Build a Seagrass Community & Build a Seagrass Food Chain Instructions & Who am I? Clues for K-4 (Level 1)

1. Build a Seagrass Community & Build a Seagrass Food ChainInstructions & Who am I? Clues for K-4 (Level 1)

2. A Note to the Educator This presentation contains the Instructions for conducting the Build a Seagrass Community and Build a Seagrass Food Chain for grades 1 through 4, designated here as Level 1. The components for this activity are found in the Components folder in two batches: Batch1.ppt and Batch2.ppt. The components are the same for Levels 1 and 2 (grades 5-8). The Background Information for the Seagrass Activity Kit presentation (also on this CD) offers information about the organisms and habitats used in the educational activities found in the Seagrass Activity Kit. It is intended to refresh the educator with information relating to the activities. A glossary of terms is provided at the end of the presentation for reference purposes. We acknowledge the artists, M. Gill and D. Peebles, who created some of the artwork contained in this educational package. The Seagrass Activity Kit was developed for educators and their students by Nancy Diersing and Joy Tatgenhorst, Education Specialists from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. For more information or to provide input, please contact: Mary Tagliareni, Education Coordinator, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, (305) 852-7717 x 30 or Mary.Tagliareni@noaa.gov or Nancy Diersing, (305) 852-7717 x 26 or Nancy.Diersing@noaa.gov.

3. An Overview of the Seagrass Activity Kit

4. Build a Seagrass Community & Build a Seagrass Food Chain--Level 1 Audience : Pre-K though 4 National Science Education Standards: The two activities described in this presentation are designed to meet the Life Science, Content Standard C. Build a Seagrass Community and Build a Seagrass Food Chain enable students to better understand two of the main concepts of this standard: The Characteristics of Organisms and Organisms and their Environments. These two concepts are described below using excerpts from the National Science Education Standards (1996). The Characteristics of Organisms: Organisms have basic needs. For example, animals need air, water, and food; plants require air, water, nutrients, and light. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met. The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms. Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for walking, holding, seeing, and talking. Organisms and their Environments: All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat he plants. An organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment, including the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical characteristics of the environment. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations. Humans depend on their natural and constructed environments. Humans change their environment in ways that can be either beneficial or detrimental for themselves and other organism.

5. Build a Seagrass Community & Build a Seagrass Food Chain • Suggested Time: 45 minutes for each activity at Level 1 • Materials: • Printed copy of each page in this presentation, containing the nonliving and living components of the seagrass community (Arrows are for the food chain activity). • “Who am I?” Clues hand-out (Print one copy of Level 1 “Who am I?” for K-3 students) • Print out “Who am I in the food chain? Clues” (for the food chain activity only). • Felt board, poster board or wall in classroom (approximately 3 to 4 ft. by 2-4 ft. in size) • Clear tape for sticking components to poster board or wall OR Velcro for sticking animals to felt board • round scissors for students to use when cutting out animals. Notes: For the youngest students, you may want to print out only selection of animals from the entire kit. You will also want to print out more than one example of each animal in your selection. The students may be enlisted to cut out the components to be used in building the community. This can be a separate activity prior to initiating the activity described below. If the components are to be used again, it may be good to laminate them. Figure 1. Seagrass Community

6. Build a Seagrass Community Activity--Level 1 1. Students receive two to four nonliving and living components. It may be best to pass these out in envelopes that are stuffed with the components ahead of time. Large brown envelopes can be used as a “desktop” for displaying the components that each student has been issued. 2. Under the teacher’s guidance and using the “Who am I?” Clue cards, students create a seagrass community, beginning with the nonliving components, then moving to the plants, and then to animals (The consumers are not necessarily in any order). To initiate the building part of the activity, the teacher reads the clues one at a time in numerical order. After each clue is read, those students holding the component (plant, or animal or nonliving) described by the “Who am I?” clue, places his/her piece on the board in the appropriate location. This activity begins with the Sun and then moves to seawater (you can point out the air and sand/seafloor, too). Next, the seagrass clues are read and students place the seagrass patches along the seafloor on the board. Then, animals are described and placed in their appropriate locations. Together the animals, plants, and decomposers living in an area form a biological community that is adapted to its marine environment. (see fig.1)You may choose to omit the plant and animal plankton clues from the list and possibly the bacteria, depending upon your students’ knowledge level. Note: The diversity of organisms that inhabit or forage in the seagrass is evident by looking at the completed board. Some of the ecological roles that the organisms fill are described in the clues. You might ask: “Do they swim, float, or live a bottom-dwelling lifestyle?” and other questions that draw out the ecological information. How to Read the Hints on the “Who Am I?” Clues In the “Who am I” clues, you will find the words, benthic, nektonic, or planktonic to describe where the piece is to be placed on the board. Benthic refers to bottom-dwelling organisms; some benthic animals are free-moving such as the sea star and others are sessile or live attached to a hard surface, such as the sponge. Swimming animals are described as nektonic and organisms that float or drift in the ocean currents (no matter how large or small) are planktonic (see glossary for more about planktonic organisms).

