THIS WAY TO BARNEGAT BAY! Adapted by Kimberly Belfer Education & Outreach Coordinator Save Barnegat Bay Partially funded by The Watershed Institute Stony Brook – Millstone Watershed Association Copyright © 2006, 2015, 2016 Kimberly Belfer, Save Barnegat Bay ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - 2 - - FOREWORD Thank you for assisting us with this program and supporting what we hope and strive to achieve: a working partnership between Ocean County schools and Save Barnegat Bay. We would also like to thank you for your ongoing commitment to nature education, hands-on learning, and lifelong stewardship. Your students depend on these partnerships to grow and learn and become the next wave of Barnegat Bay experts. This Way to Barnegat Bay! has been reestablishing itself over the years, since its inception in 2006. Now, with your continued support, it will grow and prosper into a fully functioning outreach education program. Each lesson helps Ocean County students understand the marine ecosystems right in their backyard and cultivates conservation for the Barnegat Bay Watershed. With the development of this K-8 curriculum supplement, we are able to present a wider array of information to area students and invest them in their future as environmental stewards. The continuation of this program lies in the dedication and support Save Barnegat Bay receives from the general public in the form of volunteers, donations, and supporters. The lessons set forth in this manual are separated into eight units, designated by individual earmark symbols. For example, the unit on Terrapins and Turtles is earmarked with a terrapin hatchling, and the unit on the Water Cycle is earmarked with a water droplet. From watersheds to water pollution, resident marine species to migrating species, your students learn everything there is to know about the life of an estuary, a salt marsh, a barrier island, and the Atlantic coastline. It is our pleasure to present these lessons to your students. Now, with a generous grant from the Watershed Institute, we can provide you with this teacher’s guide and a starter kit of supplies for free, to continue your students’ Barnegat Bay education. As the Education and Outreach Coordinator, I am humbled by your dedication and passion to teaching the young minds of today and tomorrow. It is because of you that these guides are created and published and it is because of you that our outreach programs are made possible. You dedicate your time, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love for the natural world so that generations after you can appreciate the world around them. We truly are a culture where we believe in “No Child Left Inside!” Kimberly Belfer Education & Outreach Coordinator Save Barnegat Bay [email protected] - - 3 - - - - 4 - - Table of Contents Unit One: Shifting Sands Lesson 1: Tunnel Vision ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9 Lesson 2: My Sand is Fine, How About Yours? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 Lesson 3: Where Did My Beach Go? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14 Unit Two: Water Cycle and Watersheds Lesson 4: We Are All Connected ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 19 Lesson 5: “Incredible Journey” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21 Lesson 6: Watershed Walkabout ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 23 Unit Three: Shore Migrations Lesson 7: Mapping My Migration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 27 Lesson 8: Sealed with Blubber ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30 Lesson 9: Mighty Migrations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 33 Unit Four: Food Webs Lesson 10: Food Web on a String ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 45 Lesson 11: “Web of Life” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 50 Lesson 12: Food Webs – Egyptian Style ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 53 Unit Five: Marine Species Lesson 13: Sea Jellies Among Us ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 59 Lesson 14: No Crabbing Around ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 63 Lesson 15: One Shell or Two ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 68 Lesson 16: Turtles, Turtles, Everywhere ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 73 Lesson 17: Dichotomous Dilemma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 76 Lesson 18: Elasmo-Craze ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 82 - - 5 - - Unit Six: Terrapins and Turtles Lesson 19: The Great Terrapin Race ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 92 Lesson 20: We Eat it Too ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 96 Lesson 21: Terrapin Bingo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 99 Unit Seven: People Pollution Lesson 22: Storm Drain Maze ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 107 Lesson 23: Share and Share Alike ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 113 Lesson 24: “Sum of the