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Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Elementary School (K - 4) | Middle School (5 - 8) | High School (9 - 12) | See Other Topics
Keeping the water clean Ask students what they think causes pollution in the ocean (and lakes and rivers), and list their responses on the board. Have students look at the water cycle diagram at http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/water.html, and discuss what this drawing shows. Ask them to describe the ways in which activities on land could affect water. Make sure they understand the relationship between land and water, as shown in this diagram. Have them look at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary map (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/monterey/ax/primary_fs.html), and point out the bay, underwater Monterey Canyon, the shelf, and the land features surrounding the bay (mountains and valleys). How might land-based activities affect water quality in Monterey Bay? Inform students that most ocean life is concentrated in the upper 300 feet (91 meters) of water (even in water that’s 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) deep, as in parts of Monterey Bay) and that most of the world’s fisheries are located in water that’s less than 600 feet (183 meters) deep. Why do the students think this is the case? Inform students that most ocean life is concentrated in Briefly discuss the process of photosynthesis, in which plants convert sunlight into nutrients. Ask students whether they think land-based activities that contribute to water pollution would have a greater impact on the deeper or the more shallow parts of the ocean. Have students briefly look at some pictures of scenery and marine life in Monterey Bay at some or all of the following Web sites. Ask them what types of land-based human activities they think might affect the scenes and animals they’ve seen in the photographs.
Tell students about (or have them look at) the dive logs for the June 2000 Sustainable Seas Expedition to Monterey Bay (http://www.sustainableseas.noaa.gov/missions/monterey2/monterey2.html). On June 28 Steve Webster found a space heater, and on July 6 he found a tire and a baseball cap. Where do students think these items came from? Do they think these objects pose any problems for the marine environment? Why or why not? Bring the following items into class: a plastic soda six-pack ring, a plastic bag, a Styrofoam cup, a candy wrapper, and a can of motor oil or a similar liquid. Ask students if they’ve ever seen any of these things on the ground or in the water near their home. How do they think these items might affect birds, fish, and mammals in the water? Inform the class that these materials pose a problem for Monterey Bay and probably for water near their own town as well. What activities do they or people they know, do that might contribute to water pollution? Can they think of anything they can do to maintain healthy water near their home? Show the class how to cut the plastic six-pack ring so it’s no longer a threat to marine life (birds can get the rings caught around their necks), and explain that these plastic rings can last in the ocean for 450 years. Inform them that it’s very important to throw their garbage into trash cans rather than on the street or grass. More tips on preventing water pollution can be found on the What You Can Do page at http://www.americanoceans.org/runoff/ucan.htm. Have students draw maps of the area near their town, showing a nearby body of water (ocean, lake, pond, or river). Have them add to the map buildings, factories, recreational areas, or any other human-created feature that they’re aware of. Then ask them to draw arrows showing the direction that runoff from these human activities would go (toward the water). Have younger students draw pictures on the map showing what people can do to help keep the water clean. Have older students write paragraphs explaining the water cycle in their area and the things that people can do to prevent pollution of their area’s water.
Diving into Monterey Bay Have students imagine that they’ve just returned from an exciting dive into the Monterey Bay kelp forest in the DeepWorker submersible. What did they see? What was it like? Have them investigate what this journey would be like and draw their own renditions of the kelp forest. To do this, they should go to the following Web sites to see what it’s like in the kelp forest of Monterey Bay.
On white construction or poster board, have students draw pictures of the kelp forest, from the surface to the ocean floor. They should add fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals to the picture and (for older students) label the species and write captions explaining how each species depends on kelp. After they’ve completed their drawings, discuss as a class why the kelp forest is an important part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary ecosystem, addressing these questions: What animals did they see? What plants did they see? What interesting things did they learn about kelp? Why do they think kelp forests grow only in the upper 125 feet (38 meters) of water and close to the shore? Why do they only grow in cold temperate parts of the world? What do they think would happen to the bay if the kelp became ill and started to die? In what ways does kelp benefit the animals that live in the bay? In what ways does kelp benefit people? Have more advanced students (grades three and four) find out about the technology that is generally used to explore the kelp forest. Which method do they think is better for this purpose: the DeepWorker sub or scuba diving? Why? They can link to http://www.sustainableseas.noaa.gov/aboutsse/technology/equipment/deepworker.html to learn about DeepWorker.
MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grades 5-8) Storm water pollution Ask students to state some of the things that they think might cause pollution in Monterey Bay or other marine environments. List their ideas on the board. Have students look at The Sanctuary and its Eleven Major Watersheds (http://www.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/Resourcepro/watsheds.gif) to see the rivers and landscape features whose waters flow into the Monterey Bay sanctuary. Point out that fresh water from these watersheds eventually ends up in the sanctuary, so human activities on land impact water quality in the ocean. Have students look at the storm drain poster and read the information at Storm Drain Pollution Prevention: It’s Up to Us (http://www.monterey.org/publicworks/stormeduc.html) and Stormwater Information (http://www.monterey.org/publicworks/storminfo.html). Ask them to write brief paragraphs summarizing what the storm drain poster shows, and have them list the things that people can do to prevent storm water pollution in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. As an option, have students read the information at the Heal the Bay storm drain page (http://www.healthebay.org/stormdrains.asp) to see that the storm drain pollution problem is not confined to Monterey Bay (this page is from the Web site for a Los Angeles area environmental organization, Heal the Bay). Have students find out whether storm drains are a pollution hazard in their area. In some parts of the country, the water that flows into storm drains is treated to minimize contamination, but in other parts of the country (like coastal California) it is untreated. Ask students to write letters to the editor of a local newspaper describing the storm drain situation in the Monterey Bay area and in their own area and explaining what people can do to help minimize water pollution via storm drains or other drainage systems.
