1997 WWLPT Biology Institute:  Life Cycles:  Reproduction & Embryological Development

 

	by  Joseph Mancuso Jr.

 

Rationale/Abstract  to top

• The rationale for this activity is simple.  Coral reefs are unrivaled in their pure natural beauty and remain an inspiration from their first discoverers to those fortunate enough to experience them today.  These reefs are home to 25 % of the worlds marine life, many of which likely possess commercially important medicinal properties.  Human impact is currently destroying reef communities across the world at an unprecedented rate.  Left unchecked, half of the worlds reefs may be destroyed in as soon as 25 years.  Educating citizens and including them in the practice of sustainable coral reef management is crucial in order to preserve these habitats rich in pharmacological possibilities, economic importance, and awe inspiring beauty.
• The collection and laboratory study  of coral remains quite complex, and in many cases is legally regulated.  It therefore becomes necessary for teachers to provide other relevant opportunities for their students to study coral reefs and their management.
•  This module is a role playing simulation of a village meeting on the imaginary island of "Taga" in the South Pacific.  Taga is a small beautiful volcanic island surrounded various coral reefs, but its people have been recently colonized by a major western country. As a result, recent population growth, increased tourism, development, and a dilution of cultural traditions and values has seriously threatened the future of the reefs.  The students are to play various characters who must review proposed legislation dealing with reef management.  In order to make informed decisions and defend their ideas, they must perform guided research on the factors which interrupt the life cycle of corals. The students must also have an awareness of island culture. Their goal is to consensus on the best possible course(s) of action.

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C)  Given this limited exposure to coral reefs and Pacific culture, the student will appreciate the need for reef management, the relationship between reefs and culture, and the political factors which affect coral reefs.

This module is designed to be congruent with the following National Science Education Standards:

Content Standards A, C, E and F.
Teaching Standard D.
Assessment Standard C.
Program Standards B and E.
 

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• Biology or Social Studies students.  (Biology, Life Science, General/Integrated Science, U.S. Government and Politics, Economics...)
• Grade Level:  The activity can be modified for use with middle or high school students.

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Notes to the Teacher: to top
 
Be aware that this type of class activity can be very rewarding if you are careful to prepare, manage, and reinforce the module well.  The personality of some classes, students, teachers, and time of year may also have a strong impact on the lesson's effectiveness.  It is recommended that the students be grouped to include several of them in each character role.  The students should also be given adequate time to perform guided research in basic coral biology/ecology as well as South Pacific island culture.  It is crucial that the students be given the time and guidance to develop their character.

As with many non-traditional teaching strategies, role playing may often seem to be unjustifiable time consumption in comparison to lecture.  However, role playing involves each student much more directly and can promote much higher retention of content material.  As such, the student's performance in the village meeting part of this module can be used in place of such traditional evaluation methods as the written test.

This scenario and its characters are fictional.  Any resemblance to certain places or people (alive or dead) is entirely coincidence.

If you choose to print this web page, you will need to file/save/edit it first and change the font color to black.  Otherwise, the text may not print correctly.

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No materials are needed, but internet access as well as other references dealing with coral biology/ecology, legislative process, and pacific cultures would be very useful for a thorough  and meaningful activity.

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Note: The following "background" is both the prerequisite knowledge the instructor needs to conduct the lesson, and part one of the module where the students must aquire the content necessary to conduct the role playing. 

Introduction:
The most crucial idea to develop in this module is the interruption of the life cycle.  This is best achieved using inquiry.  Try this by posing the following question to your class:

Take a vote.  Convince the doubters to accept that it is safe by redescribing the design of the adult coral experiment to satisfy each students challenges. Take a vote again.  When you have convinced as many students as possible that the toxin is not harmful, tell them it is deadly.  Have them ask "yes or no" questions until they discover the hypothesis that it involves a more vulnerable life stage than the adult (such as the larvae).  From here, introduce the generalized life cycle of a coral to the class and the lesson has begun!

The extent to which you directly provide the information on corals, their life cycles, and the impact of human activities is flexible.  A more motivated class with a solid background should require little teacher mediated information. Eventually the students should engage in guided research to familiarize themselves with the central issue you will next task them with.
 
Key concepts to guide students through in their research:

1.   The life cycle of a coral.  (adult, gametes, larvae, settlement, juvenile, adult)
2.   The effects of toxins and sedimentation on the ability of larvae to settle and metamorphose.
3.   The effects of toxins, sedimentation and eutrophication on adult corals.
4.   The effects of stress on the production of healthy gametes/larvae.
5.   The importance of coral reefs to local cultures.
6.   The aesthetic value of coral reefs.
7.   The importance of consensus in sustainable management (practices which are designed to be realistic in cost, labor and attitude building over the long term and involves all stake holders).

With the background now in place, the lesson may continue to the role playing scenario...
 

