Aquatic Invasive Species Enrichment Activities
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Provided by: Michigan Department of Natural Resources|Published on: December 12, 2024
Activity - OutdoorsScientist Reviewed
3-12
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Synopsis
- This resource contains six activities to teach students about invasive and non-native species in Michigan's waterways.
- Students will simulate the life cycle of a salmon, learn about the impacts of sea lamprey on lake trout, role-play as stakeholders dealing with resource problems, research animal habitats, model the invasion of zebra mussels, and brainstorm solutions for keeping invasive carp from overtaking Michigan waters.
Subjects: Science, Biology
Authors: Michigan Department of Natural Resources, EGLE, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Great Lakes Restoration
Region: Michigan
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The use of movement in many of the activities is fun and engaging for students.
- The stakeholder conversation in Social Carrying Capacity will help students with perspective-taking and advanced discussions.
Prerequisites
- In The Great Swim activity, the link to the Chinook salmon lifecycle video is broken. The video can be found HERE. Please note that in this video, there are clips of fish being dissected. Additionally, the page for salmon in Lake Michigan no longer exists.
- For The Invisible Migration, the link to the Great Lakes Basin map is broken. A similar map can be found HERE.
- Many of the links citing sources or providing additional information are broken.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Language arts teachers can use the vocabulary list for The Great Swim to do word work.
- To contextualize the Social Carrying Capacity activity, teachers can invite community members who fit the description of the different stakeholders and have them weigh in as a panel on the issues students discussed.
- During It's Your Niche, students can practice persuasive tactics and demonstrate what they know about the habitats by creating advertisements for the habitats they learned about.
- Students can discuss the impact climate change may have on the prevalence of invasive species or how it also may alter existing ecosystems.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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