Parts” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 115 Unit Eight: Outdoor Investigations Lesson 25: Catch of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 118 Bibliography ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 121 - - 6 - - UNIT ONE: SHIFTING SANDS Shifting Sands is presented in three lessons. These lessons explore the life of a barrier island ecosystem and how it has been impacted by human development over time. Students will have the opportunity to inspect species found on a barrier island as well as the natural contours of a barrier island ecosystem. Tunnel Vision (K-2) explores the elaborate network of burrows and tunnels underneath the beach sand we stand on. Students will understand why wet sand is preferred over dry sand for species to construct their barrier island homes. NGSS: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms (survival needs); Biogeology (changing the environment) K-ESS 2-2; Natural Resources (food webs) K-ESS 3-1; Biodiversity and Humans (habitats and species diversity) 2-LS 4-1 My Sand is Fine, How About Yours? (3-5) describes the different types of sand based on particle size, shape, and texture. Students will have the opportunity to differentiate where on the beach the sand came from based on these characteristics. If a field trip is possible, this lesson could be conducted outdoors on an actual beach. NGSS: Earth Materials and Systems (weathering and erosion, interacting systems) 4-ESS 2-1, 5-ESS 2-1 Where Did My Beach Go? (6-8) helps students understand erosion and explain why it is an important factor in shaping the Atlantic coast. This activity can be used as a demonstration or as a hands-on activity to show students how erosion can alter a coastline. It is designed for younger students but can be adapted and expanded for older students. NGSS: Biodiversity and Humans (effects of habitat change) 3-LS 4-4; Natural Hazards (reduction of impacts) 3-ESS 3-1, 4-ESS 3-2; Earth Materials and Systems (weathering and erosion) 4-ESS 2-1; Human Impacts on Earth Systems (conservation efforts) 5-ESS 3-1 Background Information: Barrier island beaches line many coastal states, including New Jersey. The beaches themselves can be divided into zones based on the size, texture, and components of its sand. Beginning with the dunes, the sand found here is finer in texture and is lighter in color. This zone is called the backshore because it is located farthest from the ocean. There are two reasons for its texture and color: the fine grains are easily picked up by wind and the sun warms the grains until they are dry and faded in color. The sand particles are smaller in size and because they are not weighed down by water, they are easily moved around the beach. This type of sand can give you sand-burn if the winds blow too fierce during a storm. Most species of animals cannot live in this zone because they would have to tunnel very deep in order to access water for food and nutrients. - - 7 - - The sand upon which we throw our beach blankets, chairs, and umbrellas is located in a zone called the foreshore. It is directly located before the ocean reaches the normal high water mark. The sand particles here are slightly more coarse and larger in size. Because the sun heats this zone throughout the day, the top layer tends to be a shade lighter than underneath because the water table is closer to the surface. It is because of this moisture that small organisms such as worms, crabs, and sand fleas can live in this zone and tend to be nocturnal to avoid the heat from direct sunlight. The sand nearest to the ocean is located in a zone called the nearshore. These sands are exposed during low tides and inundated with water during high tides. In relation to the other zones, these sands are much coarser and the particles are larger in size. With water being the key factor to its coloration, the sand particles tend to be much darker. Iron and copper in the water can also contribute to the coloration, mixing a red or charcoal pigment in with the usual browns and tans. There are few organisms that can tolerate the extremes of being exposed to the sun and inundated with water throughout the daily tidal cycles, but various species of mollusks can burry themselves in the moist sand when the surface area is exposed. As with all barrier island formations, New Jersey’s is not without its erosion issues. Erosion is the process of sand being pulled from a shoreline and deposited offshore on shoals or sandbars or further down the coast. During the summer months in the northern hemisphere, both wind and water chisel away what become scarps – areas of sharp slopes at the edge of the foreshore. During the winter, those same areas are flattened by winter storms and the sand is more uniform across the beach. - - 8 - - Tunnel Vision Grades: K-2 Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour Goals: To match barrier island organisms with their underground habitats. Objectives: Students will be able to: describe the differences between rocky and sandy intertidal