, the species of animals with adaptations that allow them many options are the ones most likely to survive. Some species have adapted to such a narrow range of habitat conditions that they are extremely vulnerable to change. They are overspecialized and are usually more susceptible than other animals to death and extinction.
In this activity, the students design a kind of sea creature. They choose the adaptations that their animal will have. Each choice they make would actually take countless years to develop. As these adaptations become part of the creatureÍs design, the animal becomes better suited to the habitat in which it lives. Because of the variety of conditions within each habitat, many different sea creatures can live together and flourish.
recycled “junk”, paper, large chart paper, magazines pictures of sea creatures, tape, glue, markers, scissors.
1) Lead a discussion emphasizing the adaptation of various animals to their habitat. Guide the discussion into the salt water environment and the adaptations of sea creatures. Using a chart and magazine pictures, have children come up with examples of adaptation of sea creatures, coloration, body shape, mouth shape, locomotion methods, and reproduction (laying of eggs or having live babies). Leave the chart displayed for future reference. (For further activities on adaptation, see “The Ocean Book” by the Center for Marine Conservation.)
Ask the students to “create a creature” using the characteristics previously discussed. This can be done as an individual task or the children can work in small groups cooperatively. Each individual or group should:
Đcreate an artform that represents the creature
Đname the creature
Đdescribe and draw the habitat for their creature Ask each group or individual to share with the rest of the class and report about the attributes of the sea creature they have designed, including identifying and describing its adaptations. Ask the students to describe how this kind of sea creature is adapted for survival.
Repeat this activity using the concept of freshwater habitats and the unique animal life found there.
ĐIntroduce the activity by asking students to create a creature that could survive in a future time. This allows students to express possible scenarios for future ocean habitats.
Setting up a Long Island Sound Aquarium
An aquarium must provide everything that the organisms in it require to stay alive: Food, oxygen, and clean water of correct temperature, correct salinty, and correct chemical balance. If you buy the right supplies the tank will mostly take care of itself.
The pump forces water through the gravel. The gravel filters and cleans the water physically by trapping sediment, including animal waste products. The surface of every piece of gravel gets colonized with bacteria, which break the organic matter down into nutrients. The nutrients are the most easily removed by changing the water regularly. You should do a 10 gallon water change once a month.
- 1. Tank, all glass. Metal parts will corrode and introduce toxins into the water. A 20 or 29 gallon tank is sufficient. Since most of your animals will be bottom living, rather than swimming in the water column, a long tank is better than a high one.
- 2. Air pump and tubing, and air stones. The stronger the pump the better. Don’t skimp, since the air pump is providing both oxygen and cleaning power.
- 3. Gravel made of calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate keeps the pH stable, saving you the trouble of testing and correcting it. You need to buy gravel designed specifically for a salt water aquarium. You need 15-20 pounds, giving you a layer of 2-3 inches thick. You could also use oyster shells crushed finely. You can obtain quantities of oyster shell from Tallmadge Brothers Inc. in New Haven. Students enjoy putting shells into a pillowcase and, wearing eye goggles, smashing the shells with a hammer. The pieces need to be very fine, however, both to provide sufficient filtration and sufficient surface area for bacteria, and also to keep the tank uncluttered.
- 4. Under gravel fi