This curriculum unit will allow you to enrich my student’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them, which is filled with water. Academically, students will gain exposure to real-world scientific connections. They will engage in cutting edge work of the discipline and application for watershed science in our everyday lives. And finally, this unit will provide students with a deeper understanding of STEM careers and hopefully spark their interest in pursuing a degree in the sciences, related to watershed.
Students will learn about the role pollutants play in a watershed by examining the lobster die-off in the Long Island Sound.
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Student will become experts on the six major factors that scientists believe may have contributed to the lobster die-off including:
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bacterial infections that cause the breakdown of the exoskeleton
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a parasite that attacks the nervous system
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higher than normal water temperatures
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environmental effects of pesticide and insecticide use
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pollution
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changes in dissolved oxygen levels
After learning about the various potential causes of the lobster die-off student will develop their own explanation citing evidence in order to defend what they believe caused this.
This unit will allow students to investigate the 1999 die-off of lobsters in the Long Island Sound. Students will use a variety of texts to understand the changes in the Long Island ecosystems. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how systems are connected, particularly land and sea ecosystems, and the types of environmental influences that can influence the lobster population. This will allow our students to gain a deeper understanding about the environment around them, develop scientific inquiry skills, and enhance their problem-solving skills.