What Lives in Wetlands? (MS)
There are over a million wetlands in North Dakota (https://gf.nd.gov/wildlife/habitats/wetlands-lakes). Wetlands provide important ecological roles, including flood protection, water filtration and habitat for numerous plants and animals. A large proportion of North Dakota’s wetlands have been lost or threatened due to agricultural development, climate change, and other environmental threats such as invasive species. Wetlands, and the organisms in them, are used for hunting and subsistence, and there are direct connections with wetland science to these activities that could stimulate interest in environmental careers and STEM education.
objectives
Students will:
• Define the following vocabulary terms: wetland, biotic, abiotic, ecosystem,
organism, food web, food chain, producers, consumers, decomposers, habitat, and
migration.
• Identify the importance of wetlands and the interrelationships of wetland
organisms.
• Describe how environmental changes (both natural like floods/droughts and direct
impacts from humans, such as oil or contaminants) can alter habitat for aquatic organisms.
Topic(s)
Wetlands, migration, food chains, food webs
type
Middle school lesson
6-8
Grade(s):
time needed
Three 50-minute class periods
author
Brittany Hagen
national next gen standards
• MS-LS2-1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
• MS-LS2-2: Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
• MS-LS2-3: Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
• MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
north dakota standards
• MS-LS2-1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
• MS-LS2-2: Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
• MS-LS2-3: Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
• MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.