This program premiered on January 9, 2005.

It may be one of nature’s oddest couples: a tiny wasp that can barely be seen, and a giant fig tree, the sycomore, which shelters a remarkable menagerie of wildlife among its limbs. The wasp and the fig depend on each other for survival. Without the wasp, the tree could not pollinate its flowers and produce seeds. Without the fig, the wasp would have nowhere to lay its eggs.

The Queen of Trees shows this delicate dance of survival in exquisite detail, including spectacular close-ups of the wasp’s remarkable life inside a ripening fig. To capture such incredible images, filmmakers Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble spent two years camped out near a giant sycomore fig in Kenya’s outback, documenting the tree’s pivotal role as a source of food and shelter for everything from gray hornbills, Africa’s largest bird, to swarms of invading insects searching for food. In a surprising turn, some insects come to the tree’s aid — sparking a battle you won’t want to miss. 

Online content for The Queen of Trees was originally posted April 2006.

To order a copy of The Queen of Trees, please visit the NATURE Shop.

This program premiered February 22, 2004.

TIME ALLOTMENT: Two to three 45-minute class periods

OVERVIEW: The structure of an organism is related to its function and the role it plays in its environment. Many structural differences can be found within a species. These structural differences are often adaptations that allow organisms to better survive in their particular environment. These evolutionary adaptations develop through the process of natural selection.

This lesson explores different adaptations and variations in birds, using the NATURE episode “Extraordinary Birds.” It focuses on bird beaks, migratory patterns, and birds’ ability to co-exist with humans. Students will define key concepts from the lesson, discuss and explore different adaptations of birds, and analyze relationships between the concepts learned. This lesson can be taught independently, or it can be used as a precursor to the New York State Core Curriculum “Beaks of Finches” lab. Students must have a basic knowledge of evolution and natural selection in order to successfully complete this lesson.

SUBJECT MATTER: Biology/ Living Environment

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Discuss and define key concepts from the lesson, including adaptation, migration, and interaction between humans and birds;
• Describe how particular characteristics of bird beaks reflect birds’ adaptations to their particular environments;
• Explain how different environmental factors can affect the migration cycle of the Rufous Hummingbird;
• Demonstrate understanding of how adaptations in different species of birds assist their interactions with humans;
• Create a concept map using different adaptive traits of birds.

STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT:

National Science Education Standards:

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science Inquiry
As a result of activities in grades 9-12 students should develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry and understand about scientific inquiry. To develop scientific inquiry skills students must actively participate in scientific investigations and they must actually use the cognitive and manipulative skills associated with the formulation of scientific explanations.

CONTENT STANDARD C: Life Science
As a result of activities in grades 9-12 students should develop understandings of:

• Biological Evolution
• Interdependence of organisms
• Behavior of Organisms

Students’ understanding of biology will expand by incorporating more abstract knowledge, such as the theories of evolution.

NEW YORK STATE CORE CURRICULUM ALIGNMENTS

Living Environment Core Curriculum:

STANDARD 1: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering designs, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

Key Idea 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing and creative process.

Performance Indicator 1.2: Hone ideas through reasoning, library research, and discussion with others, including experts.

1.2a. Inquiry involves asking questions and locating, interpreting, and processing information from a variety of sources.

Key Idea 3: The observations made while testing proposed explanations, when analyzed using conventional and invented methods, provide new insights into natural phenomena.

Performance Indicator 3.1: Use various methods of representing and organizing observations (e.g., diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, equations, matrices) and insightfully interpret the organized data.

3.1a Interpretation of data leads to development of additional hypotheses, the formulation of generalizations, or explanations of natural phenomena.

STANDARD 4: Students will understand and apply scientific principles and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things.

Key Idea 2: Organisms inherit genetic information in a variety of ways that result in continuity of structure and function between parents and offspring.

Key Idea 3: Individual organisms and species change over time.

Performance Indicator 3.1: Explain the mechanisms and patterns of evolution.

3.1g: Some characteristics give individuals an advantage over others in surviving and reproducing, and the advantaged offspring, in turn, are more likely than others to survive and reproduce. The proportion of individuals that have advantageous characteristics will increase.

3.1h: The variation of organisms within a species increases the likelihood that at least some members of the species will survive under changed environmental conditions.

3.1i: Behaviors have evolved through natural selection. The broad patterns of behavior exhibited by organisms are those that have resulted in greater reproductive success.

