Summary Life Science Module Grade Levels: 9-12  Grounded in inquiry-based learning  Use real-world examples  Promotes investigations of estuary monitoring data  Hands-on activities  Connections to field-based activities  Correlated to the National Science Education Standards and State Standards    Icon means: Printable Version (Requires Adobe Acrobat) Pilot Test the Life Science Module Please provide us with feedback on the activities and the functionality of this estuaries.gov website by completing this on-line Feedback Form. Contact Us if you have any problems accessing any of these materials.

• Activity 1: Survival in an Estuary 
• Activity 2: Nutrients in an Estuary 
• Activity 3: Biodiversity in an Estuary

Plus...

• Final Life Science Module Assessment

Activity 1: Survival in an Estuary

In this activity, students investigate the range of conditions that selected animal and plant species need to survive in an estuary. They examine data for abiotic factors that affect life in estuaries—salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH. Students use archived data (trend analysis graphs) and real-time conditions at Elkhorn Slough to predict whether a particular animal or plant species could survive in an estuary.

This activity has 4 parts:

1. The Estuarine Environment
2. Surviving Changes: Abiotic Factors that Affect Life
3. Surviving in an Estuary: Extreme Conditions
4. Optional: Investigating Other NERRS Sites

Activity 2: Nutrients in an Estuary

In this activity, students model estuaries, artificially enriching both fresh and salt water samples with different amounts of nutrients and observing the growth of algae over a several weeks. They relate their results to the phenomenon of algae blooms in estuaries. They then analyze data for different sites in a NERRS Reserve in Florida to discover the relationships between nitrogen, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen. Finally, they study how nutrients cycle through an estuary and suggest recommendations for reducing nutrient inputs to estuary waters.

This activity has 3 parts:

1. Nutrients in an Estuary
2. Using Data to Study Eutrophication and Conditions in an Estuary
3. Eutrophication and the Nitrogen Cycle

Activity 3: Biodiversity in an Estuary

In this activity, students investigate the incredible biodiversity that exists in estuarine environments. They begin by exploring the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve using Google Earth. Students then produce an estuary biodiversity concept map and individual organism profile that becomes part of an estuary wildlife exhibit.

This activity has 3 parts:

1. Investigating Habitats in an Estuary
2. Biodiversity in an Estuary
3. Portrait of Life in an Estuary

Final Life Science Module Assessment

Supporting Materials

• Survival in an Estuary [PDF] [PowerPoint]