Keep Your Eyes on Me

Focus Question

How do organisms interact with their environment?

How do they obtain the resources necessary for them to survive (air, food, water and shelter) from their environment?

Activity Synopsis

In this activity, students will select and observe an animal in the Coastal Plain exhibit of the SC Aquarium. The students will collect data from their observations to describe the interaction of the animal with its surroundings. The data will include information to describe the habitat (fresh or salt water), description of how the animal obtains resources from its environment, and how the animal behaves in the environment (interaction with other animals, utilizing habitat for camouflage, etc).

Time Frame

Approximately 10-15 minutes

Student Key Terms

  • habitat
  • resource
  • camouflage
  • predator
  • prey
  • observe
  • behavior
  • biologist
  • salt marsh
  • estuarine
  • environment
  • habitat
  • interaction
  • predation
  • detritus

Objectives

The learner will be able to:

  • Collect data related to a specific animal and its behavior
  • Describe how an animal interacts with its environment through written and spoken words as well as drawings and diagrams
  • Identify how an animal obtains the resources it needs from its environment

Second Grade Standards Addressed

Science Standards

IA1a, IA4a, IB1a, IB1b, IB1d, IIA1a, IIA2a, IIC1a

Background

Key Points

Key Points will give you the main information you should know to teach the activity.

  • Every organism in a habitat will interact in a variety of ways with the other organisms it comes in contact with. They will also interact with the non-living portions of their habitat such as rocks, water and detritus.
  • Through this set of interactions, organisms must obtain the resources that they need to survive (food, water, air and shelter).

Detailed Information

Detailed information gives you more in-depth background to increase your own knowledge, in case you want to expand upon the activity or if students ask you more complicated questions.

The following are descriptions of some of the organisms found in the Blackwater Swamp exhibit of the South Carolina Aquarium:

The American Alligator (Alligator missippiensis)- The name Alligator comes from the Spanish el lagarto, which means “the lizard.”

Range and Habitat:

Alligators are found throughout the southeastern United States including: Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas.

Alligators are found primarily in freshwater swamps and marshes, but they are also present in rivers, lakes and smaller bodies of water. They can tolerate elevated salinities such as those that might be found in tidal brackish marsh, salt marsh and estuarine habitat for short periods of time. Alligators do not, however, possess the salt secreting glands that are present is salt-water crocodilians and other marine reptiles.

Alligators often excavate dens, which are utilized for shelter during periods of extended cold. They have also been observed creating “alligator holes”, which are depressions at the bottom of a shallow body of water. These depressions function to hold water even in dry periods and offer habitat for other water dependent species during these dry times. Alligators are dependent on water and will travel great distances across land in times of drought.

Diet:

Alligator feeding activity is governed by water temperature. If the water temperature drops below 20 to 23°C (68 to 73°F), alligators cease to feed.

Juvenile alligators feed primarily on a variety of aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates including insects, small fish and frogs. As they grow into adulthood, their diet expands to include larger organisms including small mammals, larger fish, birds, turtles, and even small alligators. Since alligators are opportunistic feeders, they will take advantage of any carrion that may be readily available. They have also been known to attack dogs, children and even adult humans when provoked. Alligators pose little threat to humans when left alone.

Appearance:

Adult male alligators may reach nearly 15 feet in length. They are greenish brown in appearance and may resemble a partially submerged log or other debris when floating in the water. This is an adaptation that allows the alligator to remain undetected by its predators and prey.

Long Nosed Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) –

Information from

“Preferred Habitat: sluggish rivers, backwaters, swamps, and impoundments.

Range: all coastal streams, piedmont rivers and reservoirs

Common Size: 2.5-3 feet and 3 to 5 pounds. Approximate Maximum Size: in excess of 21 pounds.

Food Habits: fish and other living or dead animal matter.

Spawning: Eggs are deposited in shallow water during May and June with no attention from adults. Females can deposit in excess of 40,000 eggs.

