other actions can reduce the harm that is done by climate change. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: -Understand that climate change is man made -Understand the mechanisms of climate change -Understand how impacts of climate change can be mitigated, reversed or changed Activity 1: Introduction to Climate Change (10 minutes) As a group, watch this video explanation of climate change and discuss the following questions: Where does carbon dioxide come from? Where does carbon dioxide get absorbed? What are some things you do that use fossil fuels? Talk about the impacts that increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere may have 51

53 Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 minutes) Read as far as you can through the Climate Change topic page ( (or print out the PDF) and use it to answer the following questions. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. Why are carbon dioxide levels higher than they've been in 15 million years? When people burn fossils fuels like coal and gas, carbon dioxide and other gases are released into the atmosphere. 2. How do scientists know about the Earth s past climate and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels? One way is through the study of cores from ice and ocean sediments. Like tree rings, each layer in the core records what the planet was like at the time the layer was created. Oxygen isotopes (which can be used to estimate temperature), methane concentrations (methane is another kind of greenhouse gas), dust content, even volcanic eruptions, can be understood from ice cores, and in the sediment dead microorganisms such as foraminifera indicate what conditions in the ocean were like. 3. What is a consequence of carbon dioxide dissolving into seawater? Some of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere comes in contact with the surface of the ocean and gets dissolved in the seawater (more than one-fourth of the CO 2 released), causing the chemistry of the water to shift and become more acidic, called ocean acidification. This will impact the many animals that need less acidic water to build their protective shells, like clams, oysters and pteropods. These animals play important roles in the food chain and their loss could reverberate throughout the ocean. 4. Why will climate change cause the sea level to rise? Globally, sea level will rise for two reasons: 1) when water gets warmer it expands (called thermal expansion) and 2) melting glaciers will add to the volume of the oceans. 5. What are some of the ripple effects of climate change on animals and ecosystems? Changes in temperature may force animals to move deeper or towards the poles to avoid water that is too warm. This means that food sources in certain places will change as plants and animals move into new territories, and there may be a variety of impacts throughout the food chain. 52

54 VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define greenhouse effect : the heating of the atmosphere caused by gases that trap heat, like CO2, methane and nitrous oxide. This effect has kept the atmosphere warm enough for the earth to sustain life, but excess gases being released by human is causing the atmosphere and ocean to warm at unprecedented rates. 2. Define "foraminifera:" microscopic single-celled organisms that have lived in the ocean for more than 500 million years and whose skeletons give clues about past climates Activity 3: Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise (hands-on activity, minutes over two classroom sessions or 4 hours) From the California Academy of Sciences: Objectives In this lesson, students will: 1. Learn that ice formations on land will cause a rise in sea level when they melt, whereas ice formations on water will not cause a rise in sea level when they melt. 2. Learn that ice is less dense than water. 3. Learn that ice displaces water equal to the mass of the ice. 4. Practice some of the steps involved in a science investigation. Materials 2 identical clear food storage boxes (approximately 6 inches square) per group 8 sticks of classroom modeling clay per group 1 ruler per group 1 tray of ice cubes per group (may need to start storing ice cubes ahead of time) 1 liter of water per group Sea Level Rise Worksheets (1 per student, at end of activity guide) 53

55 Vocabulary Global climate change: the alteration of average global temperature, rainfall, and wind patterns as a result of increased atmospheric greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases: gases in Earth s atmosphere that absorb and reradiate heat near the surface of the planet Density: a measurement of compactness. For solids, this is usually measured as mass per unit volume. For substances dissolved in water, this is usually measured as parts per thousand or million. Displacement: the forced relocation of water due to a submerged or partially submerged object occupying fluid space Teacher Background Global climate change is becoming a threat to our current way of life on Earth. One consequence of climate change is the melting of ice caps, glaciers, and sea ice, including polar ice in Greenland and Antarctica. Substantial melt of these massive glaciers will cause a rise in sea level along coastlines throughout the globe. This activity will explore how melting ice impacts sea level. Ice already in the oceans does not contribute to sea level rise, but ice on land will contribute to sea level rise upon melting. Greenland, for example, is covered by vast quantities of ice. The melting of this ice will contribute to sea level rise. In contrast, the sea ice in the area of the North Pole is floating in water and thus the melting of this ice will not contribute to sea level rise. Why is this the case? When objects are totally submerged in water, they displace an amount of water equal to their volume. However, because ice floats on water and is not completely submerged, ice does not displace an amount of water equal to its volume. Instead, it displaces less than its total volume of water. The water that floating ice displaces is equal to the volume that the ice would take up if it melted and became water again. In other words, floating ice displaces water equal to the mass of the ice. When ice melts, the mass of the ice is conserved, but the crystal lattice structure of ice disappears and the volume decreases and becomes equal to the volume of water it displaced in its ice form. Therefore, when floating ice melts, the melted water is equal only to the volume of the ice that was submerged. This means that when floating ice melts, it contributes no additional volume to the body of water. We see this phenomenon when we let ice melt in a glass of water. The water does not overflow because the ice has already displaced water equal to the volume it will take up upon melting. Activity This activity can be performed as a demonstration or in student groups. 54

56 Introduction Have a discussion about global climate change and its impact on sea level rise. Ask students where there is a lot of ice in the world. Is the ice on land or on water? Does it matter whether the ice is on land or water? Will one or both cause sea level to rise when they melt? Give each student the Sea Level Rise worksheet. Guide students through the development of a question about the melting of ice and sea level rise. Which type of melting will cause a greater increase in sea level? Have each student make a prediction. Explain the steps in the activity, and in the methods section of the worksheet have each student write down, in their own words, the steps involved in this investigation. Go over the steps slowly and in stages. Tell students they have to write clearly and with enough detail so another student could follow the same steps. Or give students written instructions. Tell students that they will need to record their measurements and write down their results, so to pay attention as they perform the investigation. Procedure 1. Place half of the clay into one side of each box. Form the clay to represent land rising out of the ocean. In one box, form a level place at the highest part as shown below. Make rivers on the land if you like. 55

57 2. Place as many ice cubes as possible on the level place formed with the clay in the first box. 3. Place the same number of ice cubes next to the clay in the second box, so that they are resting on the bottom of the container. 4. Pour water into the container where the ice is resting on the bottom until the ice floats. Be sure the ice is floating, not resting on the bottom. If this occurs, add more water. 5. Pour water into the second container with the ice resting on the clay (be careful not to disturb the ice cubes) until the water levels in the two containers are approximately equal. 6. On their Sea Level Rise Worksheets, have students record initial measurements of water height (in mm) using a ruler. For clarity, you may wish to draw a line in the clay where the water height begins for each container. 7. Leave the setup. If possible, have students take measurements every hour and record the results on their worksheets. You can also leave the setup for several hours or overnight and just record the final measurement after the ice has melted. 56

58 8. Have students measure new water heights and make observations about what occurred once the ice melted. Make sure students enter their measurements on their worksheets. 9. Have students include the answers to the following questions in their conclusions on the worksheet. In which situation did the water level rise more? How do the results compare with your predictions? Why do you think this happened? 10. Use the information in the teacher background section to help students understand their results. 11. Have another discussion about global climate change. Why might we be concerned about sea level rise? (Coastal areas will be flooded. People will lose their homes. Some fresh water resources will become too salty to use. Habitat loss will occur.) How can we help slow this process by using less fossil fuel? (Take public transit instead of driving, eat local foods, turn off lights and electrical equipment when not in use, plant a tree, reduce, reuse and recycle.) Activity 4: Review Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. What is the mechanism causing climate change? 2. How do we know climate change is caused by humans? 57

59 3. How can humans help to slow down the impacts of climate change? Background & Media Video on climate change impacts on glaciers and ice sheets: Climate change at the poles: Foraminifer on the Seafloor [Video]: Why Melting Glaciers Matter to the Coasts [Video]: Warming, Rising Acidity and Pollution: Top Threats to the Ocean Additional activities Social, economic and environmental consequences of arctic climate change: Man, It s Hot: Global Climate Game: Global Warming Wheel Card Activity: Climate Change Metaphors: Weather vs. Climate: 58

