Invasive Issues
By Katie Larson, Alliance for the Great Lakes, klarson@greatlakes.org
To download a printable version of this lesson plan, click on the image
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By Katie Larson, Alliance for the Great Lakes, klarson@greatlakes.org
To download a printable version of this lesson plan, click on the image
We would greatly appreciate your feedback! Click here to complete a short survey telling us about your experience with this lesson plan.
Lesson Overview
Students research and present findings on invasive species that have entered the Great Lakes, studying their arrival, habitats, food source and impacts. In addition, students research and write about possible solutions to the impacts and/or methods to keep new invasive species out of the Great Lakes.
Teacher Background
Invasive species are non-native species that have arrived accidentally or have been brought intentionally from their native ecosystem to a new ecosystem and cause harm to the new ecosystem. Hundreds of examples of non-native species (also called exotic species) appearing in new ecosystems are known around the world. When a new species arrives in an ecosystem, the balance among native organisms may be altered, and competition is high until a new balance is achieved. Non-native species are not always invasive: sometimes the new species cannot survive in these new ecosystems; in other cases, they cause no harm or may even be beneficial. However, if the new species survives and reproduces well, one or more native species populations can suffer, altering the ecosystem. A non-native species that causes harm to the environment, ecosystem, or people is known as an invasive species.
Generally, invasive species can cause significant change to their newly adopted ecosystems. According to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity about 1.4 trillion dollars a year is spent globally to control invasive species and to help repair the damage they cause.
Within the Great Lakes region, commercial shipping has been responsible for over 60% of invasive species that have arrived since 1960. Two species, which probably were transported here in the ballast water of commercial ships, are quagga and zebra mussels. These “successful” invaders altered the balance within the Great Lakes ecosystem by competing with native mussels for resources. As a result of this competition, many native mussel populations have almost completely disappeared. Another example is the round goby, which was introduced into the St. Clair River in 1990 (probably in ship ballast water). This aggressive fish competes with native fish for prime spawning sites, causing problems for the mottled sculpin, logperch and darters. The introduction of the goby has changed the ecosystem, as the native species mentioned are bottom dwellers, an important part of the food web. This poses threats to a number of species in the food web, as they are interdependent. On an economic level, it poses a threat to the fishing industry that depends on the abundance of certain fish.
The Great Lakes states continue to seek solutions to preventing new invasive species from establishing themselves in the ecosystem. Besides being carried into the Great Lakes by ballast water, other ways that invasive species have been introduced into the Great Lakes are by swimming into the Great Lakes through canals that connect other watersheds to the Great Lakes. Sometimes non-native species have been raised in ponds for food but then escaped into the environment during a flood. People have bought non-native species for pets (e.g., goldfish!) or planting in their backyard garden or ponds, and these “organisms for sale” then escaped or were put out on their own when people tired of having them.
Asian carp were first grown in fish farms in the southern United States. Many escaped in a great Mississippi River flood, and they have spread up the Mississippi River and the Illinois and Ohio Rivers to canals and watersheds that connect to the Great Lakes basin. One type of Asian carp, the silver carp, can leap out of the water in response to the sound of a passing motor and have been known to land in boats or hit people, even knocking them into the water. Asian carp are voracious filter feeders that can grow to more than 4 feet long, weigh up to 100 pounds and quickly dominate a body of water by gobbling up the same food that sustains native fish populations. Once established in the Great Lakes, these invasive fish could devastate the region’s $7 billion fishing industry and permanently alter how recreational boaters, anglers and tourists use and enjoy the lakes and their tributaries.
Asian carp are just one of many invasive plant and animal species that have moved or are poised to move between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins via the manmade Chicago Waterway System canals that have connected the basins for over 100 years. Other invasive species that have been found in the Great Lakes are rusty crayfish, spiny water flea, common carp, Eurasian ruffe, sea lamprey, Eurasian water milfoil, rudd and New Zealand mudsnail. Other non-native species threatening to enter the Great Lakes are the northern snakehead and the tench.
Target Grade & Subject: Gr. 6-8 Science
Duration: 3 or more 50-minute class periods
Instructional Setting: Classroom and/or computer lab with Internet
Advance Preparation:
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Michigan Science (or Social Studies) Performance Expectation Addressed:
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
SEP: Science & Engineering Practices
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Construct an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem.
