Lesson plans with state standards for VT CT MA NH for grades 3

Lesson Plans for the WoW Express, 2012 By staff at the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science Introduction (10 minutes): Gather all of the children into one group in front of the trailer with the map of the Connecticut River Watershed. Introduce yourself and the rest of the staff. Explain a little about the purpose of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Use the map to show the boundaries of the Watershed and ask the students to find the approximate location of their school on the map. Emphasize the fact that they live within the Conte Refuge and all of the concepts they will learn today relate directly to organisms and processes that occur near to their homes and schools. Give a brief overview of what a watershed is and explain that what we do on land can influence what happens in the rivers and oceans. Finally, briefly describe the four stations that they will be rotating between. Break the students into four groups and begin the rotation. Station #1: The River Table Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to river and watershed terminology, the ways in which rivers shape the earth’s surface, and management decisions that can be made to manage rivers more effectively. This lesson will focus on additional concepts based on related state science standards specified for each grade level. Additional topics may include the water cycle, natural resource management, and pollution. Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students will be able to: 1.
2.
3.
4.
Define various terms related to watersheds and river geomorphology. Describe how water can shape the earth’s surface. Make decisions to effectively manage rivers. Explain how pollution on land within the watershed can be carried into rivers, and ultimately the ocean. Duration: 20 Minutes Materials: •
•
•
Emriver Em2 geomodel river table, with a meandering river channel formed through the center Colored water in a squirt container Objects for students to place in the river table, such as plastic houses, vegetation, farm animals, tractors, plastic parking lot, etc. Instructional Procedures: 1)
Begin with the water turned off. Introduce the river table and how it works, pointing out the recirculating water system. If the water cycle is part of the state standards of the group you are talking to, ask the students to explain how water is brought back to the top of the river in nature. Briefly explain the concepts of condensation, precipitation and evaporation and how these terms apply to watersheds. 2) Point out some main river features, such as the headwaters and the mouth of the river. Explain a little about the river meanders and how they form, including the outside bends (cut banks) and inside bends (point bars). Describe how erosion and deposition of sediments occurs in river bends. 3) Turn on the water to demonstrate these concepts to the students. 4) Hand each student a laminated vocabulary word. One word at a time, explain what the word means and allow the student to place it in the appropriate location on the river table. 5) Once all the words have been placed, ask the students to observe the river and tell you how it has changed since the water was turned on. 6) Hand each student a plastic item, such as vegetation, farms, farm animals or houses. Ask students to make a management decision about where they think the best location is for their item. One at a time, allow students to place their items on the table and explain why they chose the location that they did. 7) If pollution or natural resource management is part of the state standards of the group you are talking to, discuss how pollution on land can flow into rivers, and ultimately the ocean. Squirt food coloring, representing fertilizer, on the farm fields to show the students that groundwater can carry the fertilizer to rivers. 8) Place a flat piece of plastic next to the river to represent an impermeable parking lot. Squirt food coloring, representing oil and gas released from cars, on the plastic and ask students to observe what happens. Did more color go into the river from the ground water or the impermeable parking lot? Why do they think this happened? (Discuss the role of groundwater in filtering pollutants out of water) 9) Ask the students to come up with ways in which these pollution sources can be limited (for example, paving parking lots with permeable pavement). Also, discuss ways in which the students can help limit their contribution to pollution in their everyday lives. 10) As a conclusion to the activity, ask the students to raise their hands and answer some questions regarding watersheds and rivers. You should include questions about river behavior, vocabulary, pollution, ways that they can help limit pollution and their location within the CT River Watershed. Assessment: In the Post-­‐Visit School Packet, teachers will be given a quick multiple-­‐choice quiz to implement during class time. The results of this quiz will be submitted to WoW Express personnel in order to evaluate student understanding. Connection to State Standards: Watershed and River Vocabulary: •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bank-­‐ The land alongside or sloping down to a river Channel-­‐ An area that contains flowing water confined by banks Condensation – physical change from the gas state to the liquid state Cut bank-­‐ an eroded, concave, often very steep bank formed at a bend of a river or stream by the flow of water