Learning Module

A Warming Gulf of Maine: Investigating Impacts on Predators and Prey

As climate change causes widespread ocean warming, particularly in the Gulf of Maine, the behavior, productivity and distribution of species is changing, potentially disrupting long-standing predator-prey relationships as species respond in different ways and at different rates.

Teacher's Guide

Module Overview

Learning Outcomes

What strategies can we use to understand predator-prey relationships in an ecosystem?
How are warming ocean temperatures impacting fish species in the region?

Time Estimate
4 to 10 class periods

Standards Alignment

Key Considerations

Based on ongoing research being conducted by researchers at The University of New Hampshire and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, this module explores how we know what we know about predator-prey relationships in the Gulf of Maine and how these relationships may shift as a result of ocean warming.

Students engage with data collection and analysis activities focused on stomach content analysis of predators, research about warming and its impacts in the Gulf of Maine, and ecosystem modeling activities using SageModeler, a free, web-based modeling tool designed for middle and high school students.

This module expands on learning from the Models, Food Webs and a Warming Gulf of Maine module and also can be used as a stand-alone unit of study.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Analyzing Predator/Prey Relationships

Students learn about predator/prey relationships by simulating a stomach content dissection of a specific fish, analyzing what they find and comparing their findings with other fish species examined in the class. Based on their findings, students use SageModeler to make a model of the predator/prey relationships.

Lesson 2: Modeling Feeding Patterns in the Marine Food Web

Students play a modeling game demonstrating the feeding patterns of different fish species and compare their experiences to better understand dynamics in the marine food web.

Lesson 2 Teacher Guide | Lesson 2 Slides | Printable Set-Up Directions and Rules | Fish Species Feeding Rules | Modeling Feeding Patterns in the Marine Food Web Notes

Lesson 3: Analyzing Relationships in Fish Diets

Using stomach content graphs and SageModeler, students analyze data about fish diets and model relationships in the amount of predators and prey.

Lesson 3 Teacher Guide | Lesson 3 Slides | Analysis Notes: Stomach Content Data by Season | Stomach Content Data by Season

Lesson 4: Using Data to Understand Ecosystem Changes

Using stations, students analyze data about the relationship between warming temperatures and habitat in the Gulf of Maine, including shifting ranges for some fish species.

Lesson 4 Teacher Guide | Lesson 4 Slides | Analysis Notes: Using Data to Understand Ecosystem Changes | Digital Stations - Using Data to Understand Ecosystem Changes

Lesson 5: Modeling Feeding Patterns in a Warming Marine Food Web

Students repeat the modeling game from Lesson 2, but with new game elements introduced to reflect the impacts of warming ocean temperatures on the marine food web.

Lesson 5 Teacher Guide | Lesson 5 Slides | Fish Species Feeding Rules | Modeling Feeding Patterns in a WARMING Marine Food Web Notes

Lesson 6: Putting the Pieces Together- Ocean Warming and the Marine Food Web

Using learning from the previous lessons, students analyze the experiences of different fish species in a warming Gulf of Maine, revise their model to include the impact of ocean warming, and write a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning Statement about ocean warming and the marine food web supported by their model.