Ecology Disrupted: Unexpected Consequences of Human Daily Life On Habitat and Populations

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Ecology Disrupted:
Changes to Habitats lesson plan

Ecology Disrupted:
Changes to Habitats investigation booklet

LESSON PLAN

(Time required: about 90 minutes, over two class periods)

In this lesson sequence, students will extend what they have learned about the unexpected consequences of human daily life on habitat and bighorn sheep populations to habitats and populations of other animal species.

1. Populations Live in Habitats (5 min)

Discuss habitats and populations in the context of daily life and bighorn sheep.

2. Highways Block Bighorn Sheep Graphic Organizer (5 min)

Students review what they learned about bighorn sheep in a graphic organizer. They respond to questions about:

1. Habitat
2. Populations
3. The Unintended Consequences of Daily Life
4. Using Data to Make Conclusions
5. Sustainable Solutions

3. Watch other Science Bulletins and complete the graphic organizers for each. (50 min)

Students watch additional Science Bulletin videos about other species to learn about how human daily life can affect ecological function, and identify the ecological principles disrupted.  They then complete a graphic organizer on each example they watch.

Science Bulletin: Roads Influence Animal Genes

Science Bulletin: New Life Gives New Life to Florida Panthers

Science Bulletin: Loggers Imperil Monarch Butterflies

Science Bulletin: Oil Spill's Other Victims

Science Bulletin: Plastic Trash Threatens Remote Seabirds

Science Bulletins: Species and Sprawl: A Road Runs Through It

4. Bringing Stories Together (10 min)  

Students will be asked to develop solutions for the fragmentation of the bighorn sheep habitat and analyze other examples of human disruptions of habitats.