7. Build a Seagrass Food Chain--Level 1 • Print out and cut out the components needed for this exercise. You will want to adjust your printing to fit your class size. You only need to print one sun, two to three seawater components, and several seagrass patches (that can be overlapped on the board due to space constraints.) For the food chain animal components, print out several shrimp and conch, but fewer spiny lobsters, sea turtles, snappers and bonefish. This will better reflect the populations in nature where many shrimp are needed to feed one snapper and many queen conch are needed to feed one adult lobster, etc. Having more herbivores than carnivores reflects what occurs in nature since it takes many herbivores to support one carnivore and lots of seagrass to support one herbivore. The transfer of energy between organisms in the food chain is far less than 100% efficient; energy is lost at each level as heat. (see fig. 2) • Pass out the components to the students so that each student has at least one piece. • Read the “Who am I in the food chain?” clues in the order that they are given. There is one set of clues for each of the food chains listed below. When their animal or component is described by the clue being read aloud, the student will place the animals on the board in the appropriate location. • For each food chain illustrated on the board, use the yellow arrows to show the transfer of energy from the sun to the seagrass and the green arrows to show the transfer from plants to animals and so on. (see figs. 3 & 4) • Food Chain1-- seagrass (and the living organisms growing on its leaves) queen conch tulip snail • Food Chain 2-- seagrass  young queen conch  spiny lobstersloggerhead turtle • Food Chain 3-- seagrass (dies)  bacteria  shrimp  gray snapper • Food Chain 4-- seagrass (dies)  bacteria  shrimp  bonefish:

8. Figure 2. A food chain that illustrates the concept that energy is lost at each level of the food chain.

9. Sun Energy Loggerhead Sea Turtle-feeds on spiny lobster and conch Spiny Lobster-feeds on young conch called “rollers” Seagrass Plants--make food using Sun’s energy Queen Conch-feeds on algae living on turtle grass and rocks Figure 3. A simple food chain.

10. Sun Energy Barracuda-feeds on snapper and other fish Gray Snapper-feeds on shrimp and other smaller items Shrimp-feeds on grass and decaying grass Seagrass Plants--make food using Sun’s energy Figure 4. A simple food chain.

11. Who Am I? Clues Level 1 for Build a Seagrass Community 1. Sun I am very large, very hot and very far away from Earth. I shine down on the earth to make it warm. The plants depend upon me to get energy to grow. (Abiotic factor) 2. Seawater Marine animals live and swim in me. I taste as salty as the sea. (Abiotic factor) 3. Seagrass I grow on the sandy bay or ocean bottom. My roots dig into the sand and my green leaves catch the sun’s energy. I make my own food using the sun’s energy. Many small animals like to hide in between my leaves and some of them eat them, too. (primary producer, benthic) 4. Red Mangrove I am a tree that grows along the shoreline in salt water. I use my drop and prop roots to anchor into the sandy or muddy bottom. My seeds grow into young trees before they drop into the water. (primary producer, benthic) 5. Vase Sponge I am a very simple animal without a backbone. I live attached to the seafloor and feed on tiny plants that float and drift in the seawater. My body is shaped like a cup or a basket and is covered with tiny holes. (marine invertebrate, benthic--sessile, filter-feeds on plankton and bacteria, Sponge phylum) 6. Tube Sponge I am a very simple animal without a backbone. I live attached to the seafloor and feed on tiny plants that float and drift in the seawater. I constantly draw water into my body to get the food and oxygen I need to live. My body is shaped like many hollow tubes. (marine invertebrate, benthic--sessile, filter-feeds on plankton and bacteria, Sponge phylum)