60 Climate Change American Spaces Student Worksheet By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal With over seven billion people, the impact of our collective actions on planet Earth is huge. Coal, oil and natural gas (all fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide when burned) fuel almost everything that we do: driving cars, flying in planes, and using electricity to power our lights and our electronics and heat and cool our buildings. When carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, they trap the heat from the sun and warm the entire planet, both the atmosphere and the ocean. The consequences of this warming are far-flung and not totally understood, but include changes in weather patterns, rising seas, and much more. Carbon dioxide also dissolves into the ocean, making it more acidic. Many of these impacts will be long-lasting as carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for centuries. The situation is not hopeless, however, and people are increasingly aware that we need to do something in order to prevent catastrophic changes. There are ways that humans can change in order to release less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, including making use of renewable energy sources like the wind and the sun. Other actions can reduce the harm that is done by climate change. Objectives: -Understand that climate change is man made -Understand the mechanisms of climate change -Understand how impacts of climate change can be mitigated, reversed or changed Read as far as you can through the Climate Change topic page ( (or print out the PDF) and use it to answer the following questions. 1. Why are carbon dioxide levels higher than they've been in 15 million years? 2. How do scientists know about the Earth s past climate and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels? 59

61 3. What is a consequence of carbon dioxide dissolving into seawater? 4. Why will climate change cause the sea level to rise? 5. What are some of the ripple effects of climate change on animals and ecosystems? VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define greenhouse effect : 2. Define "foraminifera:" Additional Reading and Media Climate change as a game of tetris: Video on climate change impacts on glaciers and ice sheets: Climate change at the poles: Why Melting Glaciers Matter to the Coasts [Video]: Warming, Rising Acidity and Pollution: Top Threats to the Ocean 60

62 Sea Level Rise Worksheet Name: Date: 1. Question: 2. Prediction: 3. Methods: 4. Measurements (results): Time (hours) Water Height (mm) Floating ice Landlocked ice Comments or notes: 5. Conclusions and Discussion: Teacher and Student Services, 2008

63 Coastal Ecosystems American Spaces Activity Guide By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal At the border between land and sea, coastal ecosystems like salt marshes, mangroves and seagrass beds are where people and the ocean interact most. Along the coast, land plants evolved to survive salt water. With their fast growth rates, these plants are an important food source for the many adult and juvenile animals that live among them. Marsh and seagrass blades and mangrove roots provide structure and habitat for organisms to grow upon and hide behind, and for this reason they are important nurseries for fish we like to eat. And once they die, the plant matter is broken down and eaten by another set of organisms, many of them microscopic. These ecosystems also take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to reduce global warming and ocean acidification. But many coastal ecosystems are under threat. As people develop coastal areas, nutrients from fertilizers are carried by runoff into these complex ecosystems. The nutrients stimulate the growth of microbes that cover the leaves and make the water cloudy, reducing the light that the seagrasses need to survive. Paved roads and poor construction practices allow more sediment and dirt from land to flow into the water, blocking sunlight the plants need to survive. In salt marshes, many of the plants are being replaced by aggressive invasive species from around of the world, which support fewer kinds of animal life. Many mangrove forests have been cut down to make way for aquaculture ponds or buildings. In many places, however, people are beginning to realize the need for regulations to protect these coastal ecosystems from destruction. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Describe two kinds of coastal ecosystems. - Explain how coastal ecosystems are important to ocean health. - Describe two threats to coastal ecosystems. Activity 1: Introduction to Coastal Ecosystems (5-10 minutes) Mangrove ecosystems are based around mangrove trees, which have adapted to salt water and support life in and out of the ocean. Look through this slideshow of species that live in mangrove forests, above and below water: (or use the PDF version). 61

64 Spend some time looking at the second slide of mangrove roots underwater. How many species can the students count? Read some of the descriptions aloud, to give a sense of the diversity of life on mangroves. Discussion questions: Had any students heard of or seen mangroves before? Were there more kinds of species than they expected? What did they learn from the photos? Then, watch this short video about Smithsonian researcher Dr. Candy Feller: Discussion questions: How do mangroves help people? What is runoff? How do nutrients hurt mangroves? Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (20-25 minutes) Read about seagrasses and seagrass beds ( (or use the PDF version). Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. Where are seagrasses and seagrass beds found? On every continent except Antarctica along the coasts. 2. How do seagrasses reproduce? Like land plants, pollinated flowers produce seeds but it all happens underwater. Male flowers release pollen into the water that often collects into stringy clumps and, moved by the waves and currents, runs into and fertilizes female flowers. 3. Seagrass beds can support thousands of species. Briefly describe three ways that they support this diverse food web. Larger animals (like sea turtles and manatees) eat blades of seagrass directly. When the blades die, they decay on the ground and are eaten by a variety of organisms that thrive on rotting material (many of which are microscopic bacteria). Small animals that eat these bacteria are drawn to the seagrass, and then so are their predators in turn. 4. Why is seagrass known as the lungs of the sea? 62

65 Because they generate a lot of oxygen; one square meter of seagrass can generate 10 liters of oxygen every day! 5. What is the main culprit that has killed off 29 percent of the world s seagrass beds in the past century? Nutrients, such as those from fertilizers and pollution, wash into the water and can cause algal blooms, which block the necessary sunlight from reaching the seafloor. Without sunlight, the seagrass plants die. 6. What is one way to protect and restore seagrass beds? Replanting them by placing seeds directly in the seabed, growing seedlings in aquaria and then planting them in the wild, or transplanting seagrasses from one meadow to a new area. 7. Name two ways that mangrove forests and seagrass beds are similar, and one way that they are different. Mangroves and seagrass are both plants that provide structure to the ecosystem animals live on and among them. They are also both nurseries for fish and other animals, and home to thousands of different species. They are different in that mangrove trees grow above water, so also provide a home to land plants and animals, while seagrasses are completely submerged. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define rhizome root system horizontal plant stems that run underground, and are able to come up to the surface to sprout new shoots and roots. 2. Define blue carbon The carbon stored in sediments from coastal ecosystems, including seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and salt marshes. As seagrass (and other plant matter) dies and decays, it is buried under the sediment and stored there. 3. What is killer algae? Killer algae is the nickname for an invasive seaweed (Caulerpa taxifolia). People dumping their aquaria into the sea released the seaweed where it doesn t belong. It is growing over seagrass beds around the world, particularly in the Mediterranean. 63

66 Activity 3: Oil's Impact on Black Mangrove Trees (30-45 min) Adapted from National Geographic: MATERIALS: Soil/sand mixture purchased or what is available outside Bendable straws Rubber bands Deep-dish lasagna pan Pencils Forks or whisks Molasses Red food coloring Straight pins Tablespoons Transparent tape Vegetable oil Water Writing paper The health of mangrove ecosystems is directly connected to the health of other ocean ecosystems. Mangrove trees build new islands, stabilize sediment, prevent erosion, and reduce wave action. The roots provide habitat and serve as nursery grounds for many species of marine organisms, some of which filter the water and keep it clear. When oil enters into mangrove environments, it clogs the breathing pores located on the snorkel roots of black mangrove trees. These trees then suffocate and die. Keeping oil out of mangrove ecosystems is essential to the health of the ocean. In this activity, students will build a model of black mangrove roots out of straws. After testing how the roots continue to breathe above water, they will add oil to their ecosystem to see how that affects the roots. OBJECTIVES: - explain how mangrove trees take in air in an anoxic environment (one with little or now oxygen) - describe some of the short-term effects of oil entering into a mangrove environment and hypothesize about long-term effects BACKGROUND: Mangrove trees are adapted to survive low- and no-oxygen soil using specialized root structures. Plants require oxygen in all living tissues including the underground roots. In soils that are not waterlogged, air can flow between sediment grains to reach the roots. 64

67 However, in waterlogged soils, these spaces fill with water containing lower oxygen levels than air. To receive the oxygen they need, the roots of some mangrove tree species send up special erect roots from underwater towards the surface. Called pneumatophores, these roots are underwater during high tides and exposed to the open air during low tides. During low tides, oxygen enters a mangrove through lenticels, thousands of cell-sized breathing pores in the bark and roots. Lenticels close tightly during high tide, thus preventing mangroves from drowning. BUILDING THE MODEL: Tell students that they will create a model of a black mangrove tree in a mudflat environment. Explain that they will learn how a mangrove gets air in a healthy environment and explore how oil affects mangrove health. Divide students into small groups of 3-6 students each and have them move to their assigned stations where materials are set out. Have students place a mixture of sand and soil into the bottom of their pan. The pan should be half filled. Then have students pour water into the pan, covering all of the soil/sand mixture. The mixture should absorb the water. Keep filling with water until the mixture is saturated with water and there is ¼ inch (6.35 mm) of water over the soil/sand mixture. Ask students to group six straws together placing the flexible portions of the straws at the bottom. Have students use 1-3 rubber bands to secure the straws above the flexible 65

