Sequence | Background | Objectives | Materials | Activity | Extensions | Evaluations

TOPIC-TITLE Marine & Aquatic Pollution - Are We Just Fouling Ourselves? AUTHOR Eva Cruz GRADE SUITABILITY Middle School SCOPE Life Sciences Earth Science

Sequence The primary objective of this activity is to focus on the types of pollution derived from the three major types of land use and their effects on aquatic organisms. This activity should follow a unit on land use and pollution and how pollutants travel through a watershed affecting various members of the food chain. < < go top

Background Summary A watershed is defined as the entire land area that contributes surface runoff to a given drainage system (Slattery, 1995). Various types of land use, including agriculture and industry, contribute pollutants through runoff that eventually may travel through an entire watershed. As a pollutant travels through a watershed, it may come into contact with many organisms in a food chain. A food chain is a relationship in which one organism serves as food for another organism. The first stage of a food chain is referred to as the producer -- the plants. Producers are eaten by primary consumers; primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers; this food web continues to the apex predators, which represent the top of the food chain. If one stage of the food chain is contaminated, the next stage will often consume large quantities of the organism, in turn becoming contaminated. This is known as bioaccumulation, in which an increase in the concentrations of a chemical (or toxin) takes place as one moves up the food chain (Greene, 1998). < < go top Objectives Students will be able to do the following: Identify three major uses of land and pollutants derived from these land based activities. Explain the ways pollutants move through the food chain and become more concentrated in some members of the food chain. < < go top Materials Pen/pencil Maps Poster board Crayons/markers Paper Scissors < < go top Activity Divide students into cooperative learning groups of five or six. Provide each group with sufficient time to research the land uses of a certain area adjacent to a local watershed. Each group will then construct a map of the watershed and surrounding area, identifying and marking the types of land use in that area (a cow will represent agriculture, a smokestack will represent industry, and a tree will represent forest). Student groups will then research the types of pollutants typically associated with the land use in their watershed. Groups will also research the effects of these pollutants on the organisms indigenous to their watershed. Each student will construct a food chain from the organisms found in their watershed and report on ways he/she believes the pollutants found in their area will affect this food chain. Students will present their food chains and reports to the class. < < go top Possible Extension Draw a fish native to a local watershed. Provide information including size, coloration, predators and prey, and discuss the fish's position in the food chain. Draw a poster illustrating aquatic life found in the local watershed and write a slogan/ environmental message. < < go top Teacher Evaluation Evaluate students on their ability to work in cooperative learning groups, to develop food chain models, and to make class presentations. < < go top