around the bend Delta-­‐ sediment deposit where mouth of river meets ocean Evaporation – physical change from liquid state to gas state Flood plain – a strip of flat land bordering a stream or river that receives the overflow of flood waters Groundwater-­‐ water that collects in an aquifer or cracks in underground rocks below the Earth’s surface Headwaters-­‐ The place from which the water in a river or stream originates Meanders-­‐ A winding curve or bend of a river Mouth-­‐ The place where a river empties into another body of water Non-­‐point Source Pollution – comes from many different sources throughout the watershed area Point Bar-­‐ A low, curved ridge of sand and gravel along the inside bend of a meandering stream. Point bars form through the slow accumulation of sediment deposited by the stream when its velocity drops along the inner bank. Point Source Pollution – comes from known location and one person or group can be held responsible for its entry into the watershed Precipitation – water in the atmosphere falling to Earth, including rain, snow, sleet or hail Riparian Area-­‐ The vegetated areas at the interface between land and a river or stream Riverbed-­‐ A channel occupied, or formerly occupied, by a river River Erosion-­‐ The gradual removal of rock material from river banks and river beds. Runoff-­‐ water coming off the land into the rivers, streams and ponds. Often carries pollution and nutrients into the surface water Surface Water-­‐ water visible on the Earth’s surface (lakes, streams, oceans, etc.) Tributary-­‐ A river or stream that flows into another stream, river or lake Water Cycle-­‐ continual path of water through time Facts About the Connecticut River Watershed •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The CT River Watershed is 7.2 million acres, or about 11,000 square miles It was designated as one of just 14 American Heritage Rivers by President Clinton in 1998, due to its historic and cultural significance to the nation. The CT River provides 70% of the freshwater entering Long Island Sound annually It is New England’s longest river, 410 miles long, and runs through Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut Its source is Fourth Connectucut Lake, a tiny beaver pond 300 yards from the Canadian border, at an elevation of 2,670 feet. The river empties into Long Island Sound at Old Lyme, CT. The river’s depth varies from a few inches to 130 feet deep just below the French King Bridge in Gill, MA. The depth of the river is constantly changing as the river transports and rearranges its load of sediment. Several federally threatened and endangered species inhabit the Connecticut river, including the shortnose sturgeon, the piping plover, the puritan tiger beetle, and the dwarf wedgemussel. There are several waterfalls on the river, including Moose Falls, Beecher Falls, Fifteen Mile Falls (buried beneath Moore Reservoir), McIndoe Falls, Bellows Falls, Turner Falls, South Hadley Falls, and the Enfield Rapids. The first dam on the CT River is at Moose Falls in Pittsburg, NH, four miles from its source at the Canadian border. There are over a dozen dams on the river’s main stem and over a thousand dams on its tributaries. The first full main stem barrier was built at Turners Falls in 1798. The CT River forms the eastern border of Vermont and the western border of New Hampshire, but technically only flows in New Hampshire, which has legal claim to the riverbed all the way to the bank on the Vermont side. It is one of the few large, developed rivers in the US without a port city at its mouth. This is because the silt deposits at the mouth of the river create shallow, shifting shoals in Long Island Sound that are difficult to navigate in larger ships. The CT River is tidal and navigable as far inland as Hartford, sixty miles from Long Island Sound. The river was spanned by its first bridge at Walpole, NH to Bellows Falls, VT in1785. Thomas Cole’s 1836 painting “View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm” depicts a river loop, or oxbow, that still exists as a cut-­‐off meander at Northampton, MA. This painting hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In February 1840, the river flooded, cutting Cole’s famous oxbow out of the river’s main downstream course. The longest covered bridge in the United States is the Cornish-­‐Windsor Bridge which connects Cornish, NH and Windsor, VT. It was built in 1866. The watershed includes the highest (Mount Washington at 6,288 feet) and lowest (sea level) elevations in New England. There are 356 towns in the Watershed. The Watershed is home to more than 2 million people The river's name is the French corruption of the Algonquian word "quinetucket" and means long tidal river. The Water Quality Act of 1965 has had a major impact on controlling water pollution in the Connecticut River and its tributaries. Since then, the river has been restored from Class D to Class B (fishable and swimmable). Station #2: The Conte Case Purpose-­‐ The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate various behavioral and structural ways in which organisms have adapted to live successfully within the Connecticut River Watershed. This lesson will focus on additional concepts based on related state science standards specified for each grade level. Additional topics may include biological classification, variations between individuals of the same species, survival of the fittest, and the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students will be able to: 1.
2.
3.
4.
