Aquatic Habitats

GEMS: Aquatic Habitats

Lesson Overview  Creating an Aquatic Habitat Students explore an underwater world through the windows of a model pond. They identify the necessary components of a habitat and work together to arrange their habitats to receive animals in later activities.  Tubifex Worms and Snails Students add Tubifex worms and snails to their pond habitat and observe their behavior.  Fish Enter the Habitat Students observe the structure and behavior of fish in cups before adding them to their pond habitat and after adding them to their pond.  Mosquitoes Students compare the mosquito life stages and structures as well as observe the behavior of the Gambusia Fish as they eat the mosquito larvae.  Further Exploration: Students make observations on a field trip and connect these observations to their aquatic habitat.  JOURNALING PROMPTS Tell how to construct a model aquatic habitat Tell how (an organism’s) habitat provides it with the necessities for its existence Explain how the structures and behaviors of (the organism) help it to survive Describe and draw interactions between organisms Have students label parts of a fish Monitor the fish population by creating a graph for the total number of fish in the habitat. Explain what happens when parts of a habitat are removed or modified Discuss the characteristics of different habitats (aquatic, desert, polar, etc.) and the different characteristics of species within those habitats CONSIDERATIONS: There are some safety issues when handling the fish.  The students will be advised not to touch them with their hands, to be gentle when adding them to the tank, not to use loud voices, and not to bang on the tank or cup. Today we are going to construct aquatic habitats. In the next few weeks, you will get to add small animals that live in ponds and streams to your habitats.    Tap water contains chlorine to kill germs.  There usually isn’t enough to bother humans, but it can hurt or kill small aquatic animals. In order to remove the chlorine from the tank we need to add a dechlorinating solution. Or, this process may also be done by letting the water stand for 24-48 hours. Next, place gravel and sand at the bottom of the tank. Let student decide to place a cup, strawberry basket, or plastic flower pot into the tank to provide a shelter for the wildlife we will add later. Next, add the water plant such as Elodea. Elodea will need 12-12 hours of light per day, so put the habitat in a sunny location.  Keep habitat in temperatures from 50 to 77°. Elodea can grow if it is free floating but it does grow more vigorously if it its rooted in the substrate.  Next add live daphnia, tubifex worms, glass worms or aquarium snails which will later be food for the fish. Lastly the fish (goldfish, Gambusia, Guppies or Mollies) will be added to the habitat. If your student needs prompting for his journal entries, you can ask him questions such as (before the fish are added) “What do you think will happen when the fish are added to the tank?” or, after the fish are added, “What might change in the habitats in the next few days?” Have students record more observations and drawings in their journals. How does an organism’s habitat provide it with the necessities for its existence? An optional culminating activity is a field trip to a nearby pond or stream.