Do I Belong Here

 Topic(s): Non-Indigenous Species

Jolted by an electric current, Asian carp jump out of the water near Havana, Illionis 

Images/Video Resources

Asian Carp Jolted by an Electric Current

Electric Barrier: Fighting Against the Asian Carp Invasion

Asian Carp Facts

A quick moving information series on invasive species and what you can do to help protect you favorite waters. This is episode 3 covering the destruction of fisheries by Asian carp.

A short documentary that describes the threat posed by the Big Head Carp to the Illinois River and the Great Lakes watershed. The Army Corps of Engineers erects an electric barrier to prevent the carp entering the Great Lakes.

Millions of Asian carp are wreaking havoc in the Mississippi River. They were originally imported by fish farmers, who used them to eat algae in their fish ponds. But some of the fish managed to escape into the Mississippi, where they reproduced rapidly.The Asian carp are taking over the river and disrupting the balance of the species there.

Scenario

Plants and animals sometimes disperse naturally into new habitats , either by natural migrations or via floods, storms, and other events. Species also can be transported by humans, either deliberately or accidentally. When species are introduced into areas outside their natural ranges, they become known as nonindigenous (i.e., not originating from that geographic area), alien, or exotic.

Once introduced, exotic or nonindigenous species are separated from the predators, parasites , and diseases that kept them in balance in their native environments. With such controls lost or diminished, the species often become pests, some to the extent that they injure ecosystems and cause economic damage. In addition, some species have adaptations that allow them to overtake and possibly displace resident species. Exotic species that cause these negative impacts can be described as nuisance, injurious, or invasive, depending on the general degree of harm. 

The Environment Report has been covering the introduction of the Asian Carp species since January of 2000, when catfish farms in the south were importing them to control pests. The fish have since spread throughout the Mississippi River system. Millions of dollars of taxpayer money have been spent to try to keep these foreign species from swimming into the Great Lakes. Some scientists say their presence in the Great Lakes would be an "ecological disaster."

Due to the Asian Carp invasion in the Mississippi River and Great Lakes, The Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Council has hired your team to research the environmental impact the Asian Carp will have in Rio Grande River and Canals if they were to invade our waterways. Your research team will present findings to the RGV National Wildlife Council on prevention on keeping out the Asian Carp from our waterways, and the ecological disaster that may bring if there presence were to invade our waterways. 

Question to Consider:

What are the effects of introducing a non-native species into a local environment?

Other Non-native species to consider: Snake Head Fish, Birmois Python

Task

Sample Investigations/Teacher Resources

Your team was hired by the RGV National Wildlife Council to research the environmental impact Asian Carps will have in the Rio Grande River and waterways. Your research team will present the findings to the RGV National Wildlife Council and City Mayors on why the presence of Asian Carps in the RGV waterways will be an ecological disaster, and preventive ways to stop the invasion of Asian Carps. Your team is working towards a preventive solution in stopping the Asian Carp invasion from reaching our waterways, but the preventive solutions must also be environmental friendly.

Your team must consider:

• Students will be able to describe at least three problems 

that may be associated with invasive species.

• Students will be able to describe at least three invasive 

species, explain how they came to be invasive, and discuss 

what can be done about them.

Individually, each team member will create an analysis of the Asian carp scenario. Each team member will individually complete PBL steps 1-4. Each team member must share and discuss ideas, create questions to be answered within the team and conduct individual research to solve the scenario using the custom search engine and resources given.

Group, as a team you will create a problem statement, develop a plan to conduct research on your problem statement and collect research on your problem statement. Each team will consist of 4 members and each member must be assigned a responsibility.

Group Presentation, Each team will design a final plan of action addressing the Asian scenario that will be presented using any Web 2.0 tool listed under Student Work. The presentation will be presented to RGV National Wildlife Council and City Mayors.

Investigative Lesson Plan:

Nature’s Invaders: Exploring the Effects of Invasive Species on Local Ecosystems

In this lesson, students learn how an invasive species and a native species experiencing a population explosion may threaten some of the world’s oldest trees, bristlecone pines in the Western United States. They then explore invasive species in their own states and develop a multimedia exhibit meant to educate the public about the health of their local forests.

Alien Invasions

In this lesson, students create an educational pamphlet on the origins, spread and impact of invasive plant species in their community.

Alien Invasion!

• Students will be able to define, compare, and contrast invasive species, alien species, and native species. 

Rio Grande Valley Non-native Species

List of Non-Native Species in the RGV

5th Grade Science TEKS

Student Resources

Rubric

Scholastic Study Jams

View videos on Non-Indigenous Animals and Plants and their environmental impact

BrainPop

View videos on Non-Indigenous Animals and Plants and their environmental impact

UnitedStreaming

View videos on Non-Indigenous Animals and Plants and their environmental impact

EduSmart Science Program: Students may use the computer lab to access this science program to learn more about water conservation.

Websites:

Asian Carp Control

Invasive Animal Management

The Impact of Invasive Species

PDF:

Preventing the Introduction of Asian Carp

Activity Book:

Invader Rangers: Youth Against Invasive Plants 

Books to Consider:

Endorsed by master scientist E.O. Wilson, this book probes one of the world''s major (and most under-reported) conservation issues - the environmental and commercial impact of exotics, or non-native plant and animal species.'

Alien Invasion is the first book-length work to probe one of the world''s major (and most under-reported) conservation issues - the environmental and commercial impact of exotics, or non-native plant and animal species.

Team Rubric

Peer Feedback Rubic

Group Presentation Rubric

Student Work

Standards

1. Read and analyze the scenario and situation.
Check your understanding of the scenario. Don't be tempted to start thinking about potential solutions or to start looking for information. 

1. List your personal understanding, ideas or hunches.

 With your team use all the information available in the scenario to list everything that you know about impact of exotic non-native plant and animal species. You do not have to conduct any research yet. Just use the information given and write the facts that you already know about impact of exotic non-native plant and animal species.

With your team, make a list about what you do not know and would like to learn. List all the questions you will need to answer to solve the problem.  

4. List what needs to be done.
"What should we do?" List actions to be taken, e.g., question an expert, conduct research, go to a board meeting about topic. List possible actions. 

5. Develop a problem statement.

You will be responsible for thinking and choosing one of the questions to solve the problem.  A problem statement should come from your analysis of what you know. In one or two sentences, you should be able to describe what it is that your group is trying to solve, produce, respond to, or find out. The problem statement may have to be revised as new information is discovered and brought to bear on the situation.

Use all the resources available (Internet, library, etc) to research about the problem/topic and find a solution.

7. Present Findings

Your team is going to create a presentation on the ecological disaster Asian Carps will have in the RGV waterways, and preventive solutions to the Asian Carp invasion by utilizing any Web 2.0 Tools: Prezi, Wordle, Vimeo, Animoto,Glogster, VoiceThread, Spicy Nodes, and other tools.

Requirements:

The presentation should include 2 of the following images, video, graphs, maps. 

Students will use Group Presentation Rubric

(5.2)  Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific methods during laboratory and outdoor investigations. The student is expected to: 

(D)  analyze and interpret information to construct reasonable explanations from direct (observable) and indirect (inferred) evidence;

(5.9)  Organisms and environments. The student knows that there are relationships, systems, and cycles within environments. The student is expected to:

(C)  predict the effects of changes in ecosystems caused by living organisms, including humans, such as the overpopulation of grazers or the building of highways; and

Do I Belong Here by Santos Alvarado is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.