68 portion to create the trunk of their tree. Have students secure a piece of tape over each of the straws openings near the bend. Have students use pins to poke 8-12 holes in each straw from the flexible section down. Most of the holes should be made in the side of the straws, with a couple at the bottom through the tape. Explain that these holes simulate the lenticels on the roots of the black mangrove tree. After the holes have been made, have students fully stretch and then bend the straws so that the roots of the tree are sticking upward like the pneumatophores or snorkel roots of the black mangrove tree. Have each group choose one student to try to suck air through the top of the tree. Ask the student to describe to the other group members how the air flowed through the trunk. Write down their observations. 66

69 Have students carefully plant their tree in the sediment in the tray. Instruct them to keep the lenticels of the snorkel roots as clear of dirt and water as possible. Explain that this is how a black mangrove tree breathes in a low- or no-oxygen environment. Have the same student suck through the straws again to ensure that the snorkel roots are still working. Write down their observations. Prompt students to gently rock their tray back and forth to simulate waves and tidal changes. Explain that the rocking should cause the water to slosh but should be gentle enough to leave the sediment in place. Have the same student suck through the straws again to ensure that the pneumatophores are still working. Ask the student to describe how the air flowed through the trunk to the other group members. Write down their observations. THE OIL SPILL DEMONSTRATION: Tell students that they will simulate an oil spill. Have students measure six tablespoons of vegetable oil and use a fork or a whisk to mix it with 5-6 drops of food coloring and two tablespoons of molasses. Explain to students that the oil and molasses represent crude oil and the food coloring represents chemicals trapped inside of the oil. Make sure they understand that the food coloring will not mix completely with the oil. Next, have students carefully pour half of the oil substance into the water. Ask students to gently rock their tray back and forth to simulate waves and tidal changes. Have students observe whether or not the oil is sticking to the roots of the tree. Explain that the texture of their model tree is smooth; plastic is not as rough and porous as real mangrove roots. In a real mangrove ecosystem, the oil would stick to the roots of the tree like glue. Ask students to have one group member rub the pneumatophores with the oil mixture until it thickly covers the roots. Have the same student that has been sucking through the straws try to do so again. Ask the student to describe how the air flowed through the trunk to the other group members. Write down their observations. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: - What do you think will happen to a mangrove tree that has roots covered in oil? Then explain to students that dishwashing soap is an effective way of removing oil from wildlife, although it takes a lot of time. - After learning about mangrove environments, would it be possible to remove oil from all pneumatophores of all mangrove trees with soap? - If oil contaminates a large mangrove ecosystem, what could it mean for the organisms that depend on the mangrove trees for food and substrate? - If mangrove trees stabilize sediment and keep islands intact, what will happen if lots of mangrove trees die? 67

70 - What is the best way to save a mangrove forest during an oil spill? Explain to students that the best way to keep mangroves and other estuary environments safe during an oil spill is to keep the oil out. Cleanup teams use booms as barriers to try to keep oil out of fragile and vulnerable ecosystems like mangrove forests. Activity 4: Wrap-up Discussion (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. Describe two kinds of coastal ecosystems. 2. Explain how coastal ecosystems are important to ocean health. 3. Describe two threats to coastal ecosystems. Background and Media: Mangrove Forest overview: Slideshow of Mangrove plants and animals: Additional Activities: Life of the Salt Marsh activity: A variety of seagrass lesson plans: s_classroom_resources/ 68

71 Coastal Ecosystems American Spaces Student Worksheet By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal At the border between land and sea, coastal ecosystems like salt marshes, mangroves and seagrass beds are where people and the ocean interact most. Along the coast, land plants evolved to survive salt water. With their fast growth rates, these plants are an important food source for the many adult and juvenile animals that live among them. Marsh and seagrass blades and mangrove roots provide structure and habitat for organisms to grow upon and hide behind, and for this reason they are important nurseries for fish we like to eat. And once they die, the plant matter is broken down and eaten by another set of organisms, many of them microscopic. These ecosystems also take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to reduce global warming and ocean acidification. But many coastal ecosystems are under threat. As people develop coastal areas, nutrients from fertilizers are carried by runoff into these complex ecosystems. The nutrients stimulate the growth of microbes that cover the leaves and make the water cloudy, reducing the light that the seagrasses need to survive. Paved roads and poor construction practices allow more sediment and dirt from land to flow into the water, blocking sunlight the plants need to survive. In salt marshes, many of the plants are being replaced by aggressive invasive species from around of the world, which support fewer kinds of animal life. Many mangrove forests have been cut down to make way for aquaculture ponds or buildings. In many places, however, people are beginning to realize the need for regulations to protect these coastal ecosystems from destruction. Objectives: - Describe two kinds of coastal ecosystems. - Explain how coastal ecosystems are important to ocean health. - Describe two threats to coastal ecosystems. Read about seagrasses and seagrass beds ( (or use the PDF version). Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. Where are seagrasses and seagrass beds found? 2. How do seagrasses reproduce? 3. Seagrass beds can support thousands of species. Briefly describe three ways that they support this diverse food web. 69

72 4. Why is seagrass known as the lungs of the sea? 5. What is the main culprit that has killed off 29 percent of the world s seagrass beds in the past century? 6. What is one way to protect and restore seagrass beds? 7. Name two ways that mangrove forests and seagrass beds are similar, and one way that they are different. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define rhizome root system 2. Define blue carbon 3. What is killer algae? Additional Reading and Media Mangrove Forest overview: Slideshow of Mangrove plants and animals: 70

73 Sea Turtles American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal There are seven species of sea turtles, which are marine reptiles that need to breathe air to survive. Six of the seven species are found in US and other waters, while the flatback turtle is only found in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean near Australia and Indonesia. Most of their lives are spent at sea, with some species diving to depths of 900 meters (3000 feet). They return to the shore to lay eggs, often making long journeys to go to specific beaches year after year. Currently all six of the species found in US waters are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and those six are also found on the IUCN Red List, where their listings range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered. Human activities pose a number of threats to sea turtles. The animals can become entangled in fishing gear, or wrapped up in marine debris. They often mistake pieces of plastic trash for food, causing illness or death. Coastal habitat destruction can impact their nesting grounds that they return to year after year. Poaching of adults and eggs continues to be an issue and the warming sea impacts their typical cues for coming to shore and laying eggs. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Know the different species of sea turtles - Understand the impacts that humans can have on sea turtles - Understand how climate change impacts sea turtles Activity 1: Introduction to Sea Turtles (5-10 minutes) Watch this video about a sea turtle hospital from National Geographic: Discussion questions: What are some of the big threats to sea turtles? Why do you think sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to human threats? Why is saving even one sea turtle important to their species' survival? 71

74 Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 minutes) Look through the seven sea turtle species slideshow ( (or use the PDF version). Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. How deep can turtles dive? Sea turtles can dive to depths of up to 3000 feet, or 900 meters. 2. List three threats that sea turtles face. Sea turtles can become entangled in fishing gear or other kinds of marine debris. They often mistake pieces of plastic trash for food, causing illness or death. Coastal habitat destruction can impact their nesting grounds that they return to year after year. Poaching of adults and eggs continues to be an issue and the warming sea impacts their typical cues for coming to shore and laying eggs. 3. What do green sea turtles eat? Green sea turtles mostly eat plants like algae and seagrass. Eating all those greens turns the turtle s fat green, which is where their name comes from. 4. What makes the leatherback sea turtle different from other sea turtle species? Instead of the hard bony shell that other sea turtles have, the leatherback has a thick leathery outer covering. This allows them to swim and eat in colder waters than the other sea turtle species. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "carapace" The carapace of a turtle is its hard outer covering. 2. Define "arribada An arribada is Spanish for arrival by sea. Kemp s ridley sea turtles will arrive at the same beach at the same time every year by the thousands to nest. 72

75 Activity 3: Climate Change and Sea Turtles (hands-on activity, internet connection required, 1 hour) Adapted from Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Objective Students will be able to describe how turtle populations may be affected by climate change and develop a solution to the problems turtles could face as a result of climate change. MATERIALS "Hot Turtles" video Pencils Erasers 5-8 poster boards (one for every 4-5 students) Markers/crayons Colored construction paper Scissors Glue/glue sticks Computers (optional) BACKGROUND FOR INSTRUCTORS: Read the article "Turtles Take the Heat," on the Ocean Adventures Web site at For information on climate change, visit the Ocean Portal climate change page at PROCEDURE: Discuss the concept of climate change with your students. (If you've already completed the American Spaces Climate Change Lesson, do a quick review and move on to turtles.) What is climate change? How could it affect our lives? How might it affect the lives of wild animals? Would it affect sea turtles? How? View the short video "Hot Turtles" on the Ocean Adventures web site ( with your students. Discuss what the students learned from the video about how climate change could skew the gender ratio in the Amazon River's turtle populations. Why would this happen? What would happen to the turtle populations as a result? Talk about how this issue isn't specific to river turtles in the Amazon, but concerns freshwater and sea turtles worldwide. 73

