The activity lends itself to use in both the intermediate and senior classrooms. Biomagnification refers to the increased concentration of a toxic chemical the higher an animal is on the food chain. The best example of pesticide bioacumulation is ddt very well explained by rachel carson in her book the silent spring. Students will demonstrate the concept of bioaccumulation through a handson activity. Imagine a pond near a farmers field that is infested with harmful insects. This poses a threat to health, life, and the environment similar terms are bioconcentration, biological concentration, or biological magnification.
In this activity, students model bioaccumulation of toxins in marine animals. This investigation explores the concepts of bioaccumulation and biomagnification and the effects of pops present in an aquatic ecosystem. How they work and why theyre so dangerous fully editable, science reading activity disciplinary literacy for grades 57 ages 1012 as well as older students with lower developed learning levels. Websters bibliographic and eventbased timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They participate in a food web game where feeding decisions determine.
The importance of not eating fish from polluted waters. Assign students contaminants to research that have the potential to bioaccumulate in an ecosystem. Wind blows some of the pesticide onto the marsh plants. The arctic is a remote and pristine place, yet the concentration of toxins in the wildlife is very high. The aims center for math and science education located on the campus of fresno pacific university is dedicated to understanding the existing research on how children come to know their mathematical and scientific knowledge. A common way toxins enter an organism is through ingestion, or. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
Download this free sample activity and take your students outdoors for a closer look at trees and their parts energy in ecosystems. Students will model the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification in a food chain. Biomagnification lab todd shuskey 2012 cibt alumni workshop animals ecology high school. A few people may know that some fish contain mercury, they dont really understand why.
Teacher resources, childrens books, student activities. This resource is suitable for high school students as well as strong middleschool students. Nysdec region 1 freshwater fisheries i fish ny program. Fish bioaccumulation markers may be applied in order to elucidate the aquatic. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Invite students to read chapter 6 from the book our stolen future 1996 by theo colburn. If this substance harms the organism it is considered a toxin.
The remaining chapters of the book summarize the current scientific literature on the sources and distributions in the ocean of each of the contaminants of concern and their bioaccumulation and toxicity to marine organisms. Student should include 12 organisms and cover all four trophic levels. Bioaccumulation simple english wikipedia, the free. The fish tissue consumed by the osprey has an average dde concentration of 0.
A common way toxins enter an organism is through ingestion, or eating food that contains this substance. Ask students, how do the quantities of toxins in small organisms primary consumers. Students play the game without knowing the fish they are playing are consuming pollutants, before analysing the game to reveal their new knowledge on bioaccumulation and plastic pollution. Following in the footsteps of the synesthesia activity book, 2016s breakout adult coloring book, feauxafield guides is back with an exciting new activity book for gis junkies, the cartographers coloring book. In this ecology instructional activity, students work in groups in order to make connection between humans, actions, and the effects on the environment. Check out these sample project learning tree activities. Biomagnification lab todd shuskey cornell institute for. Biomagnification activity this pesticide education demonstration introduces biomagnification when organisms accumulate chemical residues from organisms they eat in the food chain. Bioaccumulation definition and meaning collins english. Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of a toxic chemical in the tissue of a particular organism. Students can see how the contamination levels increase as the trophic level increases. Biomagnification refers to the increased concentration of a toxic. How can pollutants affect food chains and ecosystems.
Teacher reads the class a book about food chains appropriate to that age level. Students will learn how fish become contaminated through biomagnification. The city of san diego transportation and stormwater department 9370 chesapeake drive san diego, california 92123 submitted by. Mercury high school activities kendallville, indiana. Curriculum 912 biomagnification monterey bay aquarium. Ddt homework patuxent wildlife research center usgs. Aquatic food web bioaccumulation study of san diego bay final report submitted to. Bioaccumulation of toxins student handout answers background. In part 1, students will take a selfgraded, preactivity test that will help teachers to determine students prior knowledge of these topics. The process where chemicals accumulate in organisms in increasingly higher concentrations at successive trophic levels is called biomagnification. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on bioaccumulation, including when used in literature e. Effects of bioaccumulation on ecosystems textbook pages 92103 before you read everyday activities, such as driving or heating your home, often pollute ecosystems. Bioaccumulation is a process in which toxic substances such as pesticides accumulate in living organisms. This bioaccumulation and biomagnification presentation is suitable for 9th 12th grade.