Species interdependence Write the names of the following marine mammals on the board, and tell students that all of these animals can be seen in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: southern sea otter, elephant seal, harbor seal, California sea lion, orca (killer whale), gray whale, blue whale. Ask students to use the following Web sites and any other resources to find out about these mammals’ habitats and diets. Have them take specific notes on the other living things (plants and animals) that each of these mammals relies on, either for food or for other aspects of its survival.
Have students use poster board to draw an “interdependence web” that shows the relationships between the marine mammals and other species in Monterey Bay. They should begin by drawing and labeling the marine mammals at the top of the paper. Below the mammals, students should draw pictures of the species that these mammals eat. Then have them use colored pencils or crayons to draw arrows between the mammals and their food choices, indicating which mammals eat which other species. On the remaining blank spaces of the paper, have students draw pictures of the plant or animal species that the mammals rely on not for food but for other purposes. Have them use a different color to draw arrows between the mammals and the related nonfood species. Have students look at their charts and calculate the average number of species that each mammal depends on (take the number of species each mammal depends on, add those numbers together, and divide by the number of mammals on the poster). Of course, all of these mammals probably depend on additional species that haven’t been discussed in the resources, so students should just include the species they were able to find out about. Have students write paragraphs describing the interdependence between these species answering the question “What if one of the species that the mammals depend on were threatened or removed from the ecosystem?” They should choose one species to “remove” from the picture and write an explanation of what the consequences might be. Discuss with the class the importance of retaining all components of an ecosystem; if one species dies off, it can affect the lives of many other species. Ask students if they’ve ever noticed such a phenomenon close to their home or if they’ve heard of similar relationships in other ecosystems (such as the rain forest).
HIGH SCHOOL (Grades 9-12) Conservation activities in Monterey Bay and your own town Have students look at the following Web sites to get an overview of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary:
Have students imagine that they’ve been asked by concerned citizens of their own community to find out what activities the Monterey Bay region is doing to combat and prevent pollution of its marine environment. Ask them to use the following Web resources, plus any others they can find, to find out about conservation-related activities that might have an impact on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Ask students to classify each activity under one or more of these headings: research, clean-up, public education, and regulation/law enforcement/lobbying. Then have them briefly summarize each activity.
Ask students to write recommendations to the citizens of their own town regarding which of the activities being undertaken in the Monterey area might benefit their community and how. Their recommendations should refer to the specific situations and characteristics of their own communities. For example, a town in Texas might benefit from a public education campaign similar to one that’s being done in Monterey, but the public would need to be educated about issues specific to that part of Texas. This section might require some additional research. Have students finish by finding out if any of these conservation-related activities are underway in their community and, if so, how they’re being implemented. Current research in Monterey Bay Have students look at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary map at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/monterey/ax/primary_fs.html and note the patterns of water depth, from shallowest to deepest. Also have them read about Monterey Canyon at the same Web site. Have students find out about current investigations into the Monterey Bay geology and ecosystems, including a mapping project. They should look for this information at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Project (http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/mbms) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (http://www.mbari.org). Ask them to list the current research being conducted in Monterey Bay and to briefly describe the purpose and methods of each research project. Ask students to find out more about Monterey Bay’s ecosystems and habitats, using the following Web sites and any other resources. Have them explain in two to three paragraphs the impacts that current research in Monterey Bay might have on the following four areas: water quality, wildlife conservation, commercial fishing, recreational activities. The essays should cite specific examples from the research methodology and wildlife information they’ve seen on the Web and should emphasize that these four areas are interrelated and must be considered in relation to one another.
Sea otters and the kelp forest Have students research the sea otter and its kelp forest habitat. Ask them to describe the difference between a kelp forest community with sea otters and one without sea otters. They can use the following Web sites:
Hold a class discussion debating whether sea otters should or should not be allowed to reoccupy their original (pre-hunt) range. Discuss the social and economic implications of balancing the needs of sea otters with people who hunt and consume shellfish (such as abalone, sea urchins, spiny lobsters, dungeness crab). Hold a town hall meeting in which students take on the following roles:
Assign one or two students to each role, and have those students conduct in-depth research to find out what views their “characters” hold concerning the sea otter range. Have the remaining students conduct broader research to find out what they can expect from each of the panel members. During the meeting have each panel member (or pair) spend two to three minutes presenting his or her (or their) viewpoint. Then have the rest of the class ask questions and provide comments and suggestions just as community members might do at a real town meeting. Have the class discuss the issues politely and work toward a win-win outcome that will assure sea otter conservation and provide for shellfish, sport, and commercial fisheries. Bring the meeting to a end when an acceptable conclusion has been reached or when you’re out of time. Then discuss the meeting with the class. Did they find it difficult to come to an agreement? Do they think an agreement is possible? What are the biggest challenges to finding an agreement on this issue? Rockfish in Monterey Bay Inform the class that a very important member of the Monterey Bay ecosystem is the rockfish, of which there are 40 species in Monterey Bay. Because of their popularity as seafood and their low reproduction rates (only a few young per year), their populations are declining. Have students research the life cycle of one rockfish species in California. They should search the following Web sites and use a search engine to find out about this species.
Have students compile their research into a recommendation for a no-fishing refuge in which this rockfish species can be replenished. Their recommendations should address the questions below. They’ll need to continue their research to find out about the rockfish fishing industry and the financial and logistical issues involved in setting up a marine refuge.
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