Name some of the organisms that live within the Connecticut River Watershed. Describe some of the ways in which these organisms have adapted to live successfully within the Connecticut River Watershed. Explain the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Identify some of the characteristics that biologists use to classify organisms into groups. Duration: 20 Minutes Materials: •
•
Folding table Various artifacts from organisms that live within the Connecticut River Watershed, including: ! Moose skull/antler ! Deer antler ! Various bird nests ! Bobcat pelt ! Turkey feather ! Painted turtle shell ! Skulls of various organisms Instructional Procedures: 1. Make it clear to the students that all of the items in the Conte Case are artifacts from organisms that live within the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, and that the students live within the Refuge as well. 2. Ask students to define the word “adaptation”. Discuss their answers and use leading questions until an accurate definition is agreed upon. 3. Ask the students to describe physical conditions of the habitats that can be found within the Connecticut River Watershed. For example: Is the Connecticut River Watershed a cold or a hot place to live? Is it wet or dry? Are there trees in every habitat in the Watershed, or just in some places? Ask the kids to come up with ways that organisms might adapt to these conditions. 4. Begin discussing the items in the Conte Case, stressing ways in which the organisms have adapted to live within the Connecticut River Watershed. For example, moose go into lakes, rivers and wetlands in the summer to feed on aquatic plants. However, in the winter they eat shrubs or pinecones, or scrape snow with their hooves to clear areas for browsing on mosses and lichens. In this way, moose have adapted to obtain food in the various climates experienced within the Connecticut River Watershed. 5. Ask the students where birds build nests within the Watershed and what materials they use. After some suggestions have been made, ask them what they think would happen if all of the birds in the watershed built their nests in the same place and out of the same material. For example, what would happen if all of the birds built their nests on low maple tree branches using grass? Use leading questions until the students conclude that the birds would kill all of the grass and would run out of room for nests. 6. Explain to the students that, fortunately, birds have adapted to make nests in many different places and out of many different materials. Use the nests in the Conte Case to show some examples. 7. Display three skulls that still have teeth attached to them, including an example of an herbivore, a carnivore and an omnivore. Discuss the difference between these three methods of consumption and discuss the ways in which the example organisms have adapted to eat different foods, especially in the shapes of their teeth. Ask the students to figure out if humans are herbivores, carnivores or omnivores. Have the students vote for their choice with a show of hands. 8. Above are just a few examples of how the Conte Case can be used to meet state science standards. You may add additional concepts to the lesson and tailor the discussion according to the science standards of the state you are in. 9. As a conclusion to the activity, ask the students to raise their hands and answer some review questions regarding the organisms in the Conte Case. You should include questions about how these organisms have adapted to live within the Connecticut River Watershed. Assessment: In the Post-­‐Visit School Packet, teachers will be given a quick multiple-­‐choice quiz to implement during class time. The results of this quiz will be submitted to WoW Express personnel in order to evaluate student understanding. Connection to State Standards: Fun Facts for Presenting the Conte Case: Moose (Alces alces): • Largest member of the deer family Cervidae. • They are herbivores that spend most of their time foraging for plants such as nuts, leaves, bark, stems or berries. • Males are called bulls, females are called cows and babies are called calves. • Their front legs are longer than their back legs. • Moose have a strong sense of hearing and smell, but poor eyesight. • A moose can move each eye independently, allowing it to see in two directions at once. • A moose can move each ear independently, giving it extremely sensitive hearing and the ability to determine sound direction. • They live about 15-­‐20 years, weigh up to about 1,400 pounds and have a shoulder height range of 6 -­‐7 feet. • They can run up to 35 miles per hour over short distances, and trot steadily at 20 miles per hour. • A moose’s home range is 5-­‐50 square miles. • Their hooves act as snowshoes to support the heavy animals in soft snows and in muddy or marshy ground. In addition, moose kick out their hooves in all directions to fend off predators. • Males have antlers, but females do not. • Antlers can spread up to six feet, end to end, and weigh up to 70 pounds. • Antlers can have as many as 30 tines, or spikes, a characteristic that differs from animal to animal. • Male moose are born with two tiny bumps on their head, which eventually grow into antlers. • Males shed their antlers once a year to conserve energy in November or December and grow new, larger ones in the spring. • New antlers take 5 months to grow to their full size. • The growing antlers are covered in a layer of skin called “felt” or “velvet”, which pumps blood to the developing organs. The velvet is shed when the antlers have reached their full size. • A flap of skin, known as a bell or “dewlap”, sways beneath each moose’s throat. Males will rub their dewlap on a female during mating season to mark her with his scent. • Moose remain solitary and tend to ignore each other until mating season. • Males bellow loudly to attract mates each September and October. • Bulls come together during this time to battle for mating supremacy. • Females give birth to one or two calves in the spring, each weighing about 30 lbs. • Calves can outrun a person by the time they are just five days old. Young moose stay with their mothers until the following mating season. • There are no predators big enough to kill a healthy adult moose in New England. In other areas, wolves and grizzly bears do take moose as prey. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Moose teeth are designed for eating plant material and browsing on bushes and small trees. They prefer eating higher grasses and shrubs because lowering their head to ground level can be difficult. In winter, they eat shrubs and pinecones, or scrape snow with their hooves to clear areas for browsing on mosses and lichens. In the summer, they sometimes go into lakes, rivers or wetlands to feed on aquatic plants both at and below the surface. They have 32 teeth made up of 12 ridged molars, 12 premolars, 6 incisors and 2 canines. Moose have no upper front teeth. Moose are ruminants, which means that after eating, moose rest and return partially digested food from their stomachs to their mouth, chew it again (called “chewing the cud”) and then swallow it again. This aids in digestion. Moose eat 45 pounds of food per day and can store over 100 pounds of food in their stomachs. Moose are good swimmers and can paddle several miles at a time and even submerge completely, staying under for 30 seconds or more. Moose have hollow hair that helps them float and provides extra insulation. Regulated moose hunting is allowed in many states. Bobcat (Lynx rufus): • Bobcats are named for their “bobbed” tails. • They are elusive and nocturnal, so they are rarely spotted by humans. • Bobcats inhabit much of North America and have adapted well to diverse habitats, such as forests, swamps, desserts and even suburban areas. • North American populations are believed to be quite large, with perhaps as many as one million cats in the US alone. • They are about twice as big as the average housecat and can reach a length of around four feet, including their tail. • Their tufted ears are similar to their larger relative, the Canada lynx. • Most bobcats are brown or brownish red with a white underbelly and short, black-­‐tipped tails. • Physical characteristic of bobcats vary with their geographical distribution. The cats in colder, forested areas are generally bigger with darker, denser fur while the ones in the south are often relatively small and pale in coloration. • Bobcats can live to be 13-­‐15 years old in the wild. • Males are generally larger than females. • They weigh 15-­‐30 pounds and reach a body length of 20-­‐50 inches. • Bobcats usually eat small prey, such as rabbits, birds, mice and squirrels; however, they can take down prey animals that are eight times their own weight, such as deer or sheep. • They hunt by stalk and ambush, sneaking up on their prey and delivering a deathblow with a leaping pounce that can cover 10 feet. • They tend to hunt most during dawn and dusk (crepuscular) • Bobcats are solitary and territorial animals. They mark their territory with urine, feces and gland scent. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
Some calls of the bobcat can sound similar to a domestic cat, but they also emit piercing screams and a coughing bark that are unique to their species. During the day, bobcats sleep and rest in dens in the form of a rock crevice or hollow tree, with one individual having a number of dens within its home range. Both males and females can mate with multiple partners during breeding season. Females produce litters of 1-­‐6 kittens. Kittens remain with their mother for 9-­‐12 months while they learn how to hunt. In some areas, bobcats are still trapped for their soft, spotted fur. The bobcat is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) as an animal that is of Least Concern from becoming extinct in its native environment in the near future. Whitetail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus): • In the summer, they inhabit fields and meadows. In the winter, they move into coniferous forests that provide shelter from the harsh elements. • Adults have reddish-­‐brown coats in the summer which fade to grayish-­‐brown in the winter. • Male deer are called bucks, female deer are called does and baby deer are called fawns. • Male deer have antlers in the summer and fall. The antlers fall off in the winter and grow back annually. • Bucks fight over territory during the mating season by using their antlers in sparring matches. • After a gestation period of seven months, does give birth to one-­‐three young at a time, usually in May or June. • During the first week of life, fawns are left alone and lie motionless in the leaves, except when the mother returns to nurse. • Fawns have a reddish-­‐brown coat with white spots that help them blend in with the dappled sunlight of the forest floor. • People encountering fawns during the first weeks after birth often assume the fawn is orphaned and remove it from the area to take it to wildlife rehabilitation centers to be cared for. As a result, thousands of fawns across the country are needlessly orphaned each spring. • Whitetail deer are herbivores that graze on various plant foods. • Their stomachs allow them to digest a varied diet, including leaves, twigs, fruits and nuts, grass, corn, alfalfa, lichens and other fungi. • They are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular, browsing mainly at dawn and dusk. • Whitetails are preyed upon by bobcats and coyotes. • They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet and as far as 30 feet in a single bound. • They have excellent hearing due to their large, sensitive ears • Adult bucks weigh about 100-­‐250 pounds and reach a shoulder height of 3 ½ to 4 feet. • The doe is smaller and weighs less, 70-­‐150 pounds. •
•
•