DCI: Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and ResilienceEcosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
CCC: Cross-Cutting Concepts
Stability and Change
Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part. (MS-LS2-5)
Materials & Quantities Needed per class and per student group
Guiding Question(s):
5E Model
DAY 1 –
ENGAGE:
EXPLORE:
Supporting students during exploration: Questions that the teacher could ask to guide the exploration.
DAY 2 –
EXPLAIN:
DAY 3 –
ELABORATE:
EVALUATE:
Students should each write a one-page essay in their journals that explains: the impact of the invasive species they have chosen, one possible solution to the problem, and an explanation of why they chose that solution and the results they believe it would have for the ecosystem.
Supporting students during evaluation: Questions the teacher could ask to tie student ideas to big idea.
New Vocabulary
Sources
Alliance for the Great Lakes. 2010. “Invasive Issues.” Great Lakes in My World K-8. Chicago, IL.
Appendix
Supporting Materials (click on highlighted text to download):
Invasive Issues chart (teachers guide)
Student journal pages “Invasive Issues,” includes blank (for students) Invasive Issues Chart.
Invasive species cards.
Students research and present findings on invasive species that have entered the Great Lakes, studying their arrival, habitats, food source and impacts. In addition, students research and write about possible solutions to the impacts and/or methods to keep new invasive species out of the Great Lakes.
Teacher Background
Invasive species are non-native species that have arrived accidentally or have been brought intentionally from their native ecosystem to a new ecosystem and cause harm to the new ecosystem. Hundreds of examples of non-native species (also called exotic species) appearing in new ecosystems are known around the world. When a new species arrives in an ecosystem, the balance among native organisms may be altered, and competition is high until a new balance is achieved. Non-native species are not always invasive: sometimes the new species cannot survive in these new ecosystems; in other cases, they cause no harm or may even be beneficial. However, if the new species survives and reproduces well, one or more native species populations can suffer, altering the ecosystem. A non-native species that causes harm to the environment, ecosystem, or people is known as an invasive species.
Generally, invasive species can cause significant change to their newly adopted ecosystems. According to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity about 1.4 trillion dollars a year is spent globally to control invasive species and to help repair the damage they cause.
Within the Great Lakes region, commercial shipping has been responsible for over 60% of invasive species that have arrived since 1960. Two species, which probably were transported here in the ballast water of commercial ships, are quagga and zebra mussels. These “successful” invaders altered the balance within the Great Lakes ecosystem by competing with native mussels for resources. As a result of this competition, many native mussel populations have almost completely disappeared. Another example is the round goby, which was introduced into the St. Clair River in 1990 (probably in ship ballast water). This aggressive fish competes with native fish for prime spawning sites, causing problems for the mottled sculpin, logperch and darters. The introduction of the goby has changed the ecosystem, as the native species mentioned are bottom dwellers, an important part of the food web. This poses threats to a number of species in the food web, as they are interdependent. On an economic level, it poses a threat to the fishing industry that depends on the abundance of certain fish.
The Great Lakes states continue to seek solutions to preventing new invasive species from establishing themselves in the ecosystem. Besides being carried into the Great Lakes by ballast water, other ways that invasive species have been introduced into the Great Lakes are by swimming into the Great Lakes through canals that connect other watersheds to the Great Lakes. Sometimes non-native species have been raised in ponds for food but then escaped into the environment during a flood. People have bought non-native species for pets (e.g., goldfish!) or planting in their backyard garden or ponds, and these “organisms for sale” then escaped or were put out on their own when people tired of having them.
Asian carp were first grown in fish farms in the southern United States. Many escaped in a great Mississippi River flood, and they have spread up the Mississippi River and the Illinois and Ohio Rivers to canals and watersheds that connect to the Great Lakes basin. One type of Asian carp, the silver carp, can leap out of the water in response to the sound of a passing motor and have been known to land in boats or hit people, even knocking them into the water. Asian carp are voracious filter feeders that can grow to more than 4 feet long, weigh up to 100 pounds and quickly dominate a body of water by gobbling up the same food that sustains native fish populations. Once established in the Great Lakes, these invasive fish could devastate the region’s $7 billion fishing industry and permanently alter how recreational boaters, anglers and tourists use and enjoy the lakes and their tributaries.
