North Carolina Aquariums at Pine Knoll Shores
Fifth Grade–Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt
As you tour the Aquarium and see exhibits “from the mountains to the sea,” try to find the answers to the clues below!
Mountains
1.______killed off muskies in the early to mid-1900s. Today, the water is cleaner and muskies have been reintroduced.
2. ______are an important part of their habitat because they eat aquatic plants, insects, crustaceans and worms, and are eaten by other fish such as smallmouth bass and trout.
3. Minnows are indicators of ______.
Piedmont
4. Name three ways humans benefit from man-made lakes and reservoirs.
5. How do fish and other wildlife benefit from man-made lakes and reservoirs?
6. Name two of the main problems that humans created for river otters in the early 20th century.
7. What do otters eat in the wild?
Marsh Walk
8. ______eat tiny bits of detritus and microalgae off grains of sand and mud in the saltmarsh.
9. The most common producer in the salt mash is ______.
10. ______and______are common decomposers found in the saltmarsh.
11. This consumer swallows their food whole and can ingest prey several times the size of their head.
Coastal Plains
12. Two major human threats to freshwater turtles are______and ______.
13. This unusual habitat is home to fish, water snakes, crayfish, frogs and mosquitoes.
14. The ______fish feeds heavily on mosquito larvae.
15.______darken the water in blackwater swamps.
Tidal Waters
16. Nearly ______of commercially important fish and shellfish depend on salt marshes for food or shelter during some part of their lives.
17. An adult oyster can filter up to ______of water per day.
18. List three human created dangers that sea turtles may face.
1.
2.
3.
19. List three ways you can help sea turtles.
1.
2.
3.
Ocean
20. These man-made structures are the basis for many large artificial reefs in North Carolina.
21. If this top predator became extinct, the ecology of the world’s oceans would be forever changed.
22. The lionfish may have appeared in our waters from ______from freighters or from ______by aquarium hobbyists.
23. ______are the world’s largest jellies. Although, they can sting people not every jelly can. ______have nematocysts that are too weak to pierce human skin.
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