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- Science is a process – a method of learning about the world that constantly changes how we understand the world.
- Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes.
- Earth is an interconnected system.
- Humans alter natural systems.
- Environmental problems have social, cultural and economic contexts.
- Ecosystem Structure.
- Ecosystem Diversity.
- Natural Ecosystem Change.
- Population Biology Concepts (does not cover reproductive strategies).
- Diversity is just how many different types of organisms there are.
- All kelp holdfasts will have similar types of organisms living on them because they provide the same type of habitat.
- Not much lives on a kelp holdfast and it is probably the same all the way up the piece of kelp.
- Holdfasts act like roots of a tree and deliver nutrients to the kelp.
- You’ve never eaten kelp.
- To study populations, scientists mostly put fancy hi-tech tracking devices on animals in the wild.
- In order to know how many individuals there are in a population, you just need to count all of them.
- All members of the same species are part of one population.
- If individuals of the same species live close to each other, they are probably from the same population.
- Unless humans interfere, populations stay about the same size over time.
- Once a system has changed it just needs time to recover back to its original “healthy” state.
- This curriculum segment involves 4 PowerPoint lectures, 1 wet lab using a kelp hold-fast (this could be substituted for an biotic assemblage eg. Clumps of moss, a designated small area of a forest floor, a decomposing log etc.), 2 dry labs including a basic mapping activity and various share-out type activities performed by small student groups.
- Calculating Biodiversity: Students summarize and graph their kelp data, share with group, and calculate diversity index.
- Tracking Populations: Mark-Recapture Lab – Teacher selects own version online.
- Photo ID & Whale Fluke Matching Activity.
- Population Dynamics Activity: 4 activity documents for student groups – 1 on each ecosystem.
- This curriculum was designed for use in an AP Environmental Science classroom in San Diego, CA geared towards high school juniors and seniors.
- These activities took place over 6 days but do not need to be done consecutively and could be divided in a variety of ways and taught as stand-alone lessons lasting anywhere from 1-3 days.
- The lessons were designed assuming some working knowledge of ecosystems, food webs, and species diversity but this is not necessarily required.
- Assessment is informal in-class assessment of students’ ability to think creatively, form hypotheses and ask critical thinking questions, record and present observations and data and draw conclusions from evidence discovered during the activities.
- Students are asked to graph relatively complex data in a logical way, map animal movements, draw conclusions from their findings and share the results with the class.
- Finally, there are a few thought questions along the way and at the end of the unit that can be used as homework or as additional exam questions.
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- CA Standard Biology 6a: “Biodiversity is the sum total of different kinds of organisms and is affected by alterations of habitats”.
- CA Standard Biology 6b: “How to analyze changes in an ecosystem resulting from changes in climate, human activity, introduction of nonnative species, or changes in population size”.
- CA Standard Biology 8b: “A great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some organisms survive major changes in the environment”.
- Investigation & Experimentation 1d: “Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence”.
- Investigation & Experimentation 1f: “Distinguish between hypothesis and theory as scientific terms”.
- Investigation & Experimentation 1k: “Recognize the cumulative nature of scientific evidence”.
- Investigation & Experimentation 1m: “Investigate a science-based societal issue by researching the literature, analyzing data, and communicating the findings”.
- Environmental Science Outline Topic II - The Living World: A - Ecosystem Structure, C - Ecosystem Diversity, and D - Natural Ecosystem Change.
- Environmental Science Outline Topic III - Population: A – Population Biology Concepts.
- Environmental Science Outline Topic VII - Global Change: C – Loss of Biodiversity.
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Biodiversity
Biodiversity
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- Grade Level: High school juniors and seniors.
- Time Frame: These activities took place over 6 days but do not need to be done consecutively and could be divided in a variety of ways and taught as stand-alone lessons lasting anywhere from 1-3 days.
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Scripps Pier
SIO Entrance
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Design EarthRef.org
Sponsored by NSF and NSDL
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