Chesapeake Bay Critter Investigation:
An Ecological Investigation (Available from May 15 - October 31 only)
Appropriate for grades 6 through 12
In this lab, students will take on the role of marine biologists and examine the diversity of invertebrates inhabiting the Bay, as well as investigate some of the factors that can affect biodiversity in the Bay. To do this, before the students come, we will place clear plastic discs in the Bay at different depths (1, 3, and 5 meters) at least two weeks before your visit date. Students will investigate the effects of some water quality factors, such as temperature, salinity, pH, and turbidity, on biodiversity. *At the high school level, we can incorporate math into the activity by having the students estimate various measures of biodiversity, such as species richness, Simpson Index, Shannon-Wiener Index, etc.
The following is available for download and printing:
*Please note: the high school version is currently in development; if you are interested in this version, please let us know and we can inform you of when it will be completed.
8000 York Road | Towson, MD 21252 | 410-704-2000
In this lab, students will take on the role of marine biologists and examine the diversity of invertebrates inhabiting the Bay, as well as investigate some of the factors that can affect biodiversity in the Bay. To do this, before the students come, we will place clear plastic discs in the Bay at different depths (1, 3, and 5 meters) at least two weeks before your visit date. Students will investigate the effects of some water quality factors, such as temperature, salinity, pH, and turbidity, on biodiversity. *At the high school level, we can incorporate math into the activity by having the students estimate various measures of biodiversity, such as species richness, Simpson Index, Shannon-Wiener Index, etc.