76 Tell the students to imagine that they are scientists who are very concerned about the survival of turtle species, and as such, they must come up with a solution to help save turtle populations if we experience an increase in our average global temperature. Break students into groups of four or five and have them first discuss potential solutions, then decide which solution they think will work best. In designing their solutions, the students should keep the following in mind: - Turtles dig nests in the sand, and they lay their eggs at specific times during the year and usually at night. - The length of the incubation period of turtle eggs depends on the species, but it is usually several weeks. - The number of eggs a turtle lays also depends on the species, but can be up to Turtle eggs have many predators, including small mammals, lizards, birds and humans. Have each group use the poster board and art supplies to illustrate its agreed-upon solution. Have each group prepare a three- to five-minute presentation to share its solution with the entire class the following day. You may wish to use part of the class period on the second day for students to complete their posters and prepare their presentations. ASSESSMENT: Did the students come up with a solution that would help save turtle populations? Did they clearly illustrate and describe their solution on their poster and in their presentation? EXTENSION IDEAS: Instead of having the students create man-made solutions, have them come up with specific characteristics and traits that would be beneficial for turtles to have with a change in average global temperature. (Through natural selection, which traits would become more common over time?) Have students research the nesting behavior of a particular species of sea turtle for use with this lesson. Take a field trip to a local zoo, aquarium or other nature center that has river turtles or sea turtles on exhibit to learn more about them. Activity 4: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. What are the seven species of sea turtles? 74

77 2. How do humans impact sea turtles? 3. How specifically does climate change impact sea turtles? Background & Media Loggerhead turtle escapes from fishing net: Surveying Life On Sea Turtles: Tagging and Tracking Ocean Animals: Additional activities Web-based turtle maze: 75

78 Sea Turtles American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal There are seven species of sea turtles, which are marine reptiles that need to breathe air to survive. Six of the seven species are found in US and other waters, while the flatback turtle is only found in the Western Indo-Pacific. Most of their lives are spent at sea, with some species diving to depths of 900 meters (3000 feet). They return to the shore to lay eggs, often making long journeys to go to specific beaches year after year. Currently all six of the species found in US waters are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and those six are also found on the IUCN Red List, where their listings range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered. Human activities pose a number of threats to sea turtles. The animals can become entangled in fishing gear, or wrapped up in marine debris. They often mistake pieces of plastic trash for food, causing illness or death. Coastal habitat destruction can impact their nesting grounds that they return to year after year. Poaching of adults and eggs continues to be an issue and the warming sea impacts their typical cues for coming to shore and laying eggs. Objectives: - Know the different species of sea turtles - Understand the impacts that humans can have on sea turtles - Understand how climate change impacts sea turtles Look through the seven sea turtle species slideshow ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. How deep can turtles dive? 2. List three threats that sea turtles face. 3. What do green sea turtles eat? 76

79 4. What makes the leatherback sea turtle different from other sea turtle species? VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "carapace" 2. Define "arribada Additional Reading and Media Crowds Cheer as Turtles Return to the Sea (Video): Loggerhead turtle escapes from fishing net: Surveying Life On Sea Turtles: Tagging and Tracking Ocean Animals: 77

80 Pollution American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Ocean pollution can take many forms: oils spills, sewage and agricultural runoff, trash dumping and small bits of plastic are just a few types. Many of the items we purchase and consume everyday are packaged in plastic that is then quickly thrown away. Only a small percentage of that plastic is recycled. Even trash that starts on land ends up in the ocean as it moves through rivers, drains and watersheds to the sea. It is not clear how many tons of plastic wind up in the ocean every year, but one researcher estimates that there are over 300 billion pounds (136 billion kgs) of plastic in the ocean (that is 42 lbs or 19 kgs of plastic for every human on the planet!). Not only does trash wash up on our shores and beaches, but once in the ocean, larger plastic pieces are broken down into smaller and smaller pieces. These small pieces are perfectly sized for fish and other animals to mistakenly eat since it looks like their next meal. Ingesting or getting tangled in plastic can kill these important ocean animals. Ocean waves and currents move the plastic and other trash to central ocean gyres (ringlike systems of ocean currents), where they are trapped on or near the surface in the middle of the oceans in areas referred to as garbage patches. This pollution problem is one that we can solve. Think about what you can do to reduce the amount of plastic you throw away. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Understand the various types of pollution that impact the ocean - Know what marine debris is and be able to describe a gyre - Understand that regional cleanup efforts can help make a difference Activity 1: Introduction to Ocean Pollution (5-10 minutes) As a group watch the video and read the blog Witness to a Plastic Invasion Discussion questions: At the start of the video, what did you think was floating at the surface? When did you realize what it was? How did that make you feel? What do you use in your everyday life that is made of plastic and discarded? Did you see any of those items in the video? 78

81 What can you do to reduce your use of plastic? Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 minutes) Read about ocean pollution and stories of successfully removing plastic from the ocean: Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. How can even small pieces of plastic harm the ocean and animals in the ocean? Many of the pieces of plastic in the ocean are small, which can be a danger to fish, seabirds, sea turtles and other animals that consume the plastic, thinking that it is food. The plastic can harm them directly in their stomachs, and even go on to harm humans that consume the fish through the chemicals that plastics absorb. 2. How much trash did volunteers with the International Coastal Cleanup in 2013 collect? What was the most common item of trash? Volunteers in 2013 collected 12,329,332 pounds of trash from coasts and beaches around the world. The most common item of trash found were cigarette butts they collected over 2 million. 3. What are discarded nets in the ocean being turned into? How is this helpful? A group in the Philippines, called Net-works is collecting discarded ghost nets that are harming ocean animals and ecosystems and turning them into carpets that can be used in homes and businesses. This helps in two ways, by removing the harmful nets from the ocean and by then recycling them into a useful product that provides income to the people involved. 4. How much did plastic bag consumption drop in Ireland after implementing a bag tax? After the bag tax was implemented, plastic bag use went down in Ireland by 90 percent. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: Define the following: 1. Define ghost nets Discarded or lost fishing nets or lines that remain in the ocean and continue to unintentionally catch fish, get caught on coral, or otherwise harm the ecosystem. 79

82 2. What is a bag tax A bag tax is a fixed amount of money that people are charged to buy a plastic bag. In this case, the tax is used as a deterrent to using plastic bags and encourages recycling and reusable bag use. Activity 3: Does it sink or swim? (hands-on activity, 1 hour if students do cleanup; minutes if trash is collected ahead of time) Activity adapted from the Bishop Museum: Grades: 3 6 Students will perform experiments to examine if debris will float, or blow in the wind. The effects of these characteristics on the marine debris are then discussed. FOCUS QUESTION: What characteristics of trash affect the likelihood that it will become marine debris? KEY CONCEPTS: Debris that floats or is easily blown around is more likely to become marine debris. The choices we make affect the environment. OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: Define marine debris. Categorize different types of debris. Determine how a material can influence what becomes marine debris. MATERIALS: Notebook or journal Deep pan or sink Fan Water BACKGROUND: Marine debris is trash that is found in or by the sea. Any object foreign to the marine ecosystem can be considered marine debris, but the term is usually reserved for human-created trash. Two major factors that affect if an item will enter the marine environment are buoyancy and the ability to be blown by the wind. As a rule of thumb, if the item can fly and float it is more likely to enter the marine environment and end up on our beaches. Plastics readily fly and float, and decompose very slowly. Not surprisingly, plastics are one of the most frequently collected types of marine debris. 80

