Estuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum - Estuaries NOAA

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Research Question Activities Learning Objectives Estuaries Climate Extension ObjectiveStudents will:• Consider climate changepotential impacts to marinefood webs.Estuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum Overview 7How do tides, wind,geographic processes,and site topographydirectly affect thenation’s estuaries?Activity 3: Water Going Up,Water Going DownStudents will examine the effectsof tides on estuaries, and look atdata to understand the effect ondissolved oxygen levels beforeand after a mouth closure.Students will understand that:• Both lunar tides and wind-driven seiches affect waterlevels in estuaries.• Movement of sediment at the mouth of an estuary willeither open or close the estuary’s access to its lake orocean.• Tides vary throughout the day from location tolocation.• Lack of tidal flushing can cause water conditions,such as dissolved oxygen, in a lagoon to deteriorate.This can harm aquatic life inside the estuary.• If an estuary mouth is unable to open naturally, it issometimes necessary to open the mouth artificially bydredging.• There is a distinction between global sea level trendsand local sea level trends.• Sea levels provide an important key to understandingthe impact of climate change on estuaries.Tijuana RiverNERR, CAOld Woman CreekNERR, OHKachemak BayNERR, AKStudents will:• Use online sea level maps andexplore variation in sea leveltrends across the NationalEstuarine Research Reserves.Principle 3: Estuaries support an abundance of life, and a diversity of habitat types.What role do plants andanimals play in theestuary food pyramid?Activity 4: Estuary FoodPyramidStudents will construct anexample of a food pyramid forestuary organisms and examinethis flow of energy.Students will understand that:• There are three major categories of living organismsin an ecosystem and each has a special role. Theyare: producers, consumers, and decomposers.• The food energy produced by producers is cycledthrough the ecosystem through food chains andcomplex food webs by way of a series of energylevels called trophic levels.No ResearchReservesreferenced directlyin the activities• Energy is lost as it flows through the ecosystem. Afood pyramid reflects fewer and fewer organisms ateach level, supported by larger numbers oforganisms at the trophic level just below.• Students will learn that climate change has thepotential for far reaching affects within marine foodwebs.
Research Question Activities Learning Objectives Estuaries Climate Extension ObjectiveNo climate extensionNo climate extensionEstuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum Overview 8What are plankton andwhy are they importantin the estuary?Activity 5: Planet PlanktonStudents will learn about differenttypes of plankton and theirimportance to life in estuaries.Students will understand that:• Plankton are very small, diverse organisms.• Plankton are important to Earth’s atmosphere andclimate.• Plankton are critical to maintaining life in estuaries.No ResearchReservesreferenced directlyin the activitiesNo climate extensionWhat is the biologicalimportance of the oysterreef, how are oyster reefpopulations threatened,and what can be done toprevent declines inoyster populations?Activity 6: An Ode to the OysterStudents will sort oyster reeforganisms to identify the manytypes of organisms that live on anoyster; create a mural showingthe oyster reef and organisms;dissect an oyster and explore itsanatomy; and role-play asbiologists whose assignment it isto uncover what is causing thedecline in an oyster populationand propose a solution to theproblem.Students will understand that:• Oysters live with other organisms near the shore andcan form oyster reefs.• Reef oysters are adapted to live within the dynamic,stressful intertidal environment.• Oysters are economically important in coastalregions. Oysters are also environmentally importantin that they remove pollutants from the water andoyster reefs help protect marsh shorelines fromerosion.• Populations of oysters that form oyster reefs havebeen reduced by pollution, excess sediment in thewater, over-fishing, and by loss of areas of hardsubstrate on which to grow.ACE BasinNERR, SC• Oyster reef restoration and controls on overharvestingof oysters can slow or stop the decline inthe reef oyster population.What are the basicanatomical features ofhorseshoe crabs thatallow them to survive inthe estuaryenvironment?Activity 7: Hooray forHorseshoe CrabsStudents will learn about theanatomy and unique adaptationsof these amazing animals.Students will understand that:• Horseshoe crabs are arthropods, but are not truecrabs.• Horseshoe crabs are benthic or bottom dwellers.• Horseshoe crabs move along the bottom of the oceanor estuary using their ten legs.DelawareNERR, DE• Horseshoe crabs leave the water to crawl onto thebeach to lay their eggs in the sand.
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Estuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum - Estuaries NOAA

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