Background: This Webquest is actually a game created by the government agency called NOAA. This agency predicts our weather, tracks changes in climate, and conducts many research studies into our environment.

Getting Started

1.  Google “Waterlife Game.” If you can’t find it, the direct address is

http://games.noaa.gov/oscar/welcome.html

2.  Click the sign that says “Play the Game.”

3.  Optional: This game has subtitles. To enable the subtitles, start them game and then:

  1. Click on the gear in the upper right hand corner
  2. Check the box “Enable subtitles”
  3. Choose the language you wish to have subtitles in.

Things to Know

1.  The order of questions in this Webquest is in the order you would find them on the website

2.  There are two types of activity in this Webquest—“Field Guide” and games.

  1. Answer questions from the Field Guide can be found by clicking on the Journal in the upper right corner. Use the tabs on the right of this guide to answer questions from a specific section
  2. Game questions are answered during the games you play during this activity so don’t click through the introductory sections too quickly

Field Guide—Estuaries

1.  An estuary begins where ______

2.  What drives these areas? ______

3.  What is a brackish mixture? ______

4.  What are the 4 reasons why estuaries are important?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______

5.  Where type of climate do mangrove forests grow in? ______Where can you find mangrove forests in the US? ______

  1. What collects in a mangrove? ______

6.  Why are salt marshes salty? ______

  1. Where climate are salt marshes found in? ______
  2. What kinds of salt-tolerant plants grow in these marshes? ______

Trash Game

1.  What are the 4 types of bins used in this game? (Hint: Hover over the bins to see the name)

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______

Field Guide—Water (Must be completed before you start the next game)

1.  Why are tides necessary for healthy estuaries? ______

2.  What is salinity? ______

3.  Why do estuaries heat up during the day and cool down at night? ______

4.  What 3 factors affect salinity in an estuary?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______

5.  What increases salinity in an estuary? ______Decreases it? ______

6.  What are the 3 ways organisms adapt to the changing salinity in an estuary?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______

7.  What 3 things reduce dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in an estuary?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______

8.  What 2 processes increase DO levels in an estuary?

  1. ______
  2. ______

9.  What causes algal blooms? ______

  1. What are the consequences of these blooms on DO levels? ______

10.  What is turbidity a measure of? ______

  1. ______water has low turbidity and ______water has high turbidity

11.  What are 4 ways high turbidity harms organisms?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______

12.  How do concrete and asphalt change estuary water flow? ______

13.  How do storms and hurricanes change estuaries? ______

Clean the River Game

1.  What are the 5 kinds of hazards you encountered in this game?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______

Field Guide—Food Web

1.  Fill in the table below with information about each of the 4 estuary habitats

Upland / Marsh / Mudflat / Channel
Contains ______-based plants that ______tolerate saltwater / Composed of upright ______that live ______the water surface, but with their ______underwater / Exposed to the air at ______tide and underwater at ______tide / Always covered by ______. Contains swimming animals and plants that cannot tolerate long exposure to air
What Organisms Live in Each Habitat?

2.  Who are the estuary producers? ______

  1. How do they produce energy? ______

3.  Who are the estuary’s consumers? ______

  1. How do they get energy? ______

4.  Who are the estuary’s predators? ______

5.  Who are the estuary’s decomposers? ______

  1. Why are they important to the estuary? ______

Food Web Game

1.  What 3 things do plants do in an estuary habitat?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______

2.  Why does an estuary need predators? ______

3.  Fill in the table as you place creatures in each zone (Hint: Place all the producers BEFORE placing consumers BEFORE placing predators)

Upland / Marsh / Mudflat / Channel
Producers
Consumers
Predators

Field Guide—Pollution

1.  What is marine debris? ______

2.  List 2 ways that marine debris can affect marine life

  1. ______
  2. ______

3.  What are the 3 ways you can help reduce pollution?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______

4.  What is nonpoint source pollution? ______

  1. List 4 sources of this type of pollution
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______

5.  What are 4 sources of oil in an estuary?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______

6.  What are some of the toxic substances in estuaries? ______

  1. What does carcinogenic mean? ______
  2. What are the 3 ways toxic chemical affect estuaries?
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______

Pollution Monster Game

1.  What 3 pollution sources created the monster?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______

Field Guide—Restoration

1.  List 5 ways humans affect estuaries

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______

2.  (Go to page 86 in the field guide) What does restoration mean? ______

  1. What 3 activities can humans do to restore an estuary?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______