83 Negligence in disposal (from land and sea) is a large cause of the problem. In 1991 the Center Marine Conservation (CMC) listed the 12 most frequently collected marine debris items as being: 1. cigarette butts 2. plastic pieces 3. foam plastic pieces 4. plastic food bags and wrappers 5. paper pieces 6. glass pieces 7. plastic caps and lids 8. metal beverage cans 9. glass beverage bottles 10. plastic straws 11. plastic beverage bottles 12. foam plastic cups PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE: A variety of marine debris items should be collected from local beaches (or, if a beach is unavailable, a local park or other outdoor public space). Glass bottles or worn beach glass (smooth edges) should be included for the discussion but should not be gathered by the students to prevent accidents in transportation and collection. (If there is not enough time for students to collect trash, the teacher can do it ahead of time.) Collectors should wear gloves. Have the students separate the trash into different piles (plastic, glass, rubber, metal, paper, wood, and cloth). Have the students address the following questions: Will the item float or sink? How do you think that this item ended up or could end up in the ocean? What plants or animals could be affected by the presence of this item? Test each of the items for buoyancy in the pan. Record the results. Have the students address the following questions: Which items do they think will be blown around easily? Is there a group of items that behaves similarly (glass or metal, etc.)? How far do they think the item can travel? Discuss the impact humans have on their surrounding environment. Brainstorm ideas about how people can help reduce the amount debris in our oceans. Every one of us makes daily choices about products we buy, where to discard trash, and if we want to help clean up a mess that someone else left. The debris that is in the marine environment affects different animals and plants depending on the different material, shape and size on the item. 81

84 Activity 4: Turning Trash Into Treasure (hands-on activity, 45 minutes) Together, or in small groups, read through and look at pictures about Washed Ashore: Washed Ashore turns recycled ocean trash into beautiful sculptures. Conduct a beach/stream cleanup (see 'Introduction to the Ocean' for activity), or use the same materials from previous activity. Clean the plastic trash found during the cleanup in soapy water, discard any dangerous items, and distribute with paper and glue to create your own Washed Ashore art. Activity 5: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. What are different kinds of ocean pollution? 2. What is an ocean gyre and how does it relate to plastic pollution? 3. What can you do to help reduce or clean up plastic pollution? Background & Media Read more about marine debris: 5 Gyres: Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education and Action Laysan Albatrosses Plastic Problem (slideshow): Gulf Oil Spill page: Additional activities Decorate reusable bags for shopping: Different types of marine debris: Self-contained oil spill kit: Estuaries and oil spills: 82

85 Pollution American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Ocean pollution can take many forms: oils spills, sewage and agricultural runoff, trash dumping and small bits of plastic are just a few types. Many of the items we purchase and consume everyday are packaged in plastic that is then quickly thrown away. Only a small percentage of that plastic is recycled. Even trash that starts on land ends up in the ocean as it moves through rivers, drains and watersheds to the sea. It is not clear how many tons of plastic wind up in the ocean every year, but there are one researcher estimates that there are over 300 billion pounds of plastic in the ocean. Not only does trash wash up on our shores and beaches, but once in the ocean, larger plastic pieces are broken down into smaller and smaller pieces. These small pieces are perfectly sized for fish and other animals to mistakenly eat since it looks like their next meal. Ingesting or getting tangled in plastic can kill these important ocean animals. Ocean waves and currents move the plastic and other trash to central ocean gyres (ringlike systems of ocean currents), where they are trapped on or near the surface in the middle of the oceans in areas referred to as garbage patches. This pollution problem is one that we can solve. Think about what you can do to reduce the amount of plastic you throw away. Objectives: - Understand the various types of pollution that impact the ocean - Know what marine debris is and be able to describe a gyre - Understand that regional cleanup efforts can help make a difference Read about ocean pollution and stories of successfully removing plastic from the ocean: Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. How can even small pieces of plastic harm the ocean and animals in the ocean? 2. How much trash did volunteers with the International Coastal Cleanup in 2013 collect? What was the most common item of trash? 83

86 3. What are discarded nets in the ocean being turned into? How is this helpful? 4. How much did plastic bag consumption drop in Ireland after implementing a bag tax? VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define ghost nets 2. What is a bag tax Additional Reading and Media Witness to a Plastic Invasion: Washed Ashore: Beach Trash to Ocean Art: Read more about marine debris: 5 Gyres: Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education and Action Laysan Albatrosses Plastic Problem (slideshow): Cleaning up beaches in Bonaire: 84

87 Sharks American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Sharks and their relatives, the rays, are cartilaginous fish their skeletons (like our noses and ears) are made of cartilage rather than bone. There are more than 500 species of sharks swimming in the world s ocean. They range in size from the length of a human hand to more than 39 feet (12 meters) long, and are found in just about every kind of ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs, and under the Arctic ice. Yet when most people think of sharks, a single image comes to mind: a large, sharptoothed and scary beast. That generalization downplays their variety, their important role in keeping ocean ecosystems in balance, and the trouble sharks are in around the world. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed by fisheries every year, largely to make soup out of their fins. Sharks reproduce very slowly, and these actions have decreased many shark populations by 90 percent since large-scale fishing began. To protect them, communities and companies around the world are enacting science-based fisheries management policies, setting up shark sanctuaries, and banning the practice of shark finning and the trade of shark fins. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Describe 3 shark species that look and live very differently. - Describe what would happen if all sharks went extinct. - Explain what human activities threaten sharks, why sharks are especially vulnerable, and what people can do to help. Activity 1: Introduction to Sharks (5-10 minutes) Start off with some basic discussion questions for the whole group. Write down student responses on the board, a big piece of paper, or have a student be a scribe. 1. When you think of sharks, what is the first thing that comes to mind? 2. Challenge responses that think about sharks stereotypically. - Did lots of words for great whites or other big predatory sharks come up? Tell the students that there are more than 500 species of shark, and half of them are less than 1 meter (3 feet) long. Only about 12 shark species are potentially dangerous to humans. 85

88 - Are there lots of fear words, like "shark attack," "scary," "killer," etc? Remind them that, on average, only four people in the world are killed every year by sharks. Ask for examples of activities that kill more than four people worldwide every year, such as drowning, dog bites, lightning strikes, car accidents, bike accidents. Next, provide some inspiration to add to the list of words describing sharks. As a group, look through the Spectacular Shark Pictures slideshow ( Show the photos on a projector or on individual computer monitors (or, if you have no computer access, print off the PDF version of the slideshow), and read some of the captions aloud. As you go, ask students to add new words and phrases to the list to expand your crowd-sourced definition for sharks. Anything goes here: qualitative descriptions like "beautiful" or "graceful" or "small," as well as facts like "unique rough skin" or "threatened by people." Then wrap it up: how did the words change? Did it change the students' opinions of sharks? Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 min) Read as far as you can through the Sharks topic page ( and use it to answer the following questions. Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. Name two defining characteristics of sharks. Acceptable answers: Skeletons made of cartilage; unlimited teeth; 5-7 pairs of gill slits that help them to breathe. 2. Describe three species or groups of sharks you had never heard of before this class. If you can, draw a picture. Pretty much anything goes! There is a list of the nine shark orders, and many students will get their answers from that list. But there are also many other shark species mentioned or featured in the article that could make great examples. 3. List the hunting and feeding adaptations of two sharks. Examples of good answers: Carpet sharks (or wobbegongs) hide in the mud and sneak up on their prey; the thresher shark slaps fish with its long tail to stun and catch them; sawsharks have a saw-like snout to dig up invertebrates from the seafloor; whale sharks feed on plankton; cookie-cutter sharks take small bites from big fish. 86

89 4. List two threats to sharks. - Overfishing, often just for their fins - Bycatch when sharks are accidentally caught by fishermen looking for another type of fish 5. Name two ways countries and companies are protecting sharks. Acceptable answers: banning shark finning (the removal of a shark's fins at sea); banning the trade or sale of shark fins; banning shark fin soup; creating shark sanctuaries where shark fishing is illegal or limited; creating new kinds of fishing lines and nets that don't kill as many sharks 6. Have any laws been passed in your country? [Check out the country list in the video at the bottom of the page, or look it up online.] VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "denticles" The tooth-like scales that cover a shark's skin 2. Define "shark finning" The practice of slicing off a shark s fin and discarding the rest of the still-living body, often by dumping it back into the ocean. This kills the shark. Activity 3: Video: What If There Were No Sharks? (10-15 min) Let's learn a bit more about what how sharks help their ecosystems. Watch this video from PBS Digital Studios: Discussion questions: 1. What would happen if there were no sharks? 2. In the video, the host Joe Hansen says that in Palau, a shark is worth $2 million alive because of tourism (see footage at 2 min 42 sec). How could a living shark be worth that much money? Activity 4: Shark Design Challenge Original lesson: OBJECTIVE: 87