Asian carp are just one of many invasive plant and animal species that have moved or are poised to move between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins via the manmade Chicago Waterway System canals that have connected the basins for over 100 years. Other invasive species that have been found in the Great Lakes are rusty crayfish, spiny water flea, common carp, Eurasian ruffe, sea lamprey, Eurasian water milfoil, rudd and New Zealand mudsnail. Other non-native species threatening to enter the Great Lakes are the northern snakehead and the tench.
Target Grade & Subject: Gr. 6-8 Science
Duration: 3 or more 50-minute class periods
Instructional Setting: Classroom and/or computer lab with Internet
Advance Preparation:
- Print journal pages for each student and charts for each group of students.
- Display or print large Invasive Issues chart (page 3 of the journal pages) for use by full class.
- Display or print a world map, preferably with waterways shown.
- Print the 8 invasive species cards listed in the materials list.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Explain how specific invasive species have impacted the lake food web.
- Suggest possible solutions to problems caused by invasive species in or threatening to enter the Great Lakes.
Michigan Science (or Social Studies) Performance Expectation Addressed:
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
SEP: Science & Engineering Practices
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Construct an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem.
DCI: Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and ResilienceEcosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
CCC: Cross-Cutting Concepts
Stability and Change
Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part. (MS-LS2-5)
Materials & Quantities Needed per class and per student group
- Creature Cards
- Pull out 8 invasive Creature Cards: alewife, bighead carp, hydrilla, round goby, rusty crayfish, sea lamprey, spiny water flea, and zebra mussel
- World Map to show in front of class, either hanging map or Google Map; optional: print world maps for groups, such as https://www.mapsinternational.co.uk/downloads/world_pol.pdf
- Computer lab with internet
- Pencils, pens, markers and/or other writing utensils
- Journal page: Invasive Issues
- Invasive Issues Chart
Guiding Question(s):
- What impacts do invasive species have on a food web? What are some solutions to these problems?
5E Model
DAY 1 –
ENGAGE:
- Introduce the activity by telling the class they’re going to build upon what they’ve learned about invasive species. Divide the class into 8 groups, giving each group one of the following invasive species Creature Cards: alewife, bighead carp, hydrilla, round goby, rusty crayfish, sea lamprey, spiny water flea, and zebra mussel.
- Display a world map (e.g., Google maps, hanging map), preferably with waterways and countries labeled. Tell the class we are going to map the origins of these 8 invasive species – noting that there are many more invasive species that have entered the Great Lakes from other places, near and far.
- Ask each student group to select one person who can come up to the map and place a sticky note with the name of the species at their country, region or waterway of origin.
- Discuss as a class: what do you notice about these locations? What questions are you wondering about?
- Compile student questions on a chart paper, the board or on sticky notes and post them in the room.
- Sample student questions could include: How did these invasive species get here? Did they swim? How did the plants travel that far? How many invasive species are there in the Great Lakes? When did they come here?
EXPLORE:
- Create a large chart to hang or project an image on the wall or board that duplicates the one on the third page of the attached journal pages. Divide students into eight teams to research invasive species. Each team should choose one species- this can be the species on the Creature Card their group had, or another invasive species not already chosen by another group.
- Using the websites listed, teams research the species to answer the questions in the chart. Students should record the research on pages first two journal pages (attached), and then enter concise responses on the class and journal chart (third page of the attached journal pages).
Supporting students during exploration: Questions that the teacher could ask to guide the exploration.
- How does this invasive species impact native species?
- How does it impact the food web?
- What solutions can you design that would address those impacts?
DAY 2 –
EXPLAIN:
- After adding their information to the chart, each team will prepare and give a three-minute presentation on their findings. Presentations should focus on the questions listed above, but groups should also share what surprised them and what questions they are still wondering about. In addition, they can look for similarities and differences to the other invasive species on the chart and that have been presented on already.
- Discuss the following questions as a class:
- What are the most common ways in which non-native species enter the Great Lakes?
- What characteristics are shared by successful invasive species? What can happen when an invasive species successfully establishes itself in an ecosystem? NOTE: There are various examples in the background knowledge section above.
- Discuss the changes that the lake food web has undergone as a result of the introduction of new species.
