Date: May 1, 2009
Time: (Eastern Daylight Time) -- Time Zone Converter
Program Title: Empire Shores: Eelgrass Monster Faces Certain Doom!
Suggested Grade Level: 6-12 (may be adapted to younger students)
Field Trip Overview:
Empire, Oregon located on Coos Bay, was historically an important location to the native Coos people and became a center of commerce for European settlers to the area beginning in the 1850’s. After many years of important activity, the area fell into decline and became decrepit. It has now been designated as part of an urban renewal district and in recent years has received an influx of tax dollars to improve the area. New shops and businesses are beginning to make the area attractive to tourists and recreational use is steady.
This year South Slough will take time during our EstuaryLive segments to explore Empire’ past, present, and plans for the future. From Empire’s shores wood products, seafood, and people traveled to distant parts of the globe and brought back many stories and some surprises. Now, global events are impacting Empire once again as sea level rise, invasive species, and the decline of fisheries present new challenges to the area and the estuary. Join our on the scene reporter Estuary Eddie as we learn about what is happening and how the people of the Coos Bay estuary are trying to prepare.
Field Trip Outline:
Estuary Eddie (South Slough education coordinator Tom Gaskill) will explore how fisheries have changed on the southern Oregon coast and how certain fish such as the coho salmon and the lingcod depend on the estuary and the eelgrass beds that flourish there. Will global climate change impact the estuary and the eelgrass?
How have the fisheries on the southern Oregon coast changed over time? (8 mins.)
Reporter on the scene Estuary Eddie will once again introduce viewers to his shoreline beat where he is working to understand the history of fisheries on the southern Oregon coast, how they are connected to the estuary and how global events may change this relationship.
We will meet with a local fisherman who has seen many of these changes from his boat and now from the shore as fishing seasons have come and gone. We will learn what kinds of forces have shaped his life and how he has become involved in trying to protect his livelihood.
Questions from viewers about the history of fisheries on the southern Oregon coast. (3 mins.)
How do fish depend on the estuary, what kinds of fish live here and how does eelgrass play a role? (10 minutes)
The coho salmon and the lingcod are two very different kinds of fish that use estuaries to rear their young before living as adults in the ocean. We will explore the life cycle, habitat, and behaviors of these magnificent creatures and get to see them firsthand.
We will discover how eelgrass, a rooted, flowering plant of the estuary is part of a group of seagrasses found around the world that play an important role in the lives of so many animals and plants. We will also learn from students and scientists how these eelgrass meadows are threatened by human activities such as global warming and sea level rise.
Questions are submitted from viewers about coho salmon, lingcod, eelgrass, and the relationships that are found in the estuary. (3 minutes)
What will sea level rise mean for the Coos estuary? (6 minutes)
Estuary Eddie will help a group of students and a surprise guide to investigate what sea level rise means for the southern Oregon coast and the Empire shores area of the Coos estuary. The students will share what they can do to help counter the effects of climate change through their own actions.
Student Learner Objectives:
| Define estuary |
Estuary Eddie will briefly define an estuary as a place where freshwater and salt water meet when the first segment begins. |
| Locate an estuary on a map, distinguishing it from rivers, oceans and land |
The location of the Coos Estuary will be shown via Google Earth at the beginning. Estuary Eddie will also indicate this on a large map of Oregon. |
| Identify tides as a daily event in an estuary |
The tide will have gone out quite a bit in between our segments. Also, we will address how global climate change will affect sea level and how high the tides may actually get. |
| Describe at least two important functions of estuaries |
We will describe estuaries as nurseries and as calm water inlets for human access to the ocean. |
| List at least three plants or animals that live in an estuary for at least part of their life cycles |
We will cover several species of crabs, ling cod, salmon, and clams (native & alien). |
| Describe how at least one plant or animal has adapted to live in an estuary |
We will discuss how eelgrass is adapted to live only at certain depths in the estuary. |
| State two human activities that might cause an estuary to become unhealthy |
We will discuss several ways students can help fight global warming. |
| Describe how runoff into an estuary might affect the plants, animals, and people |
|
| Identify food webs of estuary plants and animals |
We will describe the relationship between eelgrass and various fish and invertebrates. |
| Describe what they can do to maintain or improve the health of an estuary |
We will discuss specifically how students can help stop global climate change and thus keep the estuaries healthy. |
| Students will be able to describe at least one way that global climate change could affect estuaries |
We will discuss how global warming will change the distribution of eelgrass beds in the estuary. |
| Students will be able to describe at least two activities of estuary scientists |
Students will meet an estuary scientist who works on restoring eelgrass beds and one who is documenting the spread of the invasive purple varnish clam. |
Program Vocabulary:
- Estuary
- Erosion
- Anadromous
- Ballast
- Fouling Panel
- Fishery
- Plankton
- Native Species
- Light Attenuation
- Turbidity
- Larva
- Eelgrass Meadow
- Alien Species
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Are alien species from another planet?
- Are all alien species bad?
- How do alien species get to a new location?
- How can we stop the spread of alien species?
- How shallow does the water have to be for eelgrass to survive?
- How will sea level rise affect Empire?
Links to Supporting Materials:
For background information and lesson plan ideas, go to:
http://estuarylive.pbwiki.com/South-Slough-National-Estuarine-Research-Reserve
TIDES curriculum- estuarine education geared for middle school students
http://www.oregon.gov/DSL/SSNERR/tides_main.shtml
Estuary activities written for third graders as part of the GK-12 program at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. http://www.uoregon.edu/~oimb/Academics/GK12/thirdgrade.html
National Education Standards Addressed:
- Understanding about scientific inquiry (K-4)
- Organisms & environments (K-4)
- Characteristics of organisms (K-4)
- Structure and function in living systems (5-8)
- Populations and ecosystems (5-8)
- Interdependence of organisms (9-12)
- Behavior of organisms (9-12)
Contact Information:
Please contact Tom Gaskill, South Slough NERR Education Program Coordinator for more information about this program.