12. 7. Pink-tipped Anemone I am an animal without a backbone that can move freely across the seafloor. I have a single mouth surrounded by many stinging tentacles that are used to capture smaller animals for food. The tips of my tentacles are pink. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, uses stinging tentacles to capture prey; Cnidaria phylum) 7. Rose Coral I am an animal without a backbone that has a single mouth surrounded by many tentacles. I use these stinging tentacles to capture smaller animals for food. My body is covered in a golden-colored rose-shaped skeleton that is pointed at the bottom. (marine invertebrate, benthic--sessile, uses stinging tentacles to capture prey; Cnidaria phylum) 9. Bay Scallop I am a soft animal without a backbone. My body is covered with two hard shells that are shaped like fans, just like my close relatives the clams and oysters. I am food for other marine animals and people, too. Using a water-current, I can move through the water, but I also like to spend time on the bottom. (marine invertebrate, mostly benthic—free-living, can propel themselves through the water for short distances, filter-feeds on plankton; Mollusk phylum) 10. Queen Conch I am a snail animal without a backbone that grows a single spiral- shaped shell around my body. Sometimes you can only see my eyes sticking out from beneath my shell. My shell grows larger as my body grows. I can be seen with others of my kind, feeding in the seagrass meadows. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on seagrass and the algae growing on its leaves; Mollusk phylum) 11. Tulip Snail I grow a spiral shell on my back and have a soft body with two eyes on stalks. I use my dark body as a "foot" to move along the sand. I feed on smaller snails and clams. (marine invertebrate, benthic, carnivorous on clams and other bivalves; Mollusk phylum) 12. Common Octopus I have a soft-body and a large head with two large eyes. My eight long arms are covered with suction cups that help me when feeding on clams, stone crabs and other smaller animals. (marine invertebrate, benthic, carnivorous on clams and other bivalves, stone crabs and other crustaceans; Mollusk phylum)

13. 13. Medusa Worm I am an animal with out a backbone that has a body made up of many sections. I bury my long narrow body in the sand and my spaghetti-like tentacles stick out to catch small bits of food. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, deposit feeder on detritus (decaying organic matter); Annelid phylum) 14. Horseshoe Crab I have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. I have two tiny eyes on top of my large round head, but I can't see very well. You can’t tell from the pictures, but I have many legs underneath my large head that are used to bury myself in the sandy seafloor for protection. I have a long pointed tail that helps me balance. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, carnivore that feeds on marine worms and clams; Arthropod phylum) 15. Hermit Crab I have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. I have lots of legs and claws like a crab. I live in an old snail’s shell that I carry on my back for protection. When I become too large for this shell, I must find a new one and crawl into it. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, Omnivore that feeds on both plants and animals; Arthropod phylum) 16. Pink Shrimp I have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. My head is pointed. I have many small legs and a thin shell that covers my body and tail. I like to live in seagrass. I am food for lots of animals, including fish and people. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on decaying and living seagrass and smaller animals; Arthropod phylum) 17. Blue Crab I have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. I have 10 legs. One pair of legs is really a pair of pinching claws used for getting food and defending myself. Another pair of legs is a set of paddles that are used for swimming and burying myself in the sand. People like to eat me and catch me in traps or with bait. I am bluish in color. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, carnivorous on smaller crustaceans, fish, and mollusks; Arthropod phylum) 18. Spiny LobsterI have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. I have ten legs, a tail, and two sets of “feelers” or antennae on my head. I like to back into holes in the reef. I can also use my tail to swim fast backwards. Fishermen catch me in traps. I am reddish in color. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, carnivore that feeds on young queen conch, scallops, and other benthic animals; Arthropod phylum)

14. 19. Sea Cucumber I am an animal without a backbone that lives on the seafloor. My long body is shaped like a cucumber. It has many tiny tube feet that stick to thing. My head has soft tentacles used in feeding on bits of plants that are found in the sand. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, eats sand from seafloor and consumes the detritus in the sand; Echinoderm phylum) 20. Cushion Sea Star I am an animal without a backbone that lives on seafloor. I have five pointed arms that are very wide. You can't tell from the picture, but my mouth is underneath my body. I live and feed in the sea grass. I am shaped like a star. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on seagrass and the algae growing on its leaves; Echinoderm phylum) 21. Grassbed Urchin I am an animal without a backbone that lives on seafloor. My round body is covered with short pointed spines. The spines help me to move and protect me. I like to hide in the grassbeds and am often green in color. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on seagrass and the algae growing on its leaves; Echinoderm phylum) 22. Southern Stingray I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. My bones are softer than those of most fish. I have a flattened body shaped like a diamond and a long thin tail with a pointed spine. I can either bury myself in the sand or swim through the water. My mouth is underneath my body and my gills are on top. (marine vertebrate, cartilaginous fish, nektonic, carnivorous on mollusks and crustaceans; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, cartilagenous fish class) 23. Nurse Shark I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. My bones are softer than those of most fish. My body is usually gray and I spend my time on the sea bottom. I have gill slits on the side of my head and lots of teeth that you can not see when my mouth is closed. (marine vertebrate, cartilaginous fish, nektonic, feeds on mollusks and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, cartilagenous fish class)

