Download A Product of My Environment

EndeavourHydrothermalVents:Canada’sFirstMPA
ActivityIII
(adaptedfromProjectWild,FashionaFishActivity,CanadianWildlife
Federation.)
AProductofMyEnvironment
Timeline
Two-45minutelessons.
Onelessonistodiscussterminologyandbackground,onelessonistohear
visualizationsandcreatecreatures.
Grades4–8
Materialsandresources
Artmaterials,
paper
modelingclay
colouringpage
glossaryofterms(pickoutrelevantwords)
visualizations#1and#2
Objectives
1. Studentswillbeabletodefinebiomes,theabyssalzone,anddescribe
adaptationsofmarinelifetotheirenvironments.
2. Studentswillbeabletodescribehowadaptationscanhelpmarinelife
surviveintheirhabitat
3. Studentswillinterprettheimportanceofadaptationsinlivingorganisms.
Curriculumconnections
Grade4–(Science)Biomes–Theabyssalbiome(orzone)iswheretheEndeavour
hydrothermalventsexist.
Grade5-(Science)Humansuseearthmaterialsasnaturalresources–Sustainable
practices–MPA’s.
Chemosynthesisvsphotosynthesis-Multicellularorganismshaveorgansystems
thatenablethemtosurviveandinteractwithintheirenvironment.
Grade6-(Science)Multicellularorganismsrelyoninternalsystemstosurvive,
reproduceandinteractwiththeirenvironment.
Grade7–(Science)Theoryofevolutionbynaturalselectionprovidesan
explanationforthediversityandsurvivaloflivingthings.Uniqueadaptationsof
ventinhabitants.
Grade8–(Science)–Communication,creativeandcriticalthinking.
• characteristicsoflife
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thetheoryofplatetectonicsistheunifyingtheorythatexplainsEarth’s
geologicalprocesses.
• therelationshipofmicro-organismswithlivingthings
• photosynthesis(vs.chemosynthesis)
EnglishLanguageArts
• Createandcommunicate–presentationtechniques
Naturalselection,survivalneedsandinteractionsbetweenorganisms-
Chemosynthesis/symbioticrelationshipsofhydrothermaltubewormsandbacteria,
aswellasotherventorganisms.
Overview
Inthefirstactivity,aclassdiscussionofbiomes,theabyssalzone,andadaptation,
studentsareaskedforspecificexamplesofadaptationsforvariousbiomes,and
morespecificallytheabyssalzonewheretheEndeavoursiteislocated.
Inthesecondactivity,throughguidedimagery,studentsaregiventraitsofan
imaginarymarineenvironmentandareaskedto“design”marinecreaturesthatwill
havethebestchancesforsurvival.
Theyarethengivenanotherguidedimagery,wherecharacteristicsoftheabyssal
zone–thentheEndeavourhydrothermalventsareaaredescribed,andstudentsare
askedtocreateacreaturethatisadaptedtosurvivethere.
Background
Ourearthisdividedintoareascalledbiomes,areasoftheearthwithsimilar
climaticconditionsandspecieslivingthere.Biomesaredefinedas"theworld's
majorcommunities,classifiedaccordingtothepredominantvegetationand
characterizedbyadaptationsoforganismstothatparticularenvironment"
(Campbell,1996).
Thereareaquaticandterrestrial(land)biomes.Terrestrialbiomesare–tundra,
rainforest,savanna,taiga,temperateforest,temperategrassland,chaparral,alpine,
anddesert.
Eachbiomeconsistsofmanyecosystemswhosecommunitieshaveadaptedtothe
smalldifferencesinclimateandtheenvironmentinsidethebiome.Alllivingthings
arecloselyrelatedtotheirenvironment.
Aquaticbiomesarefreshwaterandmarine.
Withinthemarinebiomethereistheocean,estuaries,andcoralreefs.
Theoceanisdividedintolayersaccordingtodepthandtemperature,withthe
abyssalzonebeingtheareawheretheEndeavourhydrothermalventsoccur.This
layeroftheoceanrangesfromapproximately2000to6000metersdeep,andis
subjecttoextremecold,intensepressureduetodepth,andcompletedarkness.
•
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Thewaterinthisregionisverycold(around3°C),highlypressured,highinoxygen
content,butlowinnutritionalcontent.Theabyssalzonesupportsmanyspeciesof
invertebratesandfishes.Mid-oceanridges(spreadingzonesbetweentectonic
plates),oftenwithhydrothermalvents,arefoundintheabyssalzonesalongthe
oceanfloors.Chemosyntheticbacteriathriveneartheseventsbecauseofthelarge
amountsofhydrogensulfideandothermineralstheyemit.Thesebacteriaarethus
thestartofthefoodwebastheyareeatenbyinvertebratesandfishes.
(BiomesGroupoftheFall96Biology1Bclass,section115,atUCBerkeley
EditingbyStephaniePullen,redesignbyKaceyBallard,April2004.)
Activity
Wewilllookatadaptation,andtheadaptationstheresidentsoftheEndeavour
HydrothermalVentshavemadetosurvive,andevenflourish,inthisharsh
environment.
