Episode 901: An Urchin Matter
There’s a mega mystery in Megabays – the once-healthy kelp in Big Bay is washing ashore. Is it nature at work, or is something – or someone – causing the underwater kelp forest’s collapse?
For Real segment: Harry leads his campers in a game of “Chomp, Nibble, Grow, Grow, Grow” to demonstrate how otters, urchins, and kelp exist together and depend on one another to maintain a healthy, balanced ecosystem.
Learning Goals
1) Keystone species are those that, although small in numbers, play a large role in maintaining the balance between predators and prey in an ecosystem. 2) When you represent data with a bar graph, it is easy to compare their values at a glance in order to see patterns and draw conclusions.
Topics: Keystone Species; Bar Graphs