Education Commons^™

Old Macdonald Had An Aquaculture Farm, Shantelle Landry

Reports

Grades: 6 Subjects: Earth Science | Natural Resources

With this activity, students will learn the importance of aquaculture and how it can be used to manage a resource.

Dichotomous Keys: An Essential Tool For Fish Detectives, Jackson Martinez

Reports

Grades: 6-8 Subjects: Life Science | Biology

How do scientists identify an unknown fish?

In this activity, students will utilize a dichotomous key to identify unknown fishes from the Chesapeake Bay and will then characterize their trophic levels based on feeding preferences and adaptations. Students will gain an understanding of organism classification, trophic level interactions, and how fishes may play different trophic roles throughout their lives.

Microscopic Hitchhiking: Taking A Trip With Microbes And Plankton. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Lucia Safi

Reports

This lesson plan develops concepts on food webs and ecological relationships, giving special attention to microorganisms and Chesapeake Bay species and dynamics. Students will conduct investigations, generate their own data and find out more about species they constantly see!

Sexual Dimorphism In Shrimp. Subjects: Life Science / Biology Grades: 9-12, Soloman Chak

Reports

Best suited for advanced high school students, this lesson offers an example of how a biologist uses morphometrics to test hypotheses about sexual selection and evolution in snapping shrimp. Students use software (ImageJ) to measure carapace and claws of two shrimp species with contrasting lifestyles. Students can take measurements themselves using ImageJ, and then analyze using Excel.

Counting Blue Crabs In The Bay! Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grade Level: 6-8, Bruce W. Pfirrmann

Reports

This lesson plan invites students and teachers to ponder the question: How many blue crabs are in the Chesapeake Bay, and where do we find them? Through hands-on activities and the use of real data, students will discover the excitement and grapple with the challenges faced by marine scientists as they try to quantify the use of different habitats by marine animals and estimate the size of marine animal populations.

Marine Parasites And Fish: How To Sample And Analyze. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Zoemma Warshafsky

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This lesson plan provides a hands-on way for students to investigate the impacts of an invasive parasitic nematode which has been targeting the American eel. Students will first “infect” pipe cleaner eels with parasitic nematodes (beads), which will then be used to simulate real-life research efforts through collecting multiple random samples of “eels” and counting the amount of parasites. They will then use this data to calculate prevalence, mean intensity, and mean abundance.

Seagrass Survivor. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Amanda Bromilow

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This role-play and decision-making game allows students to simulate predator-prey interactions between fish and blue crabs in a seagrass bed. Students will then make inferences about the influence of habitat and body size on juvenile blue crab survival.

Sea Turtle Csi: A Graphing Activity, Subjects: Life Science / Biology Environmental Science Marine / Ocean Science, Bianca Santos

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This lesson plan invites seventh grade students to take on the role of detective to determine the time of death of the stranded turtle that washed up on shore. Students will make observations and use evidence-based reasoning to turn qualitative data into quantitative data

Stakeholders Of The Chesapeake: Curse Of The Eastern Oyster. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine/Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Taylor Goelz

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How do we decide how to manage oysters and who has a stake in that management decision? Students are placed in the role of a stakeholder group who cares about what happens to the Eastern oyster and asked to rank management priorities from the perspective of their group and others. Through viewing oyster management through a single perspective, students can begin to understand that balancing stakeholder’s views in setting policy and management is challenging.

Digesting Data - Subjects: Life Science / Biology Grade Level: 6-8, Amanda Bromilow

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This lesson plan encourages students to become scientific investigators to determine which fish species are important predators of juvenile blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay. Students will have the opportunity to practice using triple-beam balances and draw conclusions based on their data.

Blue Crabs In The Chesapeake - An Introduction To The Blue Crab, Lisa Lawrence, Vicki Clark, Jacques Van Montfrans, Susanna Musick

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A classroom resource covering crab anatomy and glossary, life cycle of Callinectes sapidus, data tables, data analysis guides, and illustrations.