Dip Netting. Around the Bend Nature Tours Field Study

Transcription

1 Around the Bend Nature Tours Field Study Dip Netting Grade Level: 5 th through 12 th Subject: Science Duration: 45 Minutes Materials: Dip nets, seine net (optional), 5-gallon buckets, flat 6 high containers Benchmarks for K-2 SC.K.N.1.1 Collaborate with a partner to collect information. SC.K.N.1.2 Make observations of the natural world and know that they are descriptors collected using the five senses. SC.K.N.1.5 Recognize that learning can come from careful observation. SC.K.P.12.1 Investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc. SC.1.N.1.1 Raise questions about the natural world, investigate them in teams through free exploration, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations. SC.1.N.1.2 Using the five senses as tools, make careful observations, describe objects in terms of number, shape, texture, size, weight, color, and motion, and compare their observations with others. SC.1.E.6.2 Describe the need for water and how to be safe around water. SC.1.L.14.1 Make observations of living things and their environment using the five senses. SC.1.L.14.3 Differentiate between living and nonliving things. SC.1.L.17.1 Through observation, recognize that all plants and animals, including humans, need the basic necessities of air, water, food, and space. Benchmarks for 3-5 SC.2.N.1.1 Raise questions about the natural world, investigate them in teams through free exploration and systematic observations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations. SC.2.N.1.2 Compare the observations made by different groups using the same tools. SC.2.N.1.3 Ask "how do you know?" in appropriate situations and attempt reasonable answers when asked the same question by others. SC.2.N.1.5Distinguish between empirical observation (what you see, hear, feel, smell, or taste) and ideas or inferences (what you think).

2 Benchmarks for 6-12 SC.6.N.1.4 Discuss, compare, and negotiate methods used, results obtained, and explanations among groups of students conducting the same investigation. SC.6.N.1.5 Recognize that science involves creativity, not just in designing experiments, but also in creating explanations that fit evidence. SC.6.L.15.1 Analyze and describe how and why organisms are classified according to shared characteristics with emphasis on the Linnaean system combined with the concept of Domains. SC.7.N.1.6 Explain that empirical evidence is the cumulative body of observations of a natural phenomenon on which scientific explanations are based. SC.7.L.17.1 Explain and illustrate the roles of and relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in the process of energy transfer in a food web. SC.7.L.17.2 Compare and contrast the relationships among organisms such as mutualism, predation, parasitism, competition, and commensalism. SC.7.L.17.3 Describe and investigate various limiting factors in the local ecosystem and their impact on native populations, including food, shelter, water, space, disease, parasitism, predation, and nesting sites. SC.8.N.1.6 Understand that scientific investigations involve the collection of relevant empirical evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses, predictions, explanations and models to make sense of the collected evidence. SC.912,L.17.2, SC.912,L SC.912,L SC.912,L SC.912,L.17.9 SC.912,L.17.19, SC.912,L Overview: Students enter the water and skim the grass flats for small fish and crustaceans. Specimens are collected in buckets for observation and release. Objectives: Students will understand that the estuary is the nursery of the sea, where many creatures begin their life cycles. Students will understand that wildlife comes in a variety of forms small to large. Students will learn about non-point source pollution and how it affects sea grass production. Students are responsible for their actions affecting this wildlife. Background: An ecosystem is a community of different species interacting with each other and with the chemical and physical factors making up its non-living environment. It is a system of inter-relationships among organisms, and between organisms and the physical environment.