90 To design a solution to help surfers avoid being attacked by sharks. MATERIALS: Shark Dodging handout PROCEDURE: 1. Some scientific data in this program indicates that sharks may attack humans because humans resemble common prey. Scientists in California point out that a person paddling on a surfboard might resemble a seal or a sea lion and that the method of biting used by sharks in this situation seems to indicate that they mean to "taste," rather than devour, the person. 2. If this theory is correct, what recommendations do students have for protecting surfers from cases of "mistaken identity"? 3. Copy and distribute the "Shark Dodging" activity sheet, and challenge students to design a method or a piece of equipment for surfing that would help surfers avoid being attacked by a shark. ACTIVITY ANSWERS: Student solutions to this challenge will vary widely. Some students may think about changing the shape of the surfboard to look less like sharks' prey. Other students may think of putting shark repellent on the surfboard or of adding a texture or sharp objects to the bottom of the board to make it more difficult for sharks to bite. Other answers might include painting the bottom of the surfboard to look like driftwood, seaweed, or other non-food floating objects. Still other students may think to add some kind of beacon that emits a sound to ward off sharks. When evaluating their solutions, check to be sure that students have a reason (based on information they have learned about shark behavior) for adding a particular feature to their surfboard design. Activity 5: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson: 1. What are some shark species you learned about today that you'd never heard of before? Name them and give a fact about them 2. What would happen if all sharks went extinct? How would that affect people that live near the ocean and people that live far away? 3. What human activities threaten sharks? 4. What can you do to help sharks? Background & Media Shark finning: Sharks turned prey: 88

91 Short video about how a scientist is using DNA to catch shark poachers: Great white shark overview article: Blog post about what it's like to go swimming with sharks: Radio show about the slow-moving Arctic Greenland shark: X-rays of sharks and rays show their cartilaginous skeletons: Changing shark fear to fascination, an essay by teenage shark filmmaker Madison Stewart: Video about the harm done to sharks by shark nets installed at beaches: Relative risks of shark attack: Additional Activities: Weave a Food Web activity: Activities.pdf 89

92 Sharks American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal There are more than 500 species of sharks swimming in the world s ocean. They range in size from the length of a human hand to more than 39 feet (12 meters) long, and are found in just about every kind of ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs, and under the Arctic ice. Yet when most people think of these cartilaginous fish, a single image comes to mind: a large, sharp-toothed and scary beast. That generalization downplays their variety, their important role in keeping ocean ecosystems in balance, and the trouble sharks are in around the world. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed by fisheries every year, largely to make soup out of their fins. Sharks reproduce very slowly, and these actions have decreased many shark populations by 90 percent since large-scale fishing began. To protect them, communities and companies around the world are enacting science-based fisheries management policies, setting up shark sanctuaries, and banning the practice of shark finning and the trade of shark fins. Objectives: - Describe 3 shark species that look and live very differently. - Describe what would happen if all sharks went extinct. - Explain what human activities threaten sharks, why sharks are especially vulnerable, and what people can do to help. Read as far as you can through the Sharks topic page ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 1. Name two defining characteristics of sharks. 2. Describe three species or groups of sharks you had never heard of before this class. If you can, draw a picture. 90

93 3. List the hunting and feeding adaptations of two sharks. 4. List two threats to sharks. 5. Name two ways countries and companies are protecting sharks. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "denticles" 2. Define "shark finning" Additional Reading and Media: Spectacular Shark Pictures slideshow: What If There Were No Sharks? (video): Shark finning: Sharks turned prey: Blog post about what it's like to go swimming with sharks: X-rays of sharks and rays show their cartilaginous skeletons: Changing shark fear to fascination, an essay by teenage shark filmmaker Madison Stewart: 91

94 Shark Dodging Shark Attack! As this program describes, one of the problems faced by surfers is that sharks may mistake surfboards for seals or sea lions. What would you propose surfers do? Stay out of the water? You bet. But surfers going in at a safe area might still want some protection in case a shark happened by. What kind of surfboard would you design for them? Is there anything you could change about a surfboard s shape that would not alter how well it performs? What other features might you add to a surfboard to help surfers avoid sharks? Make your design changes on the surfboard (top and bottom view) pictured on this page. Include notes about the various features and why you have included them. 23

95 Bycatch American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal When people go out fishing, they are often looking for a specific kind of fish or sea animal but it's nearly impossible to catch just what you're looking for. Pulling a net through the water catches all the animals in its path, not just the tasty fish. Baited hooks attract seabirds, sharks and other animals along with the big tuna or swordfish that are being sought. All the animals that are caught unintentionally and by accident are called bycatch, and it's widely considered a big waste of ocean resources and animal life. Some animals are able to survive being caught in a net and thrown back overboard, but many others aren't. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Explain the concept of "bycatch" and why it is wasteful/harmful - Explain how bycatch affects the students lives - Describe ways to reduce bycatch Activity 1: Introduction to Bycatch (5-10 min) As a group, look through the Bycatch slideshow ( (Or print the PDF version.) This isn't necessarily going to be easy: lots of images of dead animals caught in nets. Flip through the slideshow, ask students to describe the images and how they make them feel. Why does this happen? Why is it a bad thing? Should something be done about it? Then define bycatch: when fishing gear unintentionally catches animals unwanted by the fisherwoman/man. Sometimes these animals can be thrown back alive and survive, but other times it hurts them, changes their behavior, or kills them. The FAO estimates that 7.3 million tons of unwanted sea creatures are thrown away every year ( NOAA estimates that 1 ton of bycatch is thrown out for every 4 tons of target fish caught. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Why would fishermen only want to catch certain fish? 92

96 2. Do you know of any specific fisheries that are known for bycatch? - A famous one is when dolphins are caught by the tuna fishing industry. The realization that many dolphins were being killed led to the labeling of "dolphinsafe tuna." 3. Reference the photos to talk about some common types of bycatch, such as turtles, sharks, seabirds, whales, and dolphins. Why do you think these animals are often killed when caught in nets? - These animals are frequent victims because they need to come to the surface to breath (whales, seabirds, dolphins, turtles) or need to keep swimming to continue breathing (like many species of sharks). Other answers: large fins/wings/feet can get tangled in nets or rope that wouldn't catch smaller fish; seabirds dive down for prey attached to longlines and the hooks pierce their beaks.) - Smaller fish are frequently caught as well, but are harder to keep track of. It's likely that many of these animals die while fishermen sort out larger animals. 4. What are the impacts of accidentally catching and killing larger animals? How about smaller ones? 5. How does bycatch affect people that live by the ocean and in landlocked areas? 6. How does bycatch affect you? Look at this map: 93

97 What type of bycatch is common in your area of the world? A: Seabirds, B: Marine Mammals, C: Sea Turtles ( ) (from: (PDF version of handout available) Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (10-15 min) Read the story of shark recovery on the coast of California ( and use it to answer the following questions. Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. 94

98 QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. What kinds of fish were gillnets targeting off the California coast? What animals were being impacted in addition to the targets? Fishermen were using gillnets to catch valuable fish like halibut and sea bass. But the gillnets were unintentionally impacting shark populations as well as the targeted fish. 2. Why were nets in coastal areas making species especially vulnerable? Shallow coastal areas are where sea bass gather to reproduce safely and sharks use the areas to give birth to their live young. This means that gillnets interfered with maintaining the larger population of the species over time. 3. Who came together to propose a gillnet ban? Environmental activists and sport fishers came together to ban the use of gillnets by commercial fishers. Both groups wanted to see that the sharks and fish were around for years to come as top predators. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define gill net A gill net is a net used for fishing that has floats at the top and weights at the bottom so that they hang vertically in the water, often stretching for miles. Activity 3: Designing a Better Net (30-40 min) MATERIALS: Plastic bags Netting Various art supplies (paper, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, felt, etc.) Recyclables like bottles, pieces of plastic (cleaned beforehand) Glue Paper and pencil (for planning their designs) Inventors around the world are coming up with new kinds of nets and traps to reduce bycatch. The challenge is to build a net that catches the species you want to trap, but not others. Brainstorm as a class, and write the ideas on the board. What are some ways you could create a better net? Some ideas if they are slow to talk: escape hatches in nets for unwanted fish that retains the target species; adding features to traps or nets that drive large animals away like lights or sound alarms; nets that break when a large animal struggles; different size mesh. Even basic behavioral changes by fishermen like setting 95

