The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has released two new Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum units – Unit 16: Food Webs and Unit 22: Conservation – two great resources for students and educators.
Conservation unit
The Ocean Conservation unit was designed for middle and high school students and teachers. It contains background information, two Watch It! worksheets, four comprehensive activities, and a Read It! worksheet.
Around the world ocean conservation efforts vary, but perhaps one of the most effective ways to protect the ocean is by establishing a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The path to creating an MPA is not always the same. The four activities in this unit (Lessons 1A-1D) illustrate one path that can lead to the creation of an MPA. In these activities, students will actively participate in the process of creating and managing an MPA. Students will not only learn about these processes, but they will also gain a deeper knowledge of the disruptions to ecosystems, the ecological importance and ecosystem services the ocean provides, and the actions that we can take to conserve ecosystems.
Food Webs
The Food Webs unit was designed for middle and high school students and teachers. It contains background information, one Watch It! worksheets, one comprehensive activity, and two Read It! worksheets.
In this unit, educators can teach their students about how matter is recycled and energy is transferred in the living parts of a coral reef ecosystem.