Introduction
Activitypart1–30-45minutes
Alllifeistheproductofcountlessadaptationsoverlongperiodsoftime.Whatare
therequirementsforsurvival?(food,water,shelter)Whataresomeadaptationsto
bettersurvive?(bodyshape,mouth,colour-methodofcamouflageorhiding,
reproductionorspawning,tolerancetotemperatureandtemperaturechanges,
tolerancetochemicalcompounds)
Havestudentsdraworfindapictureofacreaturewithspecificadaptation.
Havestudentsthinkaboutanadaptationthatananimalhas–ie.longlegsandsharp
billofblueheronforstandinginwaterandcatchingprey,earsofowloffsetintheir
headtoenablethemtohearinmoredirections.
Haveaclassdiscussionofthevalueofdifferentkindsofadaptationtolivingthings.
Askstudentsiftheycanthinkofanadaptationtoanextremeenvironment.
Activitypart2–1hour,plusdiscussiontime.
Discusswiththeclassthedifferentadaptationsmarinecreatureshavethatenable
themtosurvive.Next,discussthecreaturesofthehydrothermalventsandtheir
adaptationstosurviveintheextremesofthisenvironment.(extremeheatatvent
sites,extremecoldawayfromventsites,sulfurdioxide(rottenegggas)andother
metals,andcompletedark)
Dividestudentsintogroupsof3or4,dependingonclasssize.(thisactivitycanalso
bedoneindividually.)
Readstudentsthe“visualizationstory#1”andhavethemcreateacreaturethat
wouldbebestadaptedtosurviveinthedescribedenvironment.(Thiscanbe
drawn,amodelingclayform,awrittendescription)
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Havegroupspresenttheircreaturesandtellwhatadaptationsthecreatureshave
(whethercolor,shape,reproduction,mouth,etc.)tobestenablethemtosurvive.
Studentsmustbepreparedtodefendwhytheircreaturehasthespecificfeatures
theyhavegivenit.
Readstudentsthe“visualizationstory#2”(thecharacteristicsoftheabysszoneofthe
ocean)andhavethemcreatesomethingthatwouldbebestadaptedtosurvivethis
harshenvironment.Makesuretostressthatthisdoesnothavetobeacreaturelike
afish–becreative!
Havestudentspresentthesecreaturesanddescribetheiradaptationsandhowthey
enablethecreaturestosurvive.
HandoutcolouringpageonEndeavourHydrothermalvents.
Havestudentslookatthedrawingpage.Tellstudentstolookforvarious
adaptationsthatthevariouscreatureshavemadetosurvivethehighsulphur
contentofthewater,theheatofthevents,thesurroundingcold,thehighpressure
ofthedeepsea,andthecompletelackoflight.
Howdothesethingsfeed,reproduce,avoidpredation/predators?
EndwithdiscussionofuniqueadaptationsofEndeavourHTVcreaturesand
comparetoadaptationsofothercreaturesinvariousbiomesontheearth.
Evaluation
Nametwoadaptationsofcreaturesinhotareas-whatistheadvantageofthese
adaptationstothesurvivalofthecreatureinthehothabitat?
Whatbiomecouldahotareabe?
Nametwoadaptationsofcreaturesincoldareas–whatistheadvantageofthese
adaptationstothesurvivalofthecreatureinthecold?
Whatbiomewouldthisbe?
Describehowdeepsea(abyssaldwellers)haveadaptedtosurviveinthecomplete
dark.
NamethreeadaptationsofEndeavourhydrothermalventdwellers–
(chemosynthesistodealwithlackoflightandmaintainabilitytoproducefood,
symbioticrelationshipstodealwithextremechemicalenvironment,limitedrangeof
habitattotakeadvantageofwarmthofsmokers,adaptationtolargetemperature
range–hotclosetovents,coldasyougoaway.)
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Defineendemicandnamethreeendemicspecies.(Foundonlyinaspecifichabitat
orbiome-tubeworms,clams,bacteria.)
Whathavescientistsdonetobeabletostudythesehardtoaccess,dark,hostile
environments?
Extensions
Havestudentsdrawtheirinterpretationsofwhatthevisualizations#1and#2
habitatslookedlike.
Lookatthecolouringpageandchooseacreatureorfeaturetoexplorefurther.
Colourthiscreatureorfeatureaccordingtowhatyouhavefoundinyourresearch.
Explorealloftheearth’sbiomesandlookatthedifferences.
Pickoneoftheoceanbiomes,researchandpresenttoclass.
Classdiscussionofhowdifferentareasoftheeartharedividedintobiomes.How
doesthisassistscience?
Findanotherareaoftheearththanhydrothermalventsthatharborendemic
species.
Deepseabiome:http://www.untamedscience.com/biology/biomes/deep-seabiome/
Worldbiomes:http://www.untamedscience.com/biology/biomes/
Photosynthesis/chemosynthesis:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/learning/5_chemosynthesis/activities/chemov
sphoto.html
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