Coastal niches Ecology lesson

Authors: Eddie Bonnell & Vance Ballard

Date to be taught:

Grade level: 10^th or 11^th

Location: UTMSI at Port Aransas, Texas

Materials:

1. whiteboard and marker
2. 3 field guides for Texas gulf shores
3. 3 buckets
4. 3 nets for crabs
5. 3 laminated coast diagram and clipboards
6. 3 grease pencils
7. paper and pen
8. safety agreements

Objectives:

Students will be able to –

1. Demonstrate field safety procedures as required.

2. Articulate a purpose for the jetties, and an observable consequence due to them.

3. Collect and analyze data to predict alternative species that would inhabit same niche in a different environment.

4. Organize and present a scientific argument to support their theory.

Engage:

Teacher does: Begin by asking students where we are, what the jetty’s purpose is, what sort of characteristics are present in the environment in this area. Have you seen other natural environments like this on the Texas coast? Teacher then goes on to ask students what sort of animals they might expect to live in a region like this, and why. Make sure not to correct student suggestions or logic, but rather record them on the white board. Make sure to use key terms such as “high energy environment”, “adaptation”, etc. To help illustrate point, perhaps diagram on a small white board. Ask students what sort of environment they expect exists in the ocean floor. What sort of organisms they expect.

Student does: Students participate in group discussion, answering questions and hypothesizing on what sorts of organisms they expect to find here.

Key Questions: Where are we? What are the effects of constructing it? What sort of environmental factors do you suspect might play a key role in the type of animals you expect to find here (Ex: You don’t find penguins in the jungle) What sorts of organisms do you suspect might live in this sort of environment? Why? Are the types of animals living here going to be different than the types of animals living on the ocean floor? Why?

Answers: We are at the Port Aransas Jetties. It acts to reduce the wave action of the gulf so that ships may have safe passage into the harbor. Wave buffeting, rocks, temperature, sunlight, other animals. Animals well adapted to the local environment. They have a competitive advantage over other animals that are less adapted to this high energy environment. Yes, because the ocean floor consists of different environmental factors, and thus has different requirements of species living there.

Evaluation: Verbal check for understanding, assure each student is paying attention, and record student misgivings on the white board for exposure later in the lesson.

Explore:

Teacher does: Teacher briefly explains that students are going to participate in a treasure hunt. Students who would like to, will be allowed out to a certain distance on the jetty rocks, as long as they adhere to the “three point rule”, stating that three parts of their body must remain in contact with the jetty rocks at all times, or they will be required to stay on land (walkway). Check for student understanding of this rule. Students will be informed that they are competing with other groups of students in identifying all of the animals on the laminated sheets they will be given shortly. Any animals that are discovered which are not on the identification sheet will be worth more points. Any group who manages to identify the most organisms on the laminated sheet will win the respect of their peers. In order to ensure honesty amongst groups, once an organism is discovered by a member in a group, it must be collected and stored in a plastic tub of saltwater, designated as their collection basket, back on shore. The student who collected the organism will then report to the on-shore student, the region in which the organism was discovered. One of the other group members will then use the laminated identification sheet to decide which organism the collected species matches with. Bird sightings must be corroborated by the instructor before they count towards a team’s points.

Student does: Student acknowledges understanding of the “three point rule”. Students will divide themselves into an equal number of individuals per group, with at least one volunteer to go out on the jetties per group. Any students remaining on the shore will be responsible for conducting preliminary observations on the organisms captured by the team. Based on these visual cues, the individual will then make preliminary observations regarding the identity of the organism. In addition to this task, students on shore will work to aid other members of their team, by looking near water’s edge for organisms, or perhaps any birds in the area. Students who are actively searching amongst the rocks in the jetty, will stay within a predetermined range. In addition, students will not lift any rocks without the direct aid of the teacher.

Key Questions: Do you expect to find the same organisms all along this jetty? Why or why not? What are the differences between these animals? Why do you suppose they are different in these ways? What sorts of animals do you expect to exist farther out?

Answers: It depends. There may be some variation amongst the regions of the jetty in terms of the specific populations which occupy them. This could be the result of slight but significant differences between the different locations of the jetty and thus the types of habitats available in each region. (List qualitative differences) These organisms could be different in these ways for numerous reasons. Some of the differences may have to do with the specific microhabitat it specifically occupies in this jetty region (Ex: under rocks where water is calmer, or on top of rocks where water is more energetic.) The differences may also arise as a result of the organism’s evolutionary history. It depends entirely upon the nature of the environment farther out. If it is calm, then perhaps more plant life, maybe clams, burrowing arthropods, fish, crabs, etc. The nature of the environment has a direct effect on the characteristics of the species which inhabit it.

