Invasive Species- What's the worst that could happen? – Grades 9-12

4. Eat and Be Eaten
Notes
Where to Go
Third Floor, Eat and Be Eaten, Asian Water Monitor
What to Do
• Observe the Asian Water Monitor and read the information panel about
the species.
Consider This
• Do you think that an Asian Water Monitor might be a successful invasive
species in this region? What traits about the monitor make you think
that? Would this species be a more successful invasive elsewhere in
the world? What type of ecosystems would it most endanger?
• How might an Asian Water Monitor be introduced into a new
ecosystem?
• Can you think of a species that would compete with the monitor, eat
the monitor, or parasitize the monitor? Can you think of a species that
might change the monitor’s habitat in such a way that it might cause the
population to decline?
Sketch Pad
Other Things to Try
• Explore the various organisms displayed within Eat and Be Eaten.
Find one organism that you think could become an invasive species
within the region. (Make sure it is not already a native species.) List
your reasons for thinking this organism could become invasive here if
introduced to the wild. In the United States, many pets (exotic or not)
are released into the wild when they get too big or too difficult to care
for. Do you feel this behavior could result in the released pets becoming
invasive? Why or why not?
10 Discovery Challenges Invasive Species: Grades 9-12 Discovery Challenges Invasive Species: Grades 9-12
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