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Author

American Museum of Natural History

Grades

9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, AP® / College

Subjects

Science, Social Studies, Biology

Resource Types

  • Articles and Websites
  • Scientific Papers or Reports

Regional Focus

Global, Asia

Studies of Endangered Species Stress Transboundary Conservation

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Synopsis
  • This article describes recent scientific research and discusses the need for bordering nations to work together to protect biodiversity, especially as endangered species' ranges shift and become fragmented due to climate change.
  • Examples of situations where this would be necessary are presented in different journal articles (linked in the article), such as the protection of endangered monkey and tree species along the China-Vietnam border.
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • The article presents a short summary of the research related to transboundary conservation of endangered species, while also linking to the full scientific journal with eight available articles on the topic.
  • It highlights the importance of cooperation between nations.
  • Charismatic animal and plant species are highlighted in many of the scientific journal articles.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Learners that read the journal articles should be familiar with the structure of a scientific journal article and how scientific research is presented in a peer-reviewed fashion.
  • Learners should understand some of the basic threats that climate change poses to habitats and other species.

Differentiation

  • Consider having students choose one of the highlighted endangered species to research on their own before tackling any of the scientific journal articles related to the conservation issues they face.
  • When reading any scientific journal article at the high school level, major reading scaffolds are often necessary to help make the high level text more accessible.
  • Scaffolds that may be helpful when reading journal articles include chunking, think alouds, previewing vocabulary, and group analysis of graphs.
  • Have students research a local species that is endangered and discuss how its range may fragment or shift due to climate change.
  • If teachers choose to utilize the journal articles in addition to the short summary, there are excellent opportunities to build scientific literacy through maps, graphs, diagrams, and domain-specific language.
Scientist Notes
This resource is a special issue of the journal, "Frontiers of Biogeography" that features an analysis of conservation issues in southeast Asia, particularly along the China-Vietnam border. The issue is titled “Transboundary Conservation Under Climate Change” and includes one review and seven research articles. Each research article investigates a threatened plant or animal species with a focus on climate change impacts and national boundaries. Specifically of interest is the need for cooperation between nations to protect biodiversity. All of the articles are peer reviewed and feature excellent figures and tables. This journal issue is filled with articles that should be engaging for advanced students and is recommended for teaching.
Standards
  • Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
    • LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
      • HS-LS4-5 Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
      • HS-LS4-6 Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity.
  • Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
    • Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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