Product Detail: NSTA Press Book

Description

Human activity has introduced species to ecosystems around the globe. Some species are benign or even beneficial; others, like zebra mussels, fire ants, and water hyacinths, are causing native species extinctions and damage to human systems. Can we balance human systems with natural processes? Seven activities—using pillbugs, the school grounds, species dispersal maps, and introductory genetics—provide students with the skills they need to address this important global question.

Introduced Species is one of four books in NSTA Press's Global Environmental Change series, a joint project of NSTA Press and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The other books in the series are Deforestation, Biodiversity, and Carrying Capacity.

Ideas For Use

A key feature of this book is the introduced species journal students maintain. Keeping journals enables students to organize their information as they gather it, to combine information within peer groups, and to integrate all the information gathered by the entire class toward successful participation in the culminating activity, Balancing Systems with Natural Processes.

Additional Info

Contents

Introduction: Using this Book, the Case Study

Activity 1
Defining Native, Introduced, and Invasive Species

Activity 2
Introduced Species Dispersal

Activity 3
Competing

Activity 4
Hybridization

Activity 5
Rapid Evolution and the House Sparrow

Activity 6
Environmental Change and Controlling Impacts

Activity 7
Balancing Human Systems with Natural Processes

Resources: Books, Articles, Government Agencies, Organizations, and Websites