ANALYSIS OF SELECTED AQUATIC BIOMES

RANDOLPH SCOTT
email:  SCOTTYFLY@AOL.COM

KEY WORDS

MACROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS/ GATHERING TECNIQUES
MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS/ GATHERING TECHNIQUES
FOOD CHAINS
FRESH WATER BIOME
MARINE BIOME
ECOSYSTEM
POLLUTION
BIOMASS
PRODUCERS
CONSUMERS

SUMMARIZATION

IN THIS EXERCISE STUDENTS WILL FORMULATE HYPOTHESES, AND UTILIZE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:

A. CORRECT USE OF THE LIGHT MICROSCOPE
B. PREPARATION OF WET MOUNT SLIDES
C. SEINING FOR SPECIMEN COLLECTION
D. POND COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS
E. RECOGNITION OF FOOD CHAIN AND FOOD WEB ELEMENTS

THE DATA AND SPECIMENS GATHERED WILL ENABLE THE STUDENTS TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST DIFFERENT TYPES OF AQUATIC BIOMES.  ALSO, PART OF THIS EXERCISE WILL ASK THE STUDENT TO DESIGN PROBABLE  FOOD CHAINS OR FOOD WEBS, BASED ON THEIR OBSERVATIONS. THE TIME LINE ON THIS EXERCISE CAN BE ONE OR SEVERAL LAB PERIODS. FOR EXTENDED OBSERVATIONS SPECIMENS CAN BE MAINTAINED IN TANKS WITH PUMPS AND/OR FILTERS. WITH THE TANK ARRANGEMENT, OBSERVATIONS CAN BE MADE ON AN ONGOING BASIS.

RESOURCES

BIOLOGY/ MILLER & LEVINE/ PRENTICE HALL

TEACHER'S DESK REFERENCE/ PRENTICE HALL

NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS/ NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL/ NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS

THE HOOK BOOK/ JOHN A. TIEDEMANN/ NEW JERSEY MARINE SCIENCES CONSORTIUM

STANDARDS

CONTENT STANDARD A:
AS A RESULT OF ACTIVITIES IN GRADES 9-12, ALL STUDENTS SHOULD DEVELOP ABILITIES NECESSARY TO DO SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY, AND UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY.

CONTENT STANDARD: K-12
AS A RESULT OF ACTIVITIES IN GRADES K-12, ALL STUDENTS SHOULD DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING AND ABILITIES ALIGNED WITH THE FOLLOWING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES:
A. SYSTEMS, ORDER, AND ORGANIZATION
B. EVIDENCE, MODELS, AND EXPLANATION
C. FORM AND FUNCTION
 
 

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