This video by the National Park Service educates students about the connections between coral health and the health of fish populations in an area.
The video discusses how coral bleaching and coral disease caused by human activities can affect fish assemblages.
It also highlights an internship available with the National Park Service that students may be interested in pursuing.
Teaching Tips
Positives
Students will learn about why it is important to protect coral reef habitats and how they can support those ecosystems.
The video highlights a student intern doing research with the NPS at Biscaye National Park.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with terms such as coral reef, coral bleaching, and climate change to understand what is being discussed in the video.
Differentiation
Other helpful resources related to this topic are this introductory video on coral reefs and this Beyond the Dead Zone activity, where students learn more about coral bleaching in South Florida waters.
Students can be grouped and asked to come up with solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change and human activities on coral reefs. They can create a final product for the public such as a video, pamphlet, or infographic.
Science classes could use this video when learning about the scientific method, gathering data, analyzing data, designing an experiment, marine ecosystems, water pollution, or biodiversity hotspots.
Scientist Notes
The video highlights the cascading effect of climate change impacts on coral reefs and health. It presents how increases in temperature can accelerate the loss of corals and biodiversity in mangrove coastlines. This is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
HS-ESS3-6 Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Speaking & Listening (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.2 Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
