Issues in Ecology
This section presents a few issues in ecology; many are authentic cases to which your students should be able to relate after studying
concepts in ecology. Investigation of one or more of the issues can serve as a formal, summative assessment, depending on how you frame it.
Parks are becoming crowded remnants of primitive America, threatened by invasions of nonnative
species, pollution, and incompatible uses of resources in and around parks. Read more about some of the critical issues
facing our parks system and what the National Park Service is doing to address them. MSP full record
In two paragraphs, this resource introduces readers to the concept of invasive species. Purple
loosestrife is given as an example of one of the many invasive species that is not indigenous to North America. The
resource reveals the proportion of nonnative species that have turned out to be invasive in North America. The magnitude
of ecological and monetary damage caused by invasive species is also mentioned. Links are given to web sites with more
information about invasive species. MSP full record
In this lesson, students create an advertising campaign to raise awareness about the importance of keeping trash
out of the marine ecosystem. Students work in teams to create different campaigns geared toward particular target
audiences and produce posters. We suggest modifying the assessment to include applying knowledge of ecosystems and
population ecology and demonstrating proficiency with some specified concepts of your choice. Links to additional
information and resources are also provided. MSP full record
This integrated lesson is an authentic exercise revolving around a real case study, enabling students to analyze
and interpret mapped information regarding the effects of urban sprawl. The lesson includes two activities based on urban
sprawl and Maryland’s Smart Growth map. One of the assessment questions requires students to connect the social studies
concept of urban sprawl to concepts of ecology. You might consider adding an assessment question asking students to
analyze and evaluate their own city's growth patterns and comment on these patterns' relationship to the ecosystem.
MSP full record
This is a video clip of a student asking an expert the title question. The partial answer provided
is: Massive financial gain is one of the reasons why there's a great amount of destruction of rain forests in South
America. The speaker also mentions the poor nutrient content of rain forest soil, which is counterintuitive to students
who have seen pictures of the lushness of the rain forests. You might ask: How can such nutrient-poor soil support
such lush forests? This hook followed by the next activity can make an effective ecology assessment activity.
MSP full record
This page is a nicely organized reference with headings such as: The Wealth of the Rainforests; The
Biodiversity of the Rainforest; Logging for Tropical Hardwoods; Fuel Wood and the Paper Industry; Subsistence Farming;
Bioprospecting; and Indigenous People, A Valuable Resource. You could develop a webquest around it, or assign jigsaw
groups of students to different topics with the goal of learning enough about the topic to teach other students.
In doing so, students demonstrate mastery of ecological concepts in a real-world application. MSP full record
![[back to top]](/images/epubs/arrow_up.gif)
Back to top
|
Copyright
September 2007 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work
supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the National Science Foundation.
|
|
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
|
|