Miscellaneous: The group of fish known as gars is a small and primitive family of fishes represented in South Carolina by only one of the five North American species, the longnose gar. The roe is poisonous to warm-blooded animals. The fish’s armor-like scales make the gar safe from most predators. The gar is an ambushes predator that makes its captures by lashing out sideways when prey fish approach. Gar fish have many sharp teeth along their bony jaws. Hooking a gar is very difficult unless the bait is swallowed. Longnose gar are rarely taken for their food value. Like the bowfin, gars utilize an air bladder as an auxiliary respiratory organ and can survive low oxygen conditions. They are often observed porpoising at the surface of the water; a behavior associated with their intake of air.”

Soft Shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox)
Information from

“The flattened, round-shelled turtles of the family Trionychidae are known commonly as soft-shelled turtles, although in fact only the marginal bones of the carapace are replaced by soft parts. By virtue of their thin-edged, flat shell these turtles are well adapted to a life of concealment on the bottoms of lakes and rivers. Tough skin, instead of the usual horny layer, covers the shell bones, giving the turtles a leathery appearance. The family is represented in the U.S. by the genus Trionyx, which includes two species and several subspecies. Soft-shelled turtles are known for their aggressive behavior, and the bite of a large specimen is capable of severing a human finger.”

The Green Anole (Anoles carolinensis)-

Information from:

The green anole is a relative common lizard, slight in build, with a narrow head and a long, slender tail that can be twice as long as the rest of the animal. Total length of the anole is between 5 and 8 inches. Color can vary from gray-brown, to brown, to bright green. The anole can change its color to blend with surroundings. This characteristic has led many to call this lizard a "chameleon", but the anole is not a true chameleon. Males can have a noticeable dewlap (area under the “chin”) that is pink when displayed.

Anoles eat small insects and spiders. They prefer moist habitat with greenery including trees and shrubs. Anoles can often be found in backyards and other urban/suburban areas. This as well as the fact that they are relatively common makes them an ideal species for observation. Anoles breed during the period from March to early October. Females lay a single egg in the moist leaf litter. The incubation period is 5-7 weeks.

Domestic cats often prey upon anoles. Individuals seeking pets also commonly take them. While anoles can survive well in captivity on a diet of crickets, they may never adjust well to being handled.

Procedures

Materials

  • Pencils
  • Data sheets
  • Clip boards (optional, but helpful)

Procedure

  1. Before your trip to the SC Aquarium, introduce the students (or refresh their memory) to the concept of observation. Explain to them that in order to learn about animals, scientists called biologists observe their behavior. This often involves watching one animal or a group of animals for a long time and making notes on how they behave.
  2. Have the students observe the behavior of other members of the class for one minute. What did they notice about the person that they were observing? On the playground, have some of the students observe the first grade students and some of them observe the third grade students. Did they behave the same way? What was similar and what was different.
  3. Upon arrival at the aquarium, tell the students “Today, all of you will be biologists. You will observe animals in their habitats and collect data about their behavior.”
  4. The habitat that this activity focuses on is the Coastal Plain exhibit. Before arriving at this exhibit, make sure that each student has a data sheet and a pencil in order to record their observations.
  5. Once in the Coastal Plain exhibit on the second floor of the Aquarium, divide the class into smaller chaperone groups. Instruct each student to choose his or her favorite organism in the exhibit. Tell each student to fill in the data sheet with the assistance of his or her chaperone.
  6. The students are looking for how the organism gets air, food, water, and shelter. In addition, the students must draw the organism in its habitat.

Assessment

Collect the data sheets from the students.

Mastery/Nonmastery: The student correctly identifies how the organism gets air, food, water and shelter; and has drawn the organism in the correct habitat.

Members of the COASTeam Aquatic Workshops development team include: Katrina Bryan, Jennifer Jolly Clair, Stacia Fletcher, Kevin Kurtz, Carmelina Livingston, and Stephen Schabel.

From COASTeam Aquatic Workshops: Coastal Plain (grade 2); a joint effort between the COASTeam Program at the College of Charleston and the South Carolina Aquarium – funded by the SC Sea Grant Consortium.

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