15. 24. Gray Snapper I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I love to swim through grassbeds feeding on shrimp and other small animals. I have a brown stripe across each eye that helps me hide from other fish. I am popular to for fishermen to catch and eat. (marine vertebrate, boney fish, nektonic, carnivorous on smaller fish and crustaceans, predator; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, bony fish class) 25. Sea Horse I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I have a tail that can wrap around corals and seaweeds and a long narrow mouth that I use to feed on very small animals floating in the ocean. I am a fish that looks like a land animal. (marine vertebrate, boney fish, nektonic, carnivorous on small crustaceans in the water column;Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, bony fish class) 26. PinfishI am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I swim in shallow waters over the grassbeds. I eat clams and other shellfish that I crush with my strong jaws. I have large eyes, a small mouth, a yellow body with stripes and a spot near each of my eyes. (marine vertebrate, bony fish, nektonic, omnivorous on crustaceans in the seagrass and algae and seagrass; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, bony fish class) 27. Barracuda I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I can swim forward very quickly to catch smaller fish to eat. I have a silvery body, large jaws, and sharp teeth. People are sometimes afraid of me. (marine vertebrate, bony fish, nektonic, carnivorous mainly on smaller fish; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, bony fish class) 28. Bonefish I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I swim in the shallow waters near shore feeding on shrimp and other small animals on the bottom. I have a bony body with not much meat for eating, a tail fin that is split into two parts, and a pointed fin on my back. I am light in color. (marine vertebrate, bony fish, nektonic, carnivorous on shrimp and other crustaceans; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, bony fish class)

16. 29. Loggerhead Sea Turtle I have a backbone and scaly skin. I carry a large heavy shell on my back and have four legs that are used like flippers to swim. I breathe air, but live my life at sea. My head is large and my jaws are strong. I use my strong jaws to crush small conch and lobsters for food. I come to land to lay my eggs. (marine vertebrate, reptile, nektonic, carnivorous on mollusks and crustaceans; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, Reptile class) 30. Brown Pelican I dive from the air to catch fish in my large beak. I have feathers and large wings to help me fly. I also like to float on the surface of the water to rest. I like to spend the night in the mangrove trees. (marine vertebrate, bird, carnivorous on small fish such as minnows and pilchards; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, Avian class) 31. Bottlenose Dolphin I have a long, sleek body that is shaped for swimming in the sea. I have to come to the surface to breath air. My young are born at sea and I take feed them milk until they can feed on their own. I am very intelligent and can communicate with humans and others of my own kind. (marine vertebrate, nektonic, mammal, carnivorous on fish; Chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, mammal class) The following organisms may be omitted for younger students. 32. Bacteria I am so small that you can not see me without a microscope or magnifying glass. I feed on things after they die, breaking them down into smaller pieces. I grow on the surface of the dead things that I am feeding upon. (decomposer, encrusts dead organisms and causes decay) 33. Plant Plankton--I am many different kinds of plants that float in the ocean. I am often green and very small in size and can be found shaped like a box, a diamond, or a tadpole. (collective term for plants that float in the currents, mostare microscopic but some are larger in size (floating seaweeds). 34. Animal Plankton--I am the many different animals that float in the ocean currents. One of the more common kinds is reddish in color and has two feelers and one eye. I am often so small you can not see me without using a magnifying glass or microscope. (collective term for animals that float in the currents, most are microscopic like copepods and some are larger like jellyfish)

17. Who am I in the food chain? CluesFood Chain 1-- seagrass (and the living organisms growing on its leaves) queen conch  loggerhead turtles 1. Sun I am very large, very hot and very far away from Earth. I shine down on the earth to make it warm. The plants depend upon me to get energy to grow. (Abiotic factor) 2. Seawater Marine animals live and swim in me. I taste as salty as the sea. (Abiotic factor) 3. Seagrass I grow on the sandy bay or ocean bottom. My roots dig into the sand and my green leaves stick up where they can get sunlight. I use the energy from the sun to grow and make my own food. Lots of animals like to live in me and a few of them eat my leaves, too. (primary producer, benthic) 4. Queen Conch I am a snail animal without a backbone that grows a single spiral- shaped shell around my body. Sometimes you can only see my eyes sticking out from beneath my shell. My shell grows larger as my body grows. I can be seen with others of my kind, feeding in the seagrass meadows. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on seagrass and the algae growing on its leaves) 5.Loggerhead Sea Turtle I have a backbone and scaly skin. I carry a large heavy shell on my back and have four legs that are used like flippers to swim. I breathe air, but live my life at sea. My head is large and my jaws are strong. I use my strong jaws to crush small conch and lobsters for food. (marine vertebrate, reptile, nektonic, carnivorous on mollusks and crustaceans)

