The purpose of this resource is to sample, identify, and count macroinvertebrates at a Hydrology Site. Students collect, sort, identify, and count macroinvertebrates from habitats at their site. Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to understand that soil, under different environmental conditions, plays a role in the decomposition of organic materials. Students use bottle experiments to observe changes in the decomposition of vegetable scraps. Students vary temperature, moisture, and light conditions to determine the conditions that best facilitate the decomposition of organic material in soil. ... Full description.

These five laboratory activities are designed for observation of primates and humans in a zoological environment and include studies of locomotion, communication, mother-infant interaction, general behavior, and dominance/submissive behavior. Students make observations and interpretations. Full description.

Behavior and Environment is a lesson plan on how organisms adapt to their environment. Student objectives are to understand that behavior is the pattern of activities an organism develops in response to its environment and that innate and learned behavior differ. The lesson plan provides objectives, skills, time required, content outline, materials, significant terms, activities, questions for the ... Full description.

This activity concerns the evolution of three species of lizards on the Canary Islands. Its purpose is to demonstrate to students that evolutionary problems are complex and solutions may involve data from various disciplines of science. First, students must arrive at different phylogenetic solutions using only geographical and geological data. Then they compare the morphology of the species involved, ... Full description.

This slide show presents information about corals, which build carbonate skeletons over many years, forming the beautiful reefs common in tropical seas. Some coral species are sensitive to water temperatures and other environmental factors, and their skeletons can record information on past climate. This slide set discusses the future implications of climate variability through the use of color photos ... Full description.

In this activity, students will have the opportunity to witness the fragile nature of organisms with regard to temperature. These organisms include common bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Students will understand the role of temperature in determining what kinds of organisms are found in unforgiving environments. As part of the activity, they will practice aseptic technique ... Full description.

This activity will help students to understand and graph population change over time according to habitat availability. Students will discover that many factors affect the ability of deer or other wildlife to survive over time. Weather conditions, disease, predators, pollution and habitat destruction are some examples. Habitat is the key to wildlife survival and population size. Habitat is defined ... Full description.

This activity will help students understand algal blooms. They will devise their own experiments to test the effects of nutrients on algal growth, or younger students may follow the steps outlined in a sample activity which is provided. Students will be reminded that they need to have controls and replicates in their experiments. As a result of this activity, students will come to understand the requirements ... Full description.

This activity is designed to define the biotic and abiotic characteristics found in a rocky intertidal ecosystem, to observe interactions between select living organisms and between themselves and their environment, and analyze which environmental and competitive factors may influence the particular pattern of density, diversity, or zonation found at a study site. The transect method and statistical ... Full description.