99 nets in areas with fewer mammals, birds and turtles or setting nets at different times (like at night) when seabirds are less active are good ideas. Watch a couple of these videos for some inspiration and review: A Better Fish Trap animation: Viva La Tortuga! Reducing Bycatch (cod/haddock) Saving Sea Turtles DISCUSS: Before making their designs, what did the inventors have to know? They had to know a little bit about the species they want to catch and those they didn't. For example, the better fish trap inventor knew that the fish she wanted to save were narrow, so she made narrow slits; the NOAA inventors knew that cod swim down and haddock swim up. ACTIVITY: Gather many art supplies, plastic bags, and netting to have students design their own better nets. Make sure they choose ahead of time what kinds of ocean species they are targeting; trying to catch small fish and release large ones or vice versa is a good challenge, or they can choose their own behavioral differences within reason. Depending on class level, they can all try to improve on a basic trawl net (which like a plastic bag would scoop up everything in its path and is pulled by a boat) or try a variety of nets. If no art supplies are available, this activity can be done using pencil and paper. It can be done individually or in small groups. Present the ideas to the class. At the end, emphasize that this is an active problem and this is an area where new inventors are greatly needed to help solve bycatch problems in local communities. Watch videos here if they weren't watched earlier! Activity 4: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson 1. What is bycatch? Why is it harmful? 2. How does bycatch affect your life? 3. What are some ways to reduce bycatch? Background & Media Clip from The Deadliest Catch TV show on the Discovery Channel, showing all the other animals caught by King Crab fishermen: 96

100 Video from NOAA about how researchers rescue whales entangled in fishing gear: Additional Activities: Experiment that demonstrates the effects of different fishing methods on bycatch: 97

101 Bycatch American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal When people go out fishing, they are often looking for a specific kind of fish or sea animal but it's nearly impossible to catch just what you're looking for. Pulling a net through the water catches all the animals in its path, not just the tasty fish. Baited hooks attract seabirds, sharks and other animals along with the big tuna or swordfish that are being sought. All the animals that are caught unintentionally and by accident are called bycatch, and it's widely considered a big waste of ocean resources and animal life. Some animals are able to survive being caught in a net and thrown back overboard, but many others aren't. Objectives: - Explain the concept of "bycatch" and why it is wasteful/harmful - Explain how bycatch affects their lives - Describe ways to reduce bycatch Read the story of shark recovery on the coast of California ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. 4. What kinds of fish were gillnets targeting off the California coast? What animals were being impacted in addition to the targets? 5. Why were nets in coastal areas making species especially vulnerable? 6. Who came together to propose a gillnet ban? 98

102 VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 2. Define gill net Additional Reading and Media: Clip from The Deadliest Catch TV show on the Discovery Channel, showing all the other animals caught by King Crab fishermen: Video from NOAA about how researchers rescue whales entangled in fishing gear: 99

103 Ocean Acidification American Spaces Activity Guide by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Ocean acidification is a significant and harmful consequence of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that we don't easily see or feel because its effects are happening underwater. Around one-third of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) released by burning coal, oil and gas doesn't stay in the air, but instead dissolves into the ocean. In the past 200 years alone, ocean water has become 30 percent more acidic faster than any known change in ocean chemistry in the last 50 million years. This relatively quick change doesn t give marine life much time to adapt. In fact, the shells of some animals are already dissolving in the more acidic seawater, and that s just one way that acidification may affect ocean life. Some organisms will survive or even thrive under the more acidic conditions but many others will struggle to adapt, and some may even go extinct. These impacts will spread far beyond the sea. Beyond lost biodiversity, acidification will affect fisheries and aquaculture, threatening food security for millions of people, as well as tourism and other sea-related economies. Materials Needed: Internet access (or pre-printed pages from Ocean Portal) Activity handout Pen/pencil or word processing program Additional materials for hands on activities Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Explain ocean acidification. - Explain how ocean acidification will affect marine animals. - Explain how ocean acidification will affect people Activity 1: Introduction to Ocean Acidification (5-10 minutes) Watch this video as a group: Discussion Questions: Name one thing you learned from the video. What did the scientist Dr. Chavez collect? What did he want to do with it? Why do scientists care how much CO 2 is found in seawater? What happens to shells in water with more CO 2? What ecosystems will feel the first effects of acidification? What larger impacts will that have? Activity 2: Reading Comprehension (15-20 min) 100

104 Read as far as you can through the Ocean Acidification topic page ( and use it to answer the following questions. Students should write down answers and then go over the following questions as a group. QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY: 1. Define carbon dioxide, including how it causes global warming and ocean acidification. Carbon dioxide is an airborne molecule required by plants to grow and exhaled by animals (including people) when we breathe. The burning of coal, gas and other fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which traps the sun s heat like a greenhouse. Around 30 percent of this carbon dioxide has dissolved into the ocean, making the water more acidic. 2. How has the ocean's ph changed since the industrial revolution? How much is it expected to change by the end of the century? The ph of the ocean has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 since the Industrial Revolution, and is expected to drop to 7.8 or 7.7 by the end of this century. 3. That doesn't seem like a very big drop in ph. Why does a small change in ph and acidity matter? ph is measured by a logarithmic scale, which means that counting up or down say, from ph 4 to ph 5 measures a ten-fold change in the number of acidic molecules in the water. Any change in ph is much larger than if the numbers were just counted up on the number line. As such, many chemical reactions required for life are sensitive to "small" changes in ph. For example, a drop in blood ph of just 0.2 or 0.3 can cause comas or death. 4. Name two threats to corals from ocean acidification. - Ocean animals will have trouble building their calcium carbonate skeletons - Young corals (larvae) may have trouble finding a good place to settle down on the reef 5. How is ocean acidification expected to affect plants? Because they use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to take the sun s energy and turn it into food, many sea plants will grow better under ocean acidification. But some sea plants have skeletons and they will be hurt by ocean acidification. 6. Name three ways you can help to slow ocean acidification and climate change. Any three of the following: 101

105 - use less energy at home - bike or walk instead of driving - use public transportation - support clean energy projects - tell your friends VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "pteropod" Also called sea butterflies, pteropods are tiny swimming snails that live in the Arctic and Antarctic. Their shells are already dissolving because of ocean acidification. 2. Define "ph scale" The ph scale measures how acidic or basic a solution is. The lower the ph, the more acidic the solution. Activity 3: Eggshell acidity experiment (15-20 min) Adapted from COSEE: WorkshopPage/Hands_on_acivities/OA_Shells.pdf This activity will show what happens to shells and skeletons in seawater, using eggshells. For an extended version, place shells, stones and other objects in acids and take observations each day/week to see how different acids affect different objects. BACKGROUND: Shells serve as a protective structure for both marine and terrestrial organisms. Marine ecosystems that depend upon calcium-carbonate to make shells and skeletons, such as coral reefs or oyster beds, can be impacted by changes in ocean ph due to increased carbon dioxide. In experimental conditions under very high levels of CO 2, shells of clams, oysters, corals, snails and sea urchins dissolve. If these organisms are unable to build or repair their shells and skeletons due to increased acidification caused by industrial emissions, deforestation and other human activities, they will cease to exist in these environments or become much less common. These results do not occur for all organisms. In experimental conditions, extreme increases in carbon dioxide result in crabs, lobsters, temperate sea urchins, limpets, and calcifying algae all building thicker shells with the more acidic conditions, although they need more energy to do this. Some organisms are able to adapt more rapidly than others, some will leave an environment if they cannot adapt, and others may cease to exist in that environment. Nutrient levels, water temperature, food availability and habitat changes 102

106 also can have an impact. Efforts to reduce that impact have the greatest chance of preserving some of these habitats and species. MATERIALS: - pieces of empty clean chicken eggshell (these are abundant, calcified shells and serve as a proxy for marine shells) - lemon juice, vinegar, cola, ammonia, water, soap and other household solutions - ph test strip, ph probe, or red cabbage juice indicator - a small dish for each sample - medicine dropper or plastic pipette - scale if you choose to measure the changes - magnifying lens PROCEDURE: 1. Predict the effect of the solutions on the pieces of shell. What will happen if I put a piece of eggshell in cola, water, soap, etc? Which solution will have the greatest effect on the shell? 2. Put a separate piece of shell into each small dish. Keep one piece in a dish on its own as a control. Weigh the shell in advance if you will be measuring the change in the shell. 3. Use the dropper to place a few drops of the selected liquid on the shell piece. Use a different piece of shell for each liquid. Label the dish with the type of liquid you used. 4. Watch what happens. What do you observe? Which liquids react with the shell first? 5. From your observation on the eggshell, what might be some consequences of ocean acidification for animals with shells? How might you test this hypothesis? EXTENSIONS: 1. Allow the pieces to sit, checking back on them through the day. If the liquid is safe to touch, touch the pieces of shell at the end of the experiment. 2. Dry and weigh the sample at the end and compare the weight before and after exposure to the solution(s). 3. Place real shells from the beach in the solutions and leave them there, taking observations and photos every week to keep track of the changes. EXPLANATION: This activity allows you to see firsthand the effects ocean acidification can have on calcifying organisms. When exposed to vinegar, which is an acid, the calcified eggshell produces CO 2 bubbles as it dissolves. The shells and skeletons of live calcifying organisms can be similarly affected as the ocean acidifies. If shell-building organisms are affected then all of the organisms that depend on them will also be impacted. 103

