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Coral Reefs and Global Warming

Provided by: BioInteractive|Published on: April 19, 2021

Lesson Plans

9101112

Synopsis

In this activity, students will learn how warming temperatures affect corals and graph the temperature data from a specific coral reef site to assess the risk of coral bleaching in the area.

Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: BioInteractive

Region: Global

Languages: English, Spanish

Prerequisites:

Ensure students know how to use spreadsheet programs to graph the data.
Consider walking students through the activity if they are unfamiliar with how to make predictions based on scientific modeling.

Extensions:

After completing the activity, students compare the results from their location to students' results from other locations to determine whether some regions of the world are more affected by warming ocean temperatures than others.

Interdisciplinary Connections:

Geography:
- Learn more about the locations to see how damage to the coral reefs in the regions might impact tourism or other industries.

Related Resources:

Other resources on this topic include this National Park Service video on how coral health is connected to fish populations, this interactive NASA resource that provides data on ocean heat, and this lesson and experiment on ocean acidification.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format