Download Zebra Mussels - IIT College of Science

Lesson: Zebra Mussels Invade Chicago!!
Field Museum Extensions
a. Related Exhibitions
1. Ecosystems contain delicately balanced communities of producers and
consumers. See how organisms are connected by studying the many
dioramas in the Nature Walk, Messages from the Wilderness, Bird
Habitats, and What is an Animal? exhibitions.
2. Older than dirt? Not quite. But they are older than dinosaurs! Mollusks
evolved more than 500 million years ago! Trace the evolution of this
diverse animal group—which includes everything from mussels to snails
to squids—within the Evolving Planet exhibition.
3. And while in Evolving Planet, stop by the Cambrian sea and Fossil Lake
displays to see two ancient ecosystems. How are they different than those
today? How are they similar?
4. The zebra mussels in Lake Michigan are an example of humans
introducing a species to the environment. To see how early peoples
incorporated naturally occurring animals into their lives and diet, explore
the Innovative Hunters and Gatherers gallery of The Ancient Americas.
b. Harris Educational Loan Center materials
Exhibit Cases (Mussels and Fossils of Ancient, Mussel-Relatives):
Shell Buttons
Sea Life
Fossils from Paleozoic Seas
Fossils From Rocks Near Chicago
Insect: Asian Longhorn Beetle (An invasive species that spread from China to the
United States!)
c. Field Museum science/website resources:
a. How do Field Museum scientists study the environment to see how
species interact? Find out here:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/ecco.htm
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/ecp/default.htm
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/biodiversity/intro.html
b. The Lake Calumet region, stretching from northern Illinois to northern
Indiana, is a place filled with diverse communities, vast expanses of
natural areas rich in rare and unique flora and fauna, municipal waste sites,
and a 130-year-old legacy of steel production and heavy manufacturing.
See how community groups and city, state, and federal agencies are
developing plans to save the endangered species and ecosystems of the
area:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/calumet/