The home range of a deer is usually three to four square miles, but they will move beyond this range if food supplies become scarce. Deer are also ruminants (cud-­‐chewing animals). This system allows deer to take in large amounts of food and return to cover quickly, thus avoiding predators. Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by the northern deer tick which feeds on both deer and humans, among other animals. Bird Nests: Chickadees-­‐ They are cavity nesters, usually selecting a site in a rotted part of a tree, especially in stubs, snags and rotted out knotholes in forests and woodlands. Chickadees can excavate their own nest cavities, removing wood chips and dumping them away from the site to avoid attracting predators. They may use old woodpecker holes or nest boxes. The nest of the Black-­‐capped Chickadee is usually made of coarse materials. Moss is commonly used. For the lining, this bird makes use of down and fur. Nests can be found anywhere from 1 meter to 12 meters above the ground. • Barn Swallows-­‐ Barn Swallows once nested in caves throughout North America, but now build their nests almost exclusively on human-­‐
made structures. Both male and female build the nest cup using mud. They collect mud in their bills and often mix it with grass stems to make pellets. They first construct a small shelf to sit on, then build up the nest’s sides. If built against a wall or other vertical surface the result is a semicircular, half-­‐cup shape. Nests built on top of a beam or other horizontal surface form a complete cup about 3 inches across at the rim and 2 inches deep. The birds line the cup first with grass, then feathers, and in colonies may steal nest-­‐lining materials from neighboring nests. When reusing nests, Barn Swallows clean out old feathers and add new mud to the nest’s rim. • Yellow Warbler-­‐ The female builds the nest over a period of about 4 days. First she builds a cup of grasses, bark strips, and plants such as nettles. She places plant fibers, spider webs, and plant down around the outside. The inner cup is lined with deer hair, feathers, and fibers from cottonwood, dandelion, willow, and cattail seeds. The nests of the Yellow Warbler are frequently parasitized by the Brown-­‐
headed Cowbird. If this happens, the warbler often builds a new nest directly on top of the parasitized one, abandoning both its own eggs and the cowbird’s. The resulting nests can include up to six tiers. • Eastern Phoebe-­‐ Only the female builds the nest, often while the male accompanies her. She constructs the nest from mud, moss, and leaves mixed with grass stems and animal hair. The nest may be placed on a firm foundation or it may adhere to a vertical wall using a surface irregularity as a partial foundation. The female may at first need to hover in place while she adds enough of a mud base to perch on. Nests can take 5–14 days to build and are about 5 inches across when finished. The nest cup is 2.5 inches across and 2 inches deep. Unlike most birds, nests are often reused in subsequent years—and sometimes used by Barn Swallows in some years. • American Robin-­‐ Females build the nest from the inside out, pressing dead grass and twigs into a cup shape using the wrist of one wing. Other materials include paper, feathers, rootlets, or moss in addition to grass and twigs. Once the cup is formed, she reinforces the nest using soft mud gathered from worm castings to make a heavy, sturdy nest. She then lines the nest with fine dry grass. The finished nest is 6-­‐8 inches across and 3-­‐6 inches high. •
•
•
•
•
•
Chipping Sparrow-­‐ Males guard females as they build nests, but they don’t help build. It takes the female 3 to 4 days to finish her nest, a loose cup of rootlets and dried grasses so flimsy you can often see through it. She lines the nest with animal hair and fine plant fibers. It probably provides little insulation for the eggs and young. Finished nests measure about 4.5 inches across and 2.2 inches deep. House Wren-­‐ House Wrens pile twigs into the cavities they choose to nest in, either to make a bed on which to build a soft-­‐lined cup, or sometimes mounded up into a barrier between nest and entrance, seemingly to protect the nest from cold weather, predators, or cowbirds. The cup itself is built into a depression in the twigs and lined with just a few grams (less than 0.25 oz) of feathers, grasses and other plant material, animal hair, spider egg sacs, string, snakeskin, and discarded plastic. House Wrens nest inside tree holes and nest boxes. As the season progresses their nests can become infested with mites and other parasites that feed on the wren nestlings. Perhaps to fight this problem, wrens often add spider egg sacs into the materials they build their nests from. In lab studies, once the spiders hatched, they helped the wrens by devouring the nest parasites. Mourning Dove-­‐ A flimsy assembly of pine needles, twigs, and grass stems, unlined and with little insulation for the young. Over 2 to 4 days, the male carries twigs to the female, passing them to her while standing on her back; the female weaves them into a nest about 8 inches across. Mourning Doves sometimes reuse their own or other species’ nests. Tree Sparrow-­‐ Misleadingly named by European settlers reminded of Eurasian Tree Sparrows back home, American Tree Sparrows are ground birds. They forage on the ground, nest on the ground, and breed primarily in scrubby areas at or above the treeline. The nest is an open cup of moss, grasses, shreds of bark and twigs, lined with fine grass and feathers (usually from a ptarmigan). Placed on or near ground, often in tussock of grass at base of shrub. Baltimore Oriole-­‐ Baltimore Orioles build remarkable, sock-­‐like hanging nests, woven together from slender fibers. The female weaves the nest, usually 3 to 4 inches deep, with a small opening, 2 to 3 inches wide, on top and a bulging bottom chamber, 3 to 4 inches across, where her eggs will rest. She anchors her nest high in a tree, first hanging long fibers over a small branch, then poking and darting her bill in and out to tangle the hank. While no knots are deliberately tied, soon the random poking has made knots and tangles, and the female brings more fibers to extend, close, and finally line the nest. Construction materials can include grass, strips of grapevine bark, wool, and horsehair, as well as artificial fibers such as cellophane, twine, or fishing line. Females often recycle fibers from an old nest to build a new one. Males occasionally bring nesting material, but don’t help with the weaving. Building the nest takes about a week, but windy or rainy weather may push this as long as 15 days. The