Overview
“The State of the Ocean’s Animals” examines some of the ways in which humans are threatening the survival of ocean animals. Extremely efficient, but ecologically destructive, fishing techniques threaten many of the ocean’s big fish; the demand for seafood delicacies and fear threaten the world’s sharks; global warming and the damming and diversion of rivers threaten yet others. And, not only ocean animals are at risk; a huge number of the world’s people relying on this marine bounty for food and livelihood are, as well. But, the film also shows concerned and dedicated people who are working hard to learn about ocean animals and to educate and motivate people to help preserve them. The threats facing ocean animals in the 21st Century are daunting, and “The State of the Ocean’s Animals” challenges our generation to understand the problems and take action.
National Science Education Standards: Grades 5-8
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses
- Content Standard C—Life Science
- Structure and Function in Living Systems
- Populations and Ecosystems
- Regulation and Behavior
- Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms
- Content Standard D—Earth and Space Science
- Structure of the Earth System
- Content Standard F—Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
- Populations, Resources, and Environments
- Science and Technology in Society
- Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Explain some of the key reasons why ocean animals are becoming threatened
- Identify some ocean animals that are threatened
- Describe some issues threatening ocean animals in various parts of the world
- Discover steps people are taking to protect ocean animals
Previewing Activities
If students do not know the following locations, use a wall map, desk map, or atlas, to familiarize them with the geographical areas profiled in the video:
- Melbourne Beach, Florida
- Klamath River, Northern California
- Monterey Bay, California
The following terms are used in the video and may need to be introduced to students:
- Biological diversity: the variety of all organisms living on Earth or in a particular region
- By-catch: the marine organisms caught in fishing nets that are not marketable; they are often killed and thrown back into the sea
- Clear-cutting: usually this terms refers to a practice in which all trees in an forest are cut down; in this case it refers to fishing nets that remove all ocean life in their path, including species that are undesirable or unwanted
- Dead zones: a large area in a body of water where conditions cannot support life, often due to oxygen depletion
- drag net or trawl net: a fishing net that is dragged along the bottom of the ocean, gathering everything in its path and incidentally destroying habitat
- extinction: when a species dies out; there are no more individuals left alive
- indigenous people: a group of people native to a particular region or area
- infectious disease: a disease caused by a microorganism or other agent (bacterium, fungus, or virus) that enters the body of a living organism
- migration: in this case, when fish return to the streams in which they hatched to lay eggs
- predator: an organism that preys upon or eats other organisms
- prey: an animal that is eaten by another animal
- reproductive rates: the total number of births expected for a group of female animals over their lifetime
- spawning: the act of fish depositing their eggs
- trawler: a fishing boat that uses nets dragged along the bottom of the ocean floor
Previewing Discussion
To help students put the video in perspective, ask them the following questions:
- What challenges do you think ocean animals (fish, shark, whales, dolphins, etc) are facing around the world? Do you know examples of ocean animals that are facing big threats?
- Do you think the challenges facing ocean animals are the same throughout the world, or do you think it varies from region to region?
- What do ocean animals mean to you? Is it important to you that animals such as porpoises, whales, and penguins exist in the wild, even if you never see them yourself? What about species such as sharks, which the media often portrays as dangerous and evil? What would a world without these creatures feel like?
- In what ways are people’s lives affected by a decline in ocean animals?
- What responsibility does our generation have to resolving the threats to ocean animals?
Viewing Activities
Segment One Topic:Over-fishing
Large ships drag vast nets along the bottom of the ocean, pulling up all ocean life in their paths and tearing up vital habitat. Many of the organisms brought up in the nets aren’t marketable; known as “by-catch” they die and are thrown back into the ocean. With fish populations depleted, fishing boats often move into new fishing areas, threatening fish populations that local, often poor, people rely upon. This is happening in parts of Africa, such as Senegal, and other parts of the world.
Finding Segment One
(Visual and audio cues: Start when you see a beached whale and Matt Damon asking “How could this have happened? How could we have allowed so many of our ocean animals to be on the brink of extinction?...” Stop with a scene of a Senegalese fish market and Roger Payne saying “What happens when you remove this source of protein? Well, I think you have a problem.”)
Post-viewing Discussion
- Why are trawlers called “killing machines?” (Answer: They drag long nets along the bottom of the ocean. These nets can pull up huge amounts of fish as well as everything else in their path, and can destroy their habitat in the process. These huge ships only process and freeze certain fish species; everything else is thrown overboard as “by-catch.”)