3 In water bodies the presence or absence of certain organisms, called indicator species, reveals much about water quality. These creatures comprise a biotic index, or number of living organisms found in an ecosystem. The absence or presence of these organisms is an indicator of water quality. Environments with numerous marine species are usually healthy, whereas environments with just a few different species or many of one species and few of others usually indicates conditions that are less than healthy. The word healthy is used to indicate an environment supportive of life. Pollution generally reduces the quality of the environment, and in turn the diversity of life forms. The quality of water can change as it flows over the land. These changes in water quality may be due to natural factors or human activities. When water is degraded to a point that affects its use for a particular purpose, it has become polluted. Water pollution originates from two very different sources: point sources and non-point sources. Point source pollution comes from a discrete source such as a pipe, ditch or wastewater treatment plant. Non-point source means that the pollution comes from a broad area, such as a large field that has been covered with fertilizer or pesticides. Excessive application of fertilizer or pesticides on lawns and gardens (such as various chem.-lawn companies promote) can create non-point sources. People who use fertilizers and pesticides must read labels to ensure that they are applying the materials properly. Suggested Procedure: 1. Advise students to dress appropriately for the setting. Closed shoes such as old sneakers are a must. NO flip-flops or sandals without heel straps are allowed in the water under any circumstances. Sharp rocks and shells will cut feet and in this environment they may become infected. 2. Emphasize that all wildlife will be returned to its habitat unharmed. We are visiting the plants and animals in their home and will respect that. 3. Begin the activity by observing the water. Using the sampling equipment (nets, 5-gallon buckets, sieves, etc.) have the students collect as many different forms of animal life as possible. Ask them to be alert to differing micro-habitats near rocks and pilings. Place the animals to be observed in white 5-gallon buckets for viewing and drawing. 4. Keep an adequate amount of water in the 5-gallon buckets and place in a cool, shady spot if possible. Change the water often to keep the animals cool. 5. On Sarasota Bay Inhabitants worksheet, have students draw the animals they observe. Have each student record at least three animal observations. Ask them to fill in the number of each kind found, and describe the actual location where the animal was found. Once observations are complete, carefully return the animals to their natural habitat.

4 6. Encourage the students to discuss their observations. How diverse were the marine organisms? Introduce the concept of diversity, or that a variety of different kinds of plants and animals is usually an indication of a healthy ecosystem. 7. Upon returning to your classroom, identify the animals that were found and discuss results and differences among habitats. Dip Netting Dialogue (Discussion before activity begins) What is the wrack? Wrack: Pronunciation: 'rak Function: noun Etymology: Middle English wrak, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; akin to Old English wræc something driven by the sea 1 : SEAWEED; especially : seaweed cast ashore in masses 2 : marine vegetation; especially : KELP b : dried seaweeds Detritus: Pronunciation: di-'tri-tus Function: noun Etymology: French détritus, from Latin detritus, past participle of deterere 1 : loose material (as rock fragments or organic particles) that results directly from disintegration 2 : a product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away : DEBRIS Where is the wrack? Pick a handful up and tell me what you see. Various bivalve and snail species, as well as many species of small crustaceans such as isopods and amphipods inhabit the wrack line along the shore. What animals utilize the wrack? Raccoons, feral cats and foxes, are known to patrol the wrack line at the high water mark. Look at the water. What are the dark areas and light areas that you see? (Dark is sea grass, light is sandy bottom) Do you see that light area that stretches like a line along the shore? What causes that? (It is the edge of the sea grass bed) Are there any reasons why that break in the sea grass bed could be bad? Excessive application of fertilizer or pesticides on lawns and gardens (such as various chem.-lawn companies promote) can create non-point sources of pollution. + Nutrient levels in the water allow excessive algae growth + This in turn allows less sunlight to penetrate the water

5 + This may reduce the grasses growing on the bay bottom People who use fertilizers and pesticides must read labels to ensure that they are applying the materials properly. Sting Ray Shuffle (Demonstrate) This practice is important for your protection and the protection of the stingrays that have come to shallow areas to lay their eggs. Watch everyone else practice shuffle. Dip netting demonstration (Demonstrate how to turn net inside out to put creature gently in bucket - Indicate boundaries of study area) a. Disturb as little grass as possible b. Sweep the grass without touching the bottom c. When you find something interesting bring it to the buckets Bucket Brigade (those without appropriate shoes) d. Help them fill the buckets with water e. Keep buckets in shade f. They are in charge of deciding which creatures should go in which buckets. g. Classify by vertebrates and invertebrates. Older students classify invertebrates by phylum h. Books for identification purposes i. Don t let the buckets get too full. (Keep only the largest) Have fun! Extension for Younger students: Students can choose one of the organisms that they found in the water, do further research and draw a picture showing the organism and its habitat. Vocabulary: Younger students Watershed Estuary Vertebrate Invertebrate Exoskeleton Endoskeleton Bivalve and Univalve Food chain and food web Producer Consumer Decomposers

6 Extension for Older students: Students can classify the organisms into different phyla and then choose one to illustrate the classification scheme for it. Vocabulary: Older students Watershed Estuary Vertebrate Invertebrate Exoskeleton Endoskeleton Bivalve and Univalve Food chain and food web Producer Consumer Decomposers Mutualism, Predation Parasitism Competition Commensalism