- How long do students think the food web will continue to change? This answer is dependent on predator-prey relationships and on habitat requirements of the invasive and native species and how habitats change with invasive species.
- Is the food web stable, or adjusting right now with the invasive species?
- Will the food web become stable again over time? Possible conclusion of the discussion: Right now, native organisms spend a lot of energy competing with new organisms for food and space. Over a very long period of time, organisms co-evolve so that they can live in balance and expend less energy competing with each other. In the meantime, the food web as we know it could change drastically and decrease in biodiversity. Another possible conclusion: New invasions will keep on occurring, the environment might continue changing (e.g., climate change) and the food web will be continually adjusting as its species continue to adapt and co-evolve.
- Then, students work in their teams to draw diagrams of the lake food web that include the invasive species. If they completed food webs in previous lessons, they can add on to those or use them as a reference.
DAY 3 –
ELABORATE:
- Make clear the difference between the short- and long-term time scales. The imbalance in ecosystems caused by invasive species may be corrected through evolution, but this happens over a very long period of time (thousands of years). In the more immediate future, invasive species may do considerable damage to an ecosystem.
- Discuss the following as a class:
- What is the answer? Do you think the best solution to this problem is to let the food web take its own course in finding a new balance or to try to control the invasive species? What are the possible ways in which invasive species could be controlled? Preventative measures include things such as electric barriers, regulations on shipping ballast water, or not buying non-native species for pets and gardens. Measures to reduce existing numbers of invasive species in the Great Lakes include selective poisoning, introducing predators, and interfering with reproduction.
- Students should go back into their groups to research potential solutions to the damage caused by their species.
- Have students begin research by looking for articles on their species on the following web site: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Programs/glansis/glansis.html. Each group should read at least two articles on their species and one article on another species:
- Click on “species list by basin or sub-basin” or “search the database”
- Search for the common name of the species.
- Read through the info in the profile, and then look at other websites listed under “other resources”.
- https://www.glc.org/category/library/aquatic-invasive-species/
- https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/invasive-species-great-lakes
- After reading the articles and doing additional research as necessary, students should brainstorm a list of potential solutions and how those solutions might be tested. Have groups each choose one solution and plan a skit to further describe and explain their problem and solution.
- Student groups should each take two minutes to act out their invasive species, its impact and the proposed solution to the class.
EVALUATE:
Students should each write a one-page essay in their journals that explains: the impact of the invasive species they have chosen, one possible solution to the problem, and an explanation of why they chose that solution and the results they believe it would have for the ecosystem.
Supporting students during evaluation: Questions the teacher could ask to tie student ideas to big idea.
- How does this invasive species impact native species?
- How does it impact the food web?
- What solutions can you design that would address those impacts?
New Vocabulary
- Invasive species: plant or animal that enters an ecosystem to which it is not native and competes with one or more native species for food, shelter and/or reproductive opportunities, causing harm to the environment, ecosystems, or people
- Biodiversity: biological variety in an environment as indicated by numbers of different types of plants and animals and large variations in the types of species in different habitats.
Sources
Alliance for the Great Lakes. 2010. “Invasive Issues.” Great Lakes in My World K-8. Chicago, IL.
Appendix
Supporting Materials (click on highlighted text to download):
Invasive Issues chart (teachers guide)
Student journal pages “Invasive Issues,” includes blank (for students) Invasive Issues Chart.
Invasive species cards.
New lesson plan ideas are welcome and will be uploaded as they are received and approved.
We especially encourage lesson plans about:
Invasive species,
Science and science careers
For information about submitting new lesson plans, please contact jchadde(at)mtu.edu
Lesson plan ideas from other web sites:
From Pennsylvania Sea Grant: 10 lesson plans about interactions of invasive species, biodiversity, and climate change
Creation of the above page of educational resources was funded in part by the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program through the Departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality, and Agricultural and Rural Development.
This material is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1614187.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
We especially encourage lesson plans about:
Invasive species,
Science and science careers
For information about submitting new lesson plans, please contact jchadde(at)mtu.edu
Lesson plan ideas from other web sites:
From Pennsylvania Sea Grant: 10 lesson plans about interactions of invasive species, biodiversity, and climate change
Creation of the above page of educational resources was funded in part by the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program through the Departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality, and Agricultural and Rural Development.
This material is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1614187.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.