- People often use the term “harvesting the world’s oceans.” Why is this a misleading term to use? (Answer: People “harvest” what they have grown, and, if they want to keep “harvesting” year after year, they make sure to plant and raise new plants and animals. In contrast, nobody grows the ocean’s fish; we simply take them and hope that nature replaces them. “Hunting” and “gathering” describe the practice of fishing more accurately than “harvesting”.)
- Why are people in the developing world especially vulnerable to over-fishing? (Answer: Large, mechanized fishing vessels that no longer catch enough fish in their traditional waters often move into new areas, such as off the coast of Africa. Local fishermen simply cannot compete with the large “factory” ships. The large ships also remove the fish that local people rely on as a food source.)
- If fishermen rely on having enough fish to make a living, why do they take too many fish? Aren’t they hurting themselves? (Answer: Nobody owns marine fish; they are available to anyone who can catch them. This means that it often does not pay for a fisher-person to show restraint and intentionally leave fish alone so they can reproduce and keep the fishery going. If, say, fisher-person A leaves the fish alone, what is to prevent fisher-person B from coming along and taking the fish himself? Fisher-person A will have lost some fish, but the fish populations will not have benefited from his actions. And so, even those who know over-fishing is threatening their livelihood often persist in catching too many fish because they figure somebody else will catch the fish if they don’t.)
Segment Two: The Effects of Global Warming on Ocean Animals
Section Two describes how global warming is menacing the continued survival of sea turtles and emperor penguins. Global warming is causing ocean levels to rise, which may drown the beaches where sea turtles lay their eggs. Global warming may also melt the sea ice surrounding Antarctica upon which emperor penguins rear their young. The film, however, illustrates efforts to preserve these extraordinary animals. In Melbourne Beach, Florida, people are determined to keep their beaches welcoming to nesting Loggerhead sea turtles. Carefully marking turtle nest sites so they are not disturbed, community residents are rewarded by the enthralling sight of baby turtles making their way to the sea. Meanwhile, in Antarctica, scientists brave extreme cold to study penguins so we will know how best to protect them. The future of these, and other, animals, however, remains uncertain in the face of global climate change.
Finding Segment Two
(Visual and audio cues: Start when you sea the scene of a sea turtle swimming through sea grasses and you hear “Like the shark, sea turtles have been wandering the oceans of the world for millions of years….” Stop when you see Matt Damon say, “Though the full impact of climate change may be only decades away – there are other threats to wildlife habitats that have already surfaced.”)
Post-viewing Discussion
- Sea turtles have survived on Earth for millions of years, but why are they threatened today? (Answer: Sea turtles return to their birthplace to lay eggs in the sand. Many nesting beaches, however, are now unavailable to them, having been developed into resorts, public beaches, and beach communities. Sea turtles are also threatened in some places by uncontrolled egg collecting and hunting for food and by accidental drowning in fishing nets. Long-term, global climate change may drown vital nesting beaches.)
- Why is Melbourne Beach, Florida such a success story for loggerhead turtles? (Answer: The community monitors the beaches at night and marks the locations of sea turtle nests so people won’t disturb them during the day. The local population of turtles has nearly doubled.)
- Why do sea turtles need a lot of beach to sustain their population? (Even though one turtle may lay 100 eggs at a time, only one baby in 10,000 will reach maturity. Most of them become prey to other animals.)
- It appears that the loggerhead turtles at Melbourne Beach are in good hands. Why is there a concern about the turtles 30 years from now? (Answer: It takes a young turtle about 30 years to become old enough to reproduce. When they return in 30 years, the beaches that exist now may be underwater due to sea level rise caused by global warming. It may be difficult for them to lay eggs further inland because houses and other human construction may be blocking the way.)
- What hopeful signs are there for saving these turtles? (Answer: Dedicated citizens and volunteers are working hard to protect turtle nesting areas.)
- Why are Emperor penguins so vulnerable to global warming? (Answer: They aren’t capable of walking on the rough terrain of mainland Antarctica, so these birds are completely reliant upon sea ice to reproduce and raise their young.)
- What other species might be affected by global warming? (Answer: Corals may not tolerate warmer water temperatures. Whales may find it difficult to find food: Their food animals may move to different areas because of changes in water temperature, and the whales may not be able to find them because their brains are “wired” to follow traditional migratory routes.)
Segment Three: Chinook Salmon in the Klamath River
In Northern California, adult Chinook salmon migrate from the Pacific Ocean up the Klamath River to spawn in the place of their birth. Segment Four of the film shows their desperate plight as the salmon find they cannot complete the journey. The cause? Dams built to divert water for agricultural irrigation are leaving too little water in the river for the salmon. They are dying by the thousands before spawning. The indigenous Yurok Indians are left without the fish that have sustained them for generations, as are commercial fishermen fishing for salmon hundreds of miles away in the Pacific.