nest is built in three stages: first, the female weaves an outer bowl of flexible fibers to provide support. Next, springy fibers are woven into an inner bowl, which maintains the bag-­‐like shape of the nest. Finally, she adds a soft lining of downy fibers and feathers to cushion the eggs and young. Nests are often created in elm trees because the weeping branches provide good hangers for the basket-­‐shaped nests. Station #3-­‐ The WoW Tour: Purpose-­‐ The purpose of this lesson is to allow students to examine the ecology (interactions between organisms and their environment) of the Connecticut River Watershed. This lesson will focus on additional concepts based on related state science standards specified for each grade level. Ecological topics that may be covered include the food chain, biotic vs. abiotic factors, symbiotic relationships, competition, predation, availability of resources, the difference between a population and an ecosystem, and the difference between primary producers, consumers and decomposers. Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Describe some of the ecology that can be observed within four specific habitats found in the Connecticut River Watershed, including a marsh, a vernal pool, an upland forest, and a suburban habitat. 2. Explain the progression of a simple food chain, from plants to high order carnivores to decomposers. 3. Explain the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. 4. Distinguish between biotic and abiotic factors in the environment. 5. Recognize the difference between a population and an ecosystem. Duration: 20 Minutes Materials: • The WoW Express trailer and exhibits Instructional Procedures: 1. Enter the WoW Express and pause to allow the students’ eyes to adjust to the dark. Explain that the exhibit is dimly lit because it is designed to display the habitats and its organisms at dusk. 2. Ask the students what a marsh is (a type of wetland dominated by emergent grass that generally has soil full with water year round). Discuss their answers and use leading questions until an accurate definition is agreed upon. Explain the ecology of the marsh. 3. Identify some of the animals in the marsh. Talk about their adaptations and why they are in the marsh. For example, the nest with eggs is a red winged black birds nest. The eggs are there because the nest is off the ground, away from predators, and it is camouflaged in the cattails. 4. Talk about the plants that are in the marsh and ask the students why they think they are important. Possible responses include camouflage, nesting sites, food source and to help prevent soil erosion. 5. Move to the vernal pool. Ask the students what a vernal pool is (A seasonal body of standing water that typically forms in the spring from melting snow and other runoff, dries out completely in the hotter months of summer, and often refills in the autumn). 6. Identify the species in the habitat. Talk about their importance to the habitat. Why is the habitat void of fish? 7. Ask the students to describe what an indicator species is. Discuss their answers and use leading questions until an accurate description is agreed upon. 8. Identify the forest habitat. Point out animals and discuss the different adaptations that have developed in these organisms (i.e. fishers use their claws to hunt porcupines, flying squirrels have extra skin that allows them to glide through the air between trees). 9. Discuss what biotic factors (living or have lived things i.e. frog, leaf, dead tree) and abiotic factors (nonliving things that effect the living community i.e. air, water, soil, temperature, climate) are. Point out examples within the exhibit. 10. Discuss the difference between a population (a group of animals of the same species living in the same area) and an ecosystem (biotic and abiotic factors in an environment). 11. Continue on to the cave habitat and discuss White Nose Syndrome in bats. (Please see attachments) 12. Identify animals and others items in the exhibit as you move into the human habitat. Be sure to stress the interactions between organisms and their environment. 13. In the human habitat, it is important to talk about why polluting and littering areas can be harmful. 14. Continue to point out and identify organisms within the exhibit, stressing their role in the ecology of the ecosystems. 15. Create a sense of place with the students. They should be able to understand that we don’t want to endanger any animals because they are vital to our survival. Assessment: In the Post-­‐Visit School Packet, teachers will be given a quick multiple-­‐choice quiz to implement during class time. The results of this quiz will be submitted to WoW Express personnel in order to evaluate student understanding. Connection to State Standards: Attachments for White Nose Syndrome: http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/pdf/White-­‐nose_fact-­‐sheet_11-­‐2011.pdf http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/pdf/White-­‐noseSyndromeFAQs.pdf Fun Facts for the Models and Habitats inside the WoW Express Marsh • There are many different kinds of marshes, ranging from the prairie potholes to the Everglades, coastal to inland, freshwater to saltwater. • Freshwater marshes occur in low-­‐lying ground alongside rivers and lakes where the water level is always near the soil surface. • The presence of marshes in a watershed helps to reduce damage caused by floods by slowing and storing flood water. As water moves slowly through a marsh, sediment and other pollutants settle to the substrate, or floor of the marsh. • Freshwater marshes are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. • Marshes are so good at cleaning polluted waters that people are now building replicas of this wetland type to treat wastewater from farms, parking lots, and small sewage plants Cattails • They filter runoff as it flows into the lake
• They also help prevent erosion
• Cattails provide important habitat for many species of wildlife and birds. Redwing blackbirds and many ducks and geese nest in them,
and some animals such as muskrats, eat them. Even upland songbirds will use fluff from the flowers to line their nests.
