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Climate Change and Marine Life

Provided by: American Museum of Natural History |Published on: December 12, 2025

Videos

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Synopsis

This resource from the American Museum of Natural History is a series of video clips where marine biologist Leanne Melbourne answers questions about how climate change impacts the ocean.
Students will learn about ocean acidification, the importance of studying calcifying organisms, and how scientists study these organisms.

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Subjects: Biology

Authors: American Museum of Natural History, OLogy

Region: Global

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

These video clips are short, but make sure to answer the questions completely and provide appropriate context.
Students will love hearing from a real scientist, seeing the equipment she uses, and understanding more about what she researches.

Prerequisites

Teachers may want to preface this video with a definition of a marine biologist.
Though they are briefly defined in the video, teachers may want to show students examples of calcifying organisms.
Students should already understand climate change and some of its impacts on land.
The videos have a transcript available and captions on the screen.

Differentiation & Implementation

Teachers can play the first clip and use it as a hook for an activity where students will be testing the pH of different substances. Students can then run an experiment, like this one, to see how ocean acidification impacts organisms.
Teachers can provide students with guided notes for them to summarize the answers to the questions and keep track of new or unknown vocabulary.
This video may have inspired more related questions in students. Encourage students to record these questions or share them with the class.
Teachers can use these videos to show the connection between Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action, and SDG 14, Life Below Water.

Scientist Notes

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Resource Type and Format

About the Partner Provider

American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition.

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All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.