Finding Segment Three
(Visual and audio cues: Start when you see a forested coastline and Matt Damon says, “Though the full impact of climate change may be only decades away, there are other threats to wildlife habitats that have already surfaced….”-Raymond Mattz say, “ I love this river. I love being here. I’d like my grandkids to grow up and see what I seen. I’d like to see it before my time...’)
Post-viewing Discussion
- What factors caused the Klamath River watershed to be degraded for salmon? (Answer: Cutting of forests along the river muddied the water. Wetlands often provide sanctuary for young fish, and connected wetlands were destroyed. Also, a series of dams were built to produce electricity and to provide water to farmers for irrigation. The dams siphoned off water from the river and blocked the salmon from their migratory route.)
- What groups of people were in conflict over the use of the water in the Klamath River? Who decided how the water would be used? (Answer: Farmers wanted the water to irrigate crops. Native American fishermen wanted the water to remain in the river so they could continue to fish in the traditional way of their tribe. The federal government came down on the side of the farmers.)
- What caused one of the largest salmon die-offs in American history in September 2002? (Answer: A two-year drought hit the area in 2001, so there was simply not enough water for everybody’s needs. When the federal government decided farmers would get Klamath River water, insufficient water remained to accommodate the annual salmon spawning migration. Approximately 33,000 salmon suffocated along the river’s shores.
Segment Four: Returning the Sea Otter to Monterey Bay, California
The sea otter, a marine mammal adored by humans for being cute and playful, was on the brink of extinction due to hunting for its luxuriant fur. At one point, the population in Monterey Bay was down to 50 individuals. The decline of sea otters had a big impact on the kelp forest ecosystem. Without otters to eat shellfish such as abalone and sea urchins, these grazers of the sea devoured the kelp, upon which hundreds of other animals depended for food and sanctuary. Once laws were in place to protect the sea otter, their numbers increased and the health and diversity of Monterey Bay returned. Now, for unknown reasons, sea otter numbers in Monterey Bay are no longer rising. Scientists are working hard to find out what might be harming sea otters; they understand that sea otters are essential to the kelp forest ecosystem and are good indicators of ecosystem health.
Finding Segment Four
(Visual and audio cues: Start when you see footage of Monterey Bay; Matt’s voiceover wtill say, California's Monterey Bay overlooks one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world. Its waters teem with life. Each year millions of tourists thrill to the rich variety of sea mammals living or migrating through the bay… “ Watch until the end of the film.)
Post-viewing Discussion
- Why are sea otters so important to the kelp forest ecosystem? (Answer: Otters prey upon sea urchins and abalone. Unchecked, these creatures would devour kelp forests, which provide sanctuary to hundreds of other marine species.)
- Why were sea otters so close to extinction? (Answer: They were hunted for their fur.)
- Why are scientists monitoring the sea otters at Monterey? (Answer: Although their population bounced back, population growth has now leveled off for unknown reasons. Scientists want to monitor the sea otters to find out if something is making them sick. This is especially important because the sea otters are such vital animals in the kelp forest ecosystem.
Special Projects
- Global climate change has lately been receiving a good deal of attention. It seems as though hardly a week goes by without some new revelation being reported on TV., in the newspapers, and on the radio. Though increasing numbers of people are becoming convinced that global climate change poses a real threat to life on our planet, including humans, some people and organizations are on record as not being convinced that global climate change requires our immediate attention.
Have your students research the controversy on the internet. Each student can record three examples of evidence either supporting or refuting the premise that global climate change is a serious problem that people need to address. Each student can also record the types of organizations (e.g., environmental groups; state, federal, and international governmental agencies; oil and coal companies, political parties, religious denominations) that are lining up on each side.
After conducting their research, have the students convene and compare their findings. Does the accumulated evidence seem to point in one direction or not? What do organizations on each side of the debate say to support their positions? What might be motivating the organizations to take the positions they do; which side seems to be more objective; which side seems more convincing? Finally, should we take action to confront global climate change or not? If your class is divided on the issue, a spirited debate might ensue!
- Have your students visit markets or restaurants that sell seafood. Ask them to query the proprietors about seafood trends that they see. Questions to ask:
- Where does the seafood being sold come from?
- What kinds of seafood are becoming scarcer and, therefore, more expensive? What kinds of seafood remain abundant?
- Do dwindling species share anything in common, e.g. habitat, such as salt or fresh water; geographic location where they came from, biological classification (mollusk, crustacean, fish, etc.), and fish size?
Once your students have completed their research, they can compare results. What species seem to be dwindling? Which species are not? Why might this be?