 
Coral Reefs
http://www.edf.org/pubs/FactSheets/f_REEFFact.html

Fact Sheet:  Coral Reefs
http://panda.org/research/facts/fct_coral.htm

Coral Reefs: the Last Two Million Years
http://geogweb.berkeley.edu/courses/geog_149/lasttwomillion.html

A Guide To Protecting Coral Reefs
http://www.edf.org/pubs/Reports/protectcr.html
 

The Life and Death of Coral Reefs
1997, International Thompson Publishing, Florence, Ky.  Editor: Charles Birkeland.
ISBN:   0-412-03541-3

Collaborative and Community-Based Management of Coral Reefs: lessons from experience
1994, Kumarian Press, Inc.  Connecticut  ISBN:  1-565-49-032-0

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The Honorable Catherine Chile,  Senator and Speaker of the Legislature.
        Cathy is a local woman who commands respect from her constituents by being very diplomatic and fair.  She often sees both sides of an issue easily and is usually able to bring about agreement.  She is particularly good at identifying key points in debate.  She is often torn between the economic development that brings in revenue for the government, and the long term effects it may have on her peoples culture.  She often is accompanied by her advisors.

Dr.  Dale Coralhead,  Ph.D.
        Dr. Coralhead has been engaged in active research in the reproductive biology of corals.  He moved to Taga 20 years ago from a prestigious urban university to enjoy the beauty of  the reefs and contribute to their preservation.  He is very soft spoken and kind.  He is often supported by his students and colleagues in matters such as this.

Ms. Kazu Nakatomi, President and CEO of Build and Run development corporation.
        Ms. Nakatomi is an exceptional business woman who has gained her employees and competitors respect by doubling the company's size over the past few years.  In recent months she has committed a significant amount of the companies money to preparing for big development contracts on Taga.  She employs a sizable amount of local workers and is a member of the Taga Tourism Bureau.  She rarely attends meetings without an attaché of assistants.

Mr. Todd Tanatongo, Taga resident,  traditional fisherman, and leader of the Taga Indigenous Rights Movement.
        Todd is a deep feeling man.  He has a large family who live in the traditional ways of the ancient Taga.  He is one the few men left who still know the ancient ways of celestial navigation, outrigger construction, net fishing, and story telling.  His family, as well as the TIRM have a strong belief in the spirituality of nature, and believe that this deep seated and ancient belief is being desecrated by the recent trend in development.  His family and TIRM followers are outspoken and persuasive but often compromise their influence with lack of diplomacy.

Mrs. Agnes TanoTano, matriarch of a wealthy and politically influential local family, who owns many acres of coastal property.
        Agnes and her family are of the "upper class" of Taga who are not strong in number but often get heir way through financial power.  She feels more duty toward her family's future, that to that of Taga.  She is also well schooled and holds a law degree from a well respected university.  She
 

Bill 1 -  To limit clearing and grading of land to the dry season (7-8 months per year).

Bill 2 -  To assess substantial fines for the use of most common and inexpensive insecticides and fertilizers often used on golf courses.

Bill 3 -  To place a moratorium on all commercial construction on the pristine and undeveloped lands of Southern Taga.

Bill 4 -  To place a moratorium on the construction of all golf courses on Taga.

Bill 5 -  To designate, as preserves, areas equal to approximately half of the total coral reef area on Taga.
 

 
After the deliberations are complete and each party has been given ample opportunity to develop their arguments, the class is to meet as a legislature and vote to pass the bills into law.  The Honorable Catherine Chile, Speaker of the Legislature will preside.  (Taga's legislature is unicameral, having only a senate).

Content:    

• Coral biology/ ecology
• Pacific culture

Process:  

• Appropriately defending the interests of their character.
• Attempting to democratically work as a team member to reach consensus.

Note: This module is designed to be congruent with National Science Education Standard C.
 

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Biology/Ecology concepts to connect with:

• Community structure
• Larvae/embryologic development
• Invertebrates
• Environmental toxins
• Cell biology (chemical communication)
• Symbiosis (mutualism) ...with Zooxanthelle spp.
• Photosynthesis/carbon cycle/primary productivity
• Dispersal/reproduction
• Hydrologic cycle

 Cross-Curricular Connections:

• Pacific island culture
• Philosophy: the dynamic interaction of science and culture.
• The process of a bill becoming law

International Coral Reef Initiative
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/icri/icri95.html

Coral Health-Related Literature Abstracts
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/bib/subjects.html

The State of the Reefs - ICRI's Major Concern
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/ICRI/state.html
 

Some links:

Australian Institute of Marine Science
http://www.aims.gov.au/

Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University
http://www-marine.stanford.edu/

Marine Science Center: Northeastern University
http://www.dac.neu.edu/units/ArtsSci/MSC/MSCHomePage.HTML

University of Guam Marine Laboratory
http://uog2.uog.edu/marinelab/marinelab.html

University of Hawai'i' at Hilo's Kalakaua Marine Education Center
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kmec/

University of Southern Florida - Marine Science
http://ompl.marine.usf.edu/

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University of Guam Marine Laboratory

University of Guam Water and Energy Resources Institute of the Western Pacific (WERI)

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