You have studied and modeled bioaccumulation of toxins in organisms. Not everyone needs to contribute to make this work. Cards will assign each student a role during this exercise. Bioaccumulation is the absorption and accumulation of toxic chemicals in living organisms. Each student gets 1 paper cup with 40 paperclips, 4 of which must be colourful and the rest plain metal. In my efforts to create engaging lessons that address all types of learning styles, i created a modified version of an activity that can be used to demonstrate the process of bioaccumulation in food chains. This activity helps students differentiate between bioaccumulation in individuals and biomagnification at the trophic level. Pdf fish bioaccumulation and biomarkers in environmental risk. As an example, ddt bioaccumulates in the fatty tissue of animals, resulting in. Create the play area in the classroom as lake winnipeg. Instruct each group to get a poster board and a set of markers. Ecology scholars consider the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the environment.
Prepares students to graph the osprey and bald eagle data. The present book is an introduction to risk assessment of the. Choose from 500 different sets of science effects bioaccumulation flashcards on quizlet. Explain to your students that they are going to create bioaccumulation awareness posters. Use the wrapup questions to evaluate the student knowledge gained in this activity. Make an animal identification card for each student. I will provide the cups and utensils, but i need students to signup on the sheet below to bring the other items. One way to reduce mercury pollution from coal burning electrical plants is to use less electricity. Assess students based on their performance in the activity. The bioaccumulation of endocrine disruptors, persistent organic chemicals and other compounds of high environmental impact has become of. How they work and why theyre so dangerous a grade 8 and up science reading article. You will eat through your soil as you listen to the lecture. Find bioaccumulation lesson plans and teaching resources.
In your opinion, which human activity is the most harmful to the environment. Odeethylase erod activity responses in liver of dab limanda. Tackle literacy and science by having your students read and answer questions from. Examples include ddt and other pesticides, heavy metals, and natural toxins. Your chance to have a onetoone lesson with bestselling language expert. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification science reading. Learn science effects bioaccumulation with free interactive flashcards. Assign each student to be predator or prey and give them the corresponding organism card to wear around their necks. Demonstrate how polluted waters affect the food chain.
An increase in concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain. Teacher reads the class a book about food chains appropriate to. Product description bioaccumulation and biomagnification. In 1962, rachel carson published the book silent spring, in which she. Students will understand that organisms in an ecosystem are.
Fluorescent light bulbs use much less energy than incandescent light. Students will participate in an activity to learn how aquatic organisms and humans play a role in the aquatic food web as consumers. Bioaccumulation thereby comprises the more specific processes of. If your class contains 28 students, make one index card labeled seal, three index cards labeled large fish, nine index cards labeled small fish, and 15 index cards labeled krill. Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of a substance in an organism. It shows how toxins move through a marine food web. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification presentation for 9th. Students relate the unique properties of mercury to its historical uses and offer. Tackle literacy and science by having your students read and. Lesson 2 activity food webs and bioaccumulation 4 a suppose an osprey eats 300 g of fish per day. Bioaccumulation describes the accumulation and enrichment of contaminants in organisms, relative to that in the environment. Teaching resources, childrens and teacher books, lesson plans, book lists, classroom resources, educational products from scholastic for prek to 12 teachers. Bioaccumulation is the net result of all uptake and loss processes, such as respiratory and dietary uptake, and loss by egestion, passive diffusion, metabolism, transfer to offspring and growth figure 1.
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