18. Who am I in the food chain? Clues Food Chain 2-- seagrass  young queen conch  spiny lobsters 1. Sun I am very large, very, very hot and very far away from Earth. I shine down on the earth to make it warm. The plants depend upon me to get energy to grow. (Abiotic factor) 2. Seawater Marine animals live and swim in me. I taste as salty as the sea. (Abiotic factor) 3. Seagrass I grow on the sandy bay or ocean bottom. My roots dig into the sand and my green leaves stick up where they can get sunlight. I use the energy from the sun to grow and make my own food. Lots of animals like to live in me and a few of them eat my leaves, too. (primary producer, benthic) 4. young Queen Conch I am a snail animal without a backbone that grows a single spiral- shaped shell around my body. Sometimes you can only see my eyes sticking out from beneath my shell. My shell grows larger as my body grows. I can be seen with others of my kind, feeding in the seagrass meadows.(marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on seagrass and the algae growing on its leaves) 5. Spiny LobsterI have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. I have ten legs, a tail, and two sets of “feelers” or antennae on my head. I like to back into holes in the reef. I can also use my tail to swim fast backwards. Fishermen catch me in traps. I am reddish in color. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, carnivore that feeds on young queen conch, scallops, and other benthic animals)

19. Who am I in the food chain? Clues Food Chain 3—seagrass (dies)  bacteria shrimp  pinfish  gray snapper • 1. Sun • I am very large, very, very hot and very far away from Earth. I shine down on the earth to make it warm. The plants depend upon me to get energy to grow. (Abiotic factor) • 2. Seawater • marine animals live and swim in me. I taste as salty as the sea. (Abiotic factor) • 3. Seagrass • I grow on the sandy bay or ocean bottom. My roots dig into the sand and my green leaves stick up where they can get sunlight. I use the energy from the sun to grow and make my own food. Lots of animals like to live in me and a few of them eat my leaves, too. (primary producer, benthic) • 4.Bacteria • I am so small that you can not see me without a microscope or magnifying glass. I feed on things after they die, breaking them down into smaller pieces. I grow on the surface of the dead things that I am feeding upon. • (decomposer, encrusts dead organisms and causes decay) • 5. PinfishI am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I swim in shallow waters over the grassbeds. I eat clams and other shellfish that I crush with my strong jaws. . I have large eyes, a small mouth, a yellow body with stripes and a spot near each of my eyes. • (marine vertebrate, bony fish, nektonic, omnivorous on crustaceans in the seagrass and algae and seagrass) • 6.Gray Snapper • I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I am popular to for fishermen to catch and eat. I love to swim through grassbeds feeding on shrimp and other small animals. I have a brown stripe across each eye that helps me hide from other fish. • (marine vertebrate, boney fish, nektonic, carnivorous on smaller fish and crustaceans, predator)

20. Who am I in the food chain? Clues Food Chain 4—seagrass (dies)  bacteria shrimp  bonefish 1. Sun I am very large, very, very hot and very far away from Earth. I shine down on the earth to make it warm. The plants depend upon me to get energy to grow. (Abiotic factor) 2. Seawater Marine animals live and swim in me. I taste as salty as the sea. (Abiotic factor) 3. Seagrass I grow on the sandy bay or ocean bottom. My roots dig into the sand and my green leaves stick up where they can get sunlight. I use the energy from the sun to grow and make my own food. Lots of animals like to live in me and a few of them eat my leaves, too. (primary producer, benthic) 4.Bacteria I am so small that you can not see me with a microscope or magnifying glass. I feed on things after they die, breaking them down into smaller pieces. I grow on the surface of the dead things that I am feeding upon. (decomposer, encrusts dead organisms and causes decay) 5. Pink ShrimpI have an outer shell that is shed each time I grow larger. My head is pointed. I have many small legs and a thin shell that covers my body and tail. I like to live in seagrass. I am food for lots of animals, including fish and people. (marine invertebrate, benthic—free-living, feeds on decaying and living seagrass and smaller animals) 6.Bonefish I am an animal with a backbone, scales, and gills. I swim in the shallow waters near shore feeding on shrimp and other small animals on the bottom. I have a bony body with not much meat for eating, a tail fin that is split into two parts, and a pointed fin on my back. I am light in color. (marine vertebrate, boney fish, nektonic, carnivorous on shrimp and other crustaceans)