Ask your students to find out:
- Where the animal lives
- Why it is threatened with extinction
- What is being done to help it survive
Each student can then put the information on a poster, preferably with a picture of the animal being presented. You can then put the posters up in the classroom or the hallway to create a gallery of endangered marine creatures.
- Marine animals that are currently in danger of becoming extinct include whales, sea turtles, manatees and the dugong, some seals and sea lions, crocodiles, and some fish like salmon and sturgeon that spawn in freshwater rivers but live much of their lives in the sea. Have your students choose a particular marine animal to research. They can find animals to research on these web sites:
Ask your students to find out:
- Where the animal lives
- Why it is threatened with extinction
- What is being done to help it survive
Each student can then put the information on a poster, preferably with a picture of the animal being presented. You can then put the posters up in the classroom or the hallway to create a gallery of endangered marine creatures.
- Sea otters are important to the kelp forests where they live, because they eat huge numbers of sea urchins that, in turn, devour kelp. Without this predation, sea urchin numbers can grow so large that they can wipe out the kelp forests upon which many marine creatures depend for survival. Species like sea otters that have unusually significant impact on their habitats are often referred to as keystonespecies.
The NewYorkTimes published an article January 5th, 1999, entitled “Search for Missing Otters Turns Up a Few Surprises” that detailed what happened when sea otters were removed from a kelp forest in Alaska. Among other things:
- Sea urchin populations exploded and ate the kelp.
- Fish that depended on the kelp disappeared.
- Bald eagle numbers that ate the fish dwindled.
- Starfish numbers increased because sea otters eat them, as well.
With butcher paper or poster board and markers or crayons, have your students diagram this process. Further exploration of the keystone species concept might lead your students to complete diagrams featuring other examples. Some possibilities might include the saguaro cactus, the gopher tortoise, the tropical fig, and the elephant. See what other examples they uncover!
- Marine fish and other sea creatures are no one’s property, but are available to anyone who can catch them. As a natural resource that no one owns, they constitute a commons. Examples of other commonly-owned resources include open grazing land, wildlife, and the air we breathe.
Such resources are often over-exploited in ways that privately-owned resources are not. A rancher, for example, is not going to send all of his cattle to market at once, because then he will have no cattle left to replenish his herd. To be successful, he has to think long-term. A fisher-person looks at things differently. Thinking that a particular species is being over-fished, he/she may decide to intentionally leave some in the ocean so they can reproduce and produce enough fish to catch next year. But fishermen have no way of knowing whether the next fisher-person that comes along and catches the fish will make the same decision. Thus, they will have given up some income, but they will not have gained anything from their decision because the fish- - left behind are not going to reproduce after all. And so, the motivation may be to take whatever and s whenever ione can in a way that the cattle rancher may not.
To fully grasp this phenomenon, often termed The Tragedy of the Commons, your students can play a game to be accessed on the internet. Have them call up the web site of the Cloud Institute, http://www.sustainabilityed.org. Once they do, have them click on Play the Sustainability Game at the bottom of the page. The game will walk your students through a scenario that details why commonly-owned resources such as marine fish typically get over-exploited.
Resources
Conservation International
www.conservation.org
Visit this page on sea turtle conservation to get information on endangered sea turtles and links to other useful sites.
Earthtrust
www.earthtrust.org
This web site features information on an anti-driftnet campaign, a campaign to save whales, and an effort to protect Hawaii’s marine wildlife.
The Leatherback Trust
www.leatherback.org
This organization is dedicated to the conservation of leatherback sea turtles as well as other sea turtles. Look at nesting highlights for the current year.
MarineBIO
www.marinebio.org
This web site offers a great deal of information on marine conservation, sustainable fishing, and marine species.
National Coalition for Marine Conservation
www.savethefish.org
This organization is dedicated to protecting marine habitat, preventing over-fishing, and reducing by-catch.
NOAA Fisheries Service
www.nmfs.noaa.gov
This site has a wide variety of information on all kinds of marine fisheries issues and conservation. Go to the following site for information specifically about sea turtle conservation: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/.
Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
www.pelagic.org
A non-profit research and education group dedicated to the conservation of sharks, especially those off the California coast. The site has good information on sharks and their current status in California.
Public Broadcasting Service—NATURE
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/dolphindefender/credits.html
Visit this site to find out more about Hardy Jones, dolphins, and an excellent resource list.
Shark Research Institute
www.sharks.org
This non-profit organization does research on sharks and promotes the conservation of sharks. It also sponsors the Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
www.wdcs.org
The education page at this site includes a few simulations and games related to by-catch, and they also offer an adopt-a-dolphin project.
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