107 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: - What happened to the eggshell? How about the seashell? What do you think will happen to the seashell after a few weeks in the cup? - Is the ocean as acidic as these liquids? - Create a list of ocean creatures that have similar shells. (e.g. mussels, clams, corals, snails, sea urchins, lobsters, etc.) What do you think will happen to their shells? Then what will happen to the animal? - Confirm that scientists expect that many animals' shells will dissolve, which makes them more likely to be eaten or crushed and grow more slowly. But emphasize that there is a lot of variation among different species that we don t understand, and it's likely that some species will be able to adapt. (See background for this activity.) Scientists are still trying to figure that out, and could use their help! Activity 4: Video on Human Impacts (20 min) As a group watch this video about acidification and its effects on many people and industries, including oyster farming Video is 9: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In 2008, what happened off the northwest coast of the U.S.? The oyster industry almost collapsed. 2. What was the culprit that was hurting the oysters and oyster farmers? Carbon dioxide dissolving into seawater makes it become more acidic. This acidification was killing the baby oysters, as it prevented them from growing their shells. (EMPHASIZE THIS: The first impacts of acidification that we'll see will likely happy to baby animals or small ones (like pteropods). Acidification can prevent baby shelled animals from growing the shell they need to get established, killing them before they grow up. Acidification can also hurt baby animals that don't grow shells (like fish) by interfering with their sense of "smell" in the water.) 3. What did oyster farmer Kathleen Nisbet's family do to save their business? Is this a good or a bad solution? Her family moved their hatchery (where they grow the baby oyster "seed") to Hawaii to escape the more acidic ocean water. This solution helps their business in the short term and allows people to keep eating oysters. But it doesn't fix the acidity of the ocean. 104

108 4. Oyster farmer Kathleen Nisbet says that "the ocean affects our lives; it affects everything around us." What are some ways the ocean affects everything around us? - It helps us to breathe! Tiny ocean animals (phytoplankton) produce half of the planet's oxygen that we need to breathe - Regulates our climate - The food we eat! at least 1 billion people rely on seafood as their main source of protein. But that's not all. Around 1/3 of the world's fishery catch is ground up into food for chickens, pigs, and farmed fish. And many other ingredients come from the ocean; for example, algae and kelp are used to make peanut butter, soymilk and frozen foods. - Medicines. Many new medicines are found in ocean animals like sponges, and fight diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, viruses, and others. - It's a beautiful place to visit and live! 5. How do scientists study the future effects of acidification, like the effects on king crabs? In the laboratory, they can raise animals in seawater with higher acidity expected in 20, 40, or 100 years and see how they fare. (King crabs, for example, did not survive very well, and acidification may destroy their populations and the fishing industry they support.) 6. Why are there bubbles in some coral reefs in Papua New Guinea? Why do scientists study acidification in these areas? The carbon dioxide from the seeps dissolves into the water. So in these areas, the water is naturally more acidic, making a "natural laboratory" for studying acidification. (More information and photos on these seeps: Activity 5: Review (5 minutes) Group discussion to summarize the lesson. 1. What is ocean acidification? 2. Name three ways ocean acidification will affect marine animals. 3. Name three ways ocean acidification will affect people. 4. What can you do to help? Background & Media Researcher-written blog post about ocean acidification may speed up some destroyers of shelled organisms: 105

109 Smithsonian scientist-written blog post about her work studying acidification at carbon dioxide seeps in Papua New Guinea: Short article on why it's hard to study ocean acidification: Farming Oysters Despite Acidic Seas [Video]: Additional Activities: Activity measuring how temperature affects CO 2 solubility: 106

110 Ocean Acidification American Spaces Student Worksheet by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Ocean acidification is a significant and harmful consequence of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that we don't see or feel because its effects are happening underwater. Around one-third of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) released by burning coal, oil and gas doesn't stay in the air, but instead dissolves into the ocean. In the past 200 years alone, ocean water has become 30 percent more acidic faster than any known change in ocean chemistry in the last 50 million years. This relatively quick change doesn t give marine life much time to adapt. In fact, the shells of some animals are already dissolving in the more acidic seawater, and that s just one way that acidification may affect ocean life. Some organisms will survive or even thrive under the more acidic conditions but many others will struggle to adapt, and some may even go extinct. These impacts will spread far beyond the sea. Beyond lost biodiversity, acidification will affect fisheries and aquaculture, threatening food security for millions of people, as well as tourism and other sea-related economies. Objectives: - Explain ocean acidification. - Explain how ocean acidification will affect marine animals. - Explain how ocean acidification will affect people Read as far as you can through the Ocean Acidification topic page ( Write down answers individually or in small groups, and then go over the following questions as a group. ANSWER KEY: 1. Define carbon dioxide, including how it causes global warming and ocean acidification. 2. How has the ocean's ph changed since the industrial revolution? How much is it expected to change by the end of the century? 3. That doesn't seem like a very big drop in ph. Why does a small change in ph and acidity matter? 107

111 4. Name two threats to corals from ocean acidification. 5. How is ocean acidification expected to affect plants? 6. Name three ways you can help to slow ocean acidification and climate change. VOCABULARY SCAVENGER HUNT: 1. Define "pteropod" 2. Define "ph scale" Additional Reading and Media: Ocean Acidification with Dr. Francisco Chavez (video): Researcher-written blog post about ocean acidification may speed up some predators of shelled organisms: Smithsonian scientist-written blog post about her work studying acidification at carbon dioxide seeps in Papua New Guinea: Article on why it's hard to study ocean acidification: Video acidification's effects on people and industries: 108

112 Ocean Wrap-Up American Spaces Activity Guide By the Smithsonian Ocean Portal Materials Needed: Construction paper Various art supplies Tape or glue Markers Internet access or books about ocean ecosystems and animals Estimated time: 1 hour Objectives: - Review what was learned about ocean ecosystems in past weeks - Research organisms that live in different ecosystems - Discuss local solutions to global problems Final Art Project (hands-on, 1 hour) Split the class into groups of 3-5 people each, so that there are at least 3 groups (if possible). Each group will be assigned or choose an ocean ecosystem that they are going to focus on during the activity, and present about to the class. Good ecosystem choices are: - Coral reefs - Seagrass beds - Mangrove forests - Arctic ice Each group will be tasked with creating a mural for their ecosystem. The background can be cut out of construction paper or drawn with marker. Regardless, students should spend no more than 5-7 minutes building the background. The rest of the class time should be spent on the details. For each ecosystem, the general landscape should include: - Coral reefs: Underwater landscape with large coral structure - Seagrass beds: Underwater landscape with seagrass drawn at a large scale and small scale (close up) - Mangrove forests: Mangrove trees should grow out of the water with their roots in the water, with the roots large enough for detail - Arctic ice: Above and below the ice should be visible These setups are designed to highlight the multiple habitats within any given ecosystem, and give space for students to fill them. 109

113 For the next 30 minutes (leaving minutes at the end for presentations), students should research and create organisms specific to the ecosystem. They can draw this on paper and cut-out and tape them onto their murals, or create them in 3-D and find a way to attach them to the paper. For each organism, they should be able to name it and explain an adaptation that allows it to live in the habitat that it does. Aim for each student to make at least three organisms, and to vary them in their size and habitat. The more the better! When there are minutes remaining, students should each present their ecosystem to the class, telling their facts about the organisms and adaptations. Additionally, they should note what local action can be done to help preserve the systems and their organisms. If possible, display the murals in a public space and allow students to continue working on them if they wish. Additional Resources Coral reefs: Seagrass beds: Mangroves: Arctic ice: 110

114 Certificate of Completion is hereby granted to to certify that they have com pleted the Sm ithsonian Ocean Portal course in ocean science and conservation for the US Departm ent of State's Am erican Spaces Instructor Signature / Date Student Signature / Date