Evaluation: The teacher will interact with students on shore, having students draw out their logic for the adaptations they see, helping to participate in their eradication of any misunderstandings. When interacting with students out on the jetty, the teacher will work with a student in observing the habitat of organisms which are discovered, helping students notice specific important details of the organisms’ environment which play a key role in its adaptation.

Explain:

Teacher does: Once the allotted time for collection is exhausted, students will gather into their groups and go over their organisms, identifying them as a team. It is during this period, that the teacher will provide the groups with a small packet containing brief descriptions of the organisms. An alternative would be to provide each group with a field identification book for animals down in Port Aransas. During this period, the teacher will be wandering amongst the groups, inquiring of students, why they identified some of the organisms the way they did. At the end of the allotted time for group elaboration, the teacher will gather all of the students around the white board, on the walk by the jetty. The teacher will go through each organism on the laminated identification sheet, and see which groups were able to collect a sample for each given organism. Groups that collected a sample will then have to convince the rest of the groups of the organism’s identity, based on their observations of its habitat, and the information they gleaned from the field identification book. The teacher will act as the head judge and will have the ultimate decision on each classification. After all the groups for a particular organism have argued for its identity, point totals will be added up for each successful identification and supporting argument, and the teacher will lead a brief class discussion on the adaptive qualities that an organism displays for survival in its environment.

Student does: At the end of the time allotted for the treasure hunt, the students will gather on the shore into their groups, and go over the organisms they were able to collect. Students will read through field identification guides or the packets provided by the teacher, and formulate reasonable corroborating evidence for their claims on the organism’s identity. At the end of the time allotted for groups to collaborate on identifying the species they collected, the students of the groups will present their arguments for the identities of their collected organisms, to the rest of the groups. After each of the organisms that have been captured by any of the groups has been argued for, the students will participate in a class discussion on

Key Questions: What is it about that adaptation that allows that organism to survive successfully in its environment? Are there any alternative ways an organism might survive in that sort of environment? Name some other possible ways an organism might deal with the challenges presented in terms of surviving in its environment.

Answers: (student explains the function of the adaptation and how it aids the organism’s survival in light of its environmental factors) Yes, there are various ways in which an organism might deal with a particular element of its environment. An example of this would be the tall tree with the fruit. There are several ways for an animal on the ground to reach that fruit, being taller, flying, climbing, knocking down the tree, etc. See #2

Evaluate: Monitor students, and ask questions during each group’s presentation, testing the limits of their understanding of the species/habitat continuum.

Elaborate:

Teacher does: Teacher informs the students that each group is going to pick one of the organisms they caught. No two groups can pick the same organism. Then, as a group, they are going to prepare a brief presentation on their organism, its environment, and most importantly, what adaptations that organism has developed to exist in that environment. After each group has had a few minutes to prepare a brief presentation on their animals, based on their arguments for its identity, and thus the information provided by their field books or packets, each group will give their brief presentation to the others about their organism and its adaptations.

Student does: Students gather into their groups, choose an organism to present on, and then conduct a brief preliminary inquiry into the environment, lifestyle, and adaptations of that organism to its environment. Afterwards, each group will give a brief presentation on their organism to the other groups.

Key Questions: What element of the environment do you think, caused the organism to evolve that adaptation? Could the adaptation have evolved for some other purpose originally? (Give giraffe example: Did the giraffe evolve a longer neck because longer necked individuals could spot predators from farther away, or because it gave longer necked individuals an advantage by allowing them more access to fruit) Can you think of a potentially better adaptation? What is it? Why is it better?

Answers: Answers will vary. Yes it could have. It is hard to tell the original function of an adaptation and that is something that a lot of evolutionary biologists work on. Answers will vary.

Evaluation: Brief oral check with students as to the various functions of the adaptations presented. Are there any common themes amongst the adaptations we have observed? What are they?

Elaborate:

Teacher does: Teacher gives each student some paper and a writing utensil, and asks each student, on his or her own, to write down one major adaptation they observed in their chosen organism, and one alternative way, not discussed today, that they would either improve upon the existing adaptation, or a completely different adaptation they create that they think would be an efficient of adapting to the organism’s environmental pressures.

Student does: Student uses their understanding of the relationship between an organism and its environment and how the two influence each other, to create either an extension to their organisms existing adaptations, or a completely new adaptation they create, that might theoretically deal with the environmental pressures that they organism is subject to.

Evaluation: The teacher will collect the students’ papers, checking for understanding.