Teacher Guide to Biodiversity Activity

Transcription

1 Teacher Guide to Biodiversity Activity What are we trying to teach the students in this activity? Humans modify and change ecosystems, which are based upon energy, water, oxygen and nutrients. It is important to understand how biodiversity is affected by changes we make. See Standards and Benchmarks below. Supplies: 8 boards 8 envelopes of cards numbered 1 through 8 Each envelope has all the grey cards, but the envelope numbered 1 has only one good deed. The envelope numbered 2 has 2 good deeds (they should not be the same good deed), and so on. The envelope numbered 8 should have all 8 good deeds in it along with all the grey cards. A picture of a cottonwood tree and tamarisk which is also called salt cedar. I. Intro 1. Warm Up: Explain how we are now using the river as a source of drinking water since our aquifer is being depleted. Explain that whether we drink from the river or the aquifer, we live in a desert and water is SCARCE. 2. Explain how Albuquerque voters have changed the river in order to protect the land around our river from flooding and to ensure we could control the water level in the river: Cochiti Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act in Construction began in 1965 and water filled the reservoir in Other flood efforts included levees (with salt cedar planted on them to control erosion), jimmy jacks, straightening the river. 3. This activity also talks about carp in the river. We re not sure where they came from, but they are non-native and impacting the populations of native fish. 4. Explain that we are going to talk about how these actions have impacted the river and how we can lessen the impact. II. Activity (20 minutes) 1. Hand out the Biodiversity Game Boards. Go over the meaning of all the parts and point out the changes we have made. Stress that this game is being played to find out some of the problems associated with the introduction of salt cedar to the river (riparian) ecosystem. 2. Explain that each group has some different cards and they will be asked to talk about their cards at the end of the game so they need to be able to share what they have learned. 3. Demonstrate how they will pull cards and cover up squares. Make sure they understand that the intent of the lesson is NOT like that of a puzzle where you put pieces together. The intent in this game is to see some worst case scenarios of what might happen if we don t protect our river. 4. Let them play the game. III. Discussion When most groups are mostly done, tell the students that you have 2 new cards: Scientists have just learned that the cottonwoods that are no longer in New Mexico had a chemical in the bark that cures cancer. Is that a problem? Once you have only salt cedar, what would happen if a disease that kills salt cedar comes through and kills them all? Is this a problem? Why or why not?

2 1) Why is losing biodiversity a problem? 2) What are some of the good deeds that people are doing to protect the river? (You should be able to get 8 from the cards.) Go back to the questions that you asked at the beginning of the game. Ask students to brainstorm: Economic Problems Salt Cedar Economic Problems Resource Problems What are some problems that are created or exacerbated by salt cedar? Economic: Agriculture can be impacted since the salt cedar can outcompete agriculture and is difficult to eradicate. Salt cedar makes river less attractive for tourism and could lower water in river, Increased fires can cause loss of property Resource: Water is used up by salt cedar that makes land unusable for us Soil is made salty and not good for growing other plants Quality of Life: Loss of bird habitat that will impact hawk and predator population causing increased populations of small mammals. Loss of species like monarch butterflies that rely on native plants Loss of birds since their food sources (seeds, crickets, etc) are diminished Note that nature is resilient and will find a way to work with salt cedar given time, but it is unclear which species will survive and which will succumb.

3 HS Biology: Biodiversity is Grand on the Rio Students learn about how we have impacted the Rio Grande and some of the unexpected results of our actions. By pulling cards, one at a time, they cover the diverse riparian ecosystem with invasive species that end up replacing native plants and wildlife. Science Str/std/bch Performance Standard II.III.I.2 Describe how organisms cooperate and compete in ecosystems (e.g. producers, decomposers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, predatorprey, symbiosis, mutualism.) II.II.I.1 Know that an ecosystem is complex and may exhibit fluctuations around a steady state or may evolve over time. II.II.I.3 II.II.I.4 II.II.I.5. II.III.II.6 II.III.II.8 II.III.II.12. III.I.I. Understand and describe how available resources limit the amount of life an ecosystem can support (e.g. energy, water, oxygen, nutrients). Critically analyze how humans modify and change ecosystems (e.g. harvesting, pollution, population growth, technology). Explain how matter and energy flow through biological systems (e.g. organisms, communities, ecosystems) and how the total amount of matter and energy is conserved but some energy is always released as heat to the environment. Know that Earth s systems are driven by internal (i.e. radioactive decay and gravitational energy) and external (i.e. the sun) sources of energy. Describe patterns and relationships in the circulation of air and water driven by the sun s radiant energy, including: (patterns in weather systems related to the transfer of energy, differences between climate and weather, global climate, global warming, and the greenhouse effect, El Nino, Las Nina, and other climatic trends. Explain how the availability of ground water through aquifers can fluctuate based on multiple factors (i.e. rate of use, rate of replenishment, surface changes, and changes in temp). Science and Society Describe how scientific knowledge helps decision makers with local, national, and global challenges (e.g., Waste Isolation Pilot Project [WIPP], mining, drought, population growth, alternative energy, climate change). Extension: Students research invasive species in New Mexico and present their finding to the class. Afterwards, each student should write a fictional, futuristic short story that focuses on the story of the invasive species or the native species that are replaced by the invasive.

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