Great Blue Heron • Herons snare their aquatic prey by walking slowly, or standing still for long periods of time and waiting for fish to come within range of their long necks and blade-­‐like bills. The deathblow is delivered with a quick thrust of the sharp bill, and the prey is swallowed whole. • Great blue herons have been known to choke to death by attempting to swallow fish too large for their long, S-­‐shaped necks. • Though they are best known as fishers, mice constitute a large part of their diet, and they also eat insects and other small creatures. Snapping Turtle • They inhabit almost any body of water including marshes, creeks, swamps, bogs, pools, lakes, streams, rivers, and impoundments. Snapping turtles can tolerate brackish water (mixture of seawater and fresh water). • As omnivores, snapping turtles feed on plants, insects, spiders, worms, fish, frogs, small turtles, snakes, birds, crayfish, small mammals, and carrion. • Snapping turtles are nocturnal • People eat snapping turtle in soups and stews Bullfrog • They can leap up to 3-­‐6 feet • Bullfrogs are territorial and protect their territories by calls, displays, chases, jump attacks, and even wrestling. Females are attracted to males with territories that provide the most food. • Hearing is one of the most important senses to a frog. Male bullfrogs chorus at breeding ponds; females also give aggressive and reciprocation calls. • Bullfrogs have teeth in the roof of their mouth and a muscular tongue capable of flipping prey into their mouth. • Generally, frogs have smooth skin while toads have textured skin. • Some frogs have teeth made of calcium • Frogs use their eyes to swallow: closing their eye and sucking their eyeballs into sockets helps to move food down their throat Painted turtle • These little turtles will eat live or dead plants and insects (they love aquatic insect larvae) • Painted turtles hibernate underwater in the winter, on muddy floors of lakes and ponds. • Painted Turtles can live 20-­‐30 years and grow to be the size of dinner plates. • Turtles can dive to 6.5 feet deep while feeding and can stay underwater for almost an hour. • Turtles have no external ears but their shell conducts low-­‐frequency vibrations to the middle ear. Leopard Frog • They eat beetles, ants, flies, worms, smaller frogs, including their own species, and even birds, and garter snakes. • Leopard frogs breed in marshes, wetland, and fishless pond. • They are called leopard frogs because of the spots on their back. Red winged black bird (eggs in nest) • It is the most abundant songbird in North America • Redwings build their nest on the ground or not too far above water level in marshes. The nest is cup-­‐shaped. The female lays 3-­‐5 eggs, usually four, in a clutch. • After the first brood leaves, the female often re-­‐nests. She incubates the eggs for 11-­‐12 days. After the babies hatch, they stay in the nest for about 10 days. Babies leave the nest and climb on cattails before they can fly. Black Rat Snake • Black rat snakes tend to be shy and, if possible, will avoid being confronted. If these snakes are seen and confronted by danger, they tend to freeze and remain motionless. • They primarily eat rodents, however they will eat lizards, small frogs, bird eggs and young. Vernal Pool A vernal pool is a contained basin depression lacking a permanent above ground outlet. It is usually only filled with water in the spring (Vernal means Spring). Wood turtle • Wood Turtles are semi-­‐terrestrial, spending significant time both in water and on land. • They are omnivores. They eat plants, berries, mushrooms, invertebrates and carrion. • They “stomp” for worms to get them to the surface • They are diurnal Yellow Spotted Salamanders • They can live as long as 20 years • They are indicator species, their skin is very sensitive to air and water pollution. • They spend most of their life hidden under rocks, logs, or burrows of other animals • They secrete a noxious, milky toxin from glands on their backs and tails to dissuade predators. Spring peepers • Spring peepers are tan or brown in color with dark lines that form a telltale X on their backs. • They are nocturnal • They eat beetles, ants, flies and spiders • They peep because they are trying to find mates in early spring Frog eggs Wood frogs • They are omnivorous, eating plant debris, algae, eggs and larvae of amphibians • They are forest-­‐dwelling and they breed in vernal pools • They are an indicator species • Frog’s tongues are attached to the front of their mouths rather than at the back like humans Forest Gray tree frog • They are nocturnal. They sit in trees and come down at night to breed and chorus. • They have large sticky toe pads that help them to cling to the tree. • They live in moist, deciduous woodlands and swamps. • It eats moths, tree crickets, ants, flies, grasshoppers and beetles. Flying squirrel • Flying squirrels do not fly they glide • In the wild they can live up to 6 years, but in captivity about 15 years •
• They are nocturnal • They mostly eat fruit, nuts, fungi and bird eggs. They have a great sense of smell. Timber rattlesnake • They are usually found in deciduous forests in rugged terrain. While some females are pregnant they bask in the sun on rocky ledges • They mainly eat small mammals but will eat small birds, frogs and other snakes • Before striking, they often do a good deal of preliminary rattling and feinting Fisher • It is in the weasel family • They prefer forested wilderness areas but have been seen near homes • They love rabbits and porcupines • The Fisher doesn’t really eat fish. It is named after the “fitch”, or European pole cat. Deer Mouse • They are mostly herbivorous. They eat grains, seeds, nuts, berries, and sometime caterpillars, spiders, and grasshoppers Short tailed weasel • The short-­‐tailed weasel takes voles, shrews, cottontail rabbits, rats, chipmunks and nesting birds. Also, they will eat fish, birds, insects, fruit and berries. • Short-­‐tailed weasels require areas of heavy cover but tend to avoid dense forests. Weasels will burrow, or build, a nest in rock or wood piles, in a hollow tree, or under a building. Often, rather than building their own nest site, they will simply take over one of their prey’s. • They are nocturnal • They have great speed and agility, and they can swim and climb. Saw-­‐whet owl • A saw-­‐whet owls wing span is from 18 to 22 inches • They are nocturnal • They only vocalizes during the breeding season • They feed almost entirely on small mammals, Deer mice being the primary prey, followed by shrews and voles. Other mammals include squirrels, moles, bats, flying squirrels, and house mice. • Northern Saw-­‐whet Owls inhabit coniferous and deciduous forests, with thickets of second-­‐growth or shrubs. Great horned owl • The name is derived from tufts of feathers that appear to be "horns" which are sometimes referred to as "ear tufts" but have nothing to do with hearing at all. • Rabbits are the primary food source however they can eat a wide variety of mammalian prey. Bird prey includes all other Owls (except Snowy Owl), grouse, woodpeckers, crows, turkeys, pigeons, Red-­‐tailed Hawks, bitterns, Great Blue Heron, ducks, swans, gulls, etc. Reptiles include snakes, turtles, lizards, and young alligators. Amphibians include frogs, toads, and salamanders. Other foods include fish, large insects, centipedes, crayfish, worms and spiders • Wild owls can live up to 13 years. Their only natural enemy are other Great Horned Owls and occasionally Northern Goshawks. Whip poor will • They eat insects and especially moths and beetles • They are mostly nocturnal. They forage at dusk and dawn and moonlit nights. • Whip-­‐poor-­‐wills tend to sit lengthwise on branches instead of across them like most other birds because they can be identified by “eye shine”. • Whip-­‐poor-­‐wills live in open woodlands with well-­‐spaced trees and low canopy Cave Little Brown Bats • Mating season is in the fall, but fertilization doesn't happen until spring. In the spring little brown bats form huge nursery colonies. A nursery colony may have thousands of bats in it. • They eat insects like gnats, flies, moths, wasps and beetles. They use echolocation to find food. • White-­‐nose syndrome o It is a disease that kills hibernating bats. It is associated with a new fungus, Geomyces destructans, which thrives in the cold. o The mortality rate of bats with this disease is 90 – 100% o The species that are affected are; tri-­‐colored, little brown, northern long eared, big brown , eastern small-­‐footed and Indiana o Some of the signs are ! White fungus on the nose of the bat ! Depleted fat reserves that the bats need during the winter hibernation ! Bats flying outside during the day in temperatures at or below freezing ! Bats clustered near entrances of hibernacula House Fireflies • In most species of fireflies both sexes glow; often the male will fly, while females will wait in trees, shrubs and grasses to spot an attractive male. If she finds one, she’ll signal it with a flash of her own. • Fireflies are primarily carnivorous. Larvae usually eat snails and worms. Some species of fireflies feed on other fireflies • An adult firefly lives only long enough to mate and lay eggs. Larvae usually live for approximately one year Coopers Hawk • Cooper’s Hawks are forest and woodland birds, but our leafy suburbs seem nearly as good. These lanky hawks are a regular sight in parks, quiet neighborhoods, over fields, at backyard feeders, and even along busy streets if there are trees around. Cooper’s Hawks mainly eat birds. Sometimes they rob nests and also eat chipmunks, hares, mice, squirrels, and bats. A Cooper's Hawk captures a bird with its feet and kills it by repeated squeezing. They’ve even been known to drown their prey, holding a bird underwater until it stopped moving. Pickerel Frog • Pickerel frogs prefer cool streams and other wet areas in woodlands. They spend their winters burrowed in the mud beneath ponds or streams. In summer they may be found in fields away from water. • The pickerel frog protects itself from predators by giving off a poisonous chemical. This chemical can irritate humans and can even kill captive animals forced to share living space with this frog. American Toad • They are commonly found in forests, gardens and agricultural fields. • During the day they hide under logs, rocks or leaf litter and if they live in a region that has a cold winter, they will hibernate during the winter months. • Their skin is tough and warty and it contains many glands which produce a milky poison when they feel threatened. • Frogs jump, toads hop. Garter Snake • The main foods of the Garter snake are earthworms, frogs, fish, leeches, tadpoles and sometimes mice. • They are among the most common snake in North America • Garter snakes got their name from their patterns on their sides, which resemble the garters that men wore a long time ago to hold up their socks. Scarlet Tanager • Breeds in deciduous and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodlands, especially mature forests. Occasionally in suburban areas with large trees. • They eat insects and spiders, some earthworms, buds, and fruits • It catches a bee in flight and kills it by beating it against a branch. Before eating it, the tanager removes the stinger by rubbing it on a branch. Garden spider • The webs are orb shaped and they are very strong • Their bites are not harmful to humans (only bite if seriously provoked) Ruby Throated Hummingbird • The Ruby-­‐throated Hummingbird beats its wings about 53 times a second. • The extremely short legs of the Ruby-­‐throated Hummingbird prevent it from walking or hopping. • They feed on the nectar of red or orange tubular flowers, also they eat insects and pluck spiders out of their web. American turkey •
•
•
•
•
Found in hardwood forests with scattered openings Acorns, nuts, seeds, fruits, insects, buds, fern fronds, salamanders Turkeys can run up to 20 miles per hour and fly very short distances with a speed of up to 55 mph Conclusion (5 minutes): Once again, gather all of the students into one group in front of the map of the Connecticut River Watershed. Ask students to raise their hands to share the favorite thing that they learned during the program. Briefly discuss their responses. Ask the kids to answer the question, “Where do you live?” The answers should include not only their country, state and town, but also the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and the Connecticut River Watershed.