This video describes the decline of moose populations in northern Minnesota, details the ecological reasons behind this problem (including shifting populations of parasites and predators), and highlights the effects on the native Anishinaabe (or Ojibwe) people.
Wildlife biologists share their research results linking the moose decline to climate change and interviews with Anishinaabe or Ojibwe individuals reveal their cultural connection to (and reverence for) the moose.
Teaching Tips
Positives
Scientific research with multiple lines of evidence are clearly provided to describe the declining moose populations in Minnesota.
Indigenous voices are highlighted throughout the video, describing the impact that climate change has on their historic way life.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with predator-prey relationships.
Students should be able to describe cause and effect relationships in ecological problems.
There may be a commercial before and during the video.
Differentiation
Consider having students create a concept map that highlights the problem of declining moose populations and the various causes of this decline that are all a result of climate change.
Have students choose to research another animal that is affected by climate change and explain the ecological reasons for the decline.
Other resources about the effects of climate change include this article and this StC lesson plan.
Scientist Notes
This resource is a 10-minute video presenting the historic dependence of the Anishinaabe or Ojibwe indigenous communities in Minnesota on moose populations, which are currently experiencing a startling population decline. This resource presents compelling evidence that points to changes due to increasing temperatures, rather than overhunting, as the cause of moose population decline. This is a very well-produced resource and is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.6.6-8 Explain how the physical and human characteristics of places and regions are connected to human identities and cultures.