Key Idea 6: Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment

Performance Indicator 6.1: Explain factors that limit the growth of individual populations

6.1g: Relationships between organisms may be negative, neutral, or positive. Some organisms may interact with one another in several ways. They may be in a producer/consumer, predator/prey, or parasite/host relationship or one organism may cause disease in, scavenge, or decompose another.

MEDIA COMPONENTS

Video

NATURE, Extraordinary Birds, selected segments:

Clip 1, “A Variety of Hummingbirds.”

Describes different traits and adaptations in various species of hummingbirds.

Clip 2, “Little Brain, Big Journey.”

Shows the migratory patterns and habits of the Rufous hummingbird.

Clip 3, “The Pigeon Express.”

Profiles a small business in which homing pigeons play a central role.

Clip 4, “Birds of Kundha Kulam.”

Demonstrates birds’ extraordinary impact on the agriculture of a small Indian community.

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

Web sites

Bird Adaptations - Beaks
An interactive Web site featuring the beaks of nine different species of birds, with descriptions of their characteristics and what they are best adapted for. It also includes a similar page for adaptations of birds’ feet, and worksheets to assess student comprehension.

MATERIALS

For each student:

• Rufous Hummingbird Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Beak Characteristics Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Vocabulary Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Practice Regents Questions (PDF) (RTF)

For each pair or group of students:

• For the Gallery Walk Activity: one pen or marker (a different color for each group)
• For the Concept Map Activity: two flip chart pages or large sheets of paper, one pad of sticky notes, one pen or marker
• Computer with internet access

For the class:

• Computer with internet access, projector and screen
• For the Gallery Walk Activity: flip chart pages with the following vocabulary terms written at the top of the page (one word per page): variation, natural selection, adaptation, competition, environment
• Teacher Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• Sample Concept Map (PDF)
• Scenarios for Vocabulary Terms - 2 copies (PDF) (RTF)
• Hat or bag (to hold Vocabulary Term scenarios)
• Regents Questions Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

PREP FOR TEACHERS

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video clips and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Prepare all classroom materials. Print out and make copies of the student organizers and answer keys. Prepare for the Gallery Walk activity by writing the following vocabulary terms at the top of flip chart pages or large pieces of paper (one term per page): Variation, Natural Selection, Adaptation, Competition, and Environment. Post the flip chart pages around the room. If you are not familiar with conducting a “Gallery Walk” in your classroom, review the procedure at the “How to Use Gallery Walk?” Web page.

For the Culminating Activity: Print two copies of the Scenarios for Vocabulary Terms sheet. Keep one sheet for teacher reference, and cut up the other sheet so that each scenario is on a separate slip of paper. Do not include the right-hand column (Vocab Key Code) on the cut-up slips. Put all the slips of paper into a hat or bag and mix well.

Next: Proceed to Activities

Charges of theft, property destruction, disturbing the peace, and even assault are on the rise — against animals. It’s become an all-out turf war, but just who is invading whose territory?

As cities sprawl into wilderness areas, animals are responding by exploiting human environments to their advantage — and doing so in devious ways. Foxes and squirrels have resorted to thievery in midwestern towns, stealing property from yards, while bears in California and gangs of baboons in South Africa burglarize homes for meals.

Though some animal intrusions may pose a mere nuisance, others are causing catastrophic damage. International travel and commerce have enabled wild invaders to easily cross borders and stake out new territories. Asian carp are poised to wipe out the Great Lakes’ native fish species, legions of red imported fire ants are wreaking havoc in the southern United States, and aggressive swarms of Africanized “killer” bees are terrorizing Arizonans.

This compelling sequel to NATURE’s Animals Behaving Badly is an amusing, yet cautionary tale that investigates the motives behind the mischief. What may appear as bad behavior is simply an animal’s natural response to our increased impact on the planet. As the boundaries between human and animal habitats blur, our actions may in fact be aiding and abetting these Animals Behaving Worse.

To order a copy of Animals Behaving Worse, visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for Animals Behaving Worse was originally posted February 2006.

This program premiered on November 14, 2004.

In the 1970s, the pollock industry in Alaska expanded to become the largest fishery in the world. Around the same time, sea lions began to disappear. Despite other possible factors — such as pollution, humpback whales depleting their main food sources, or predation by killer whales — many people thought the fisheries had been caught with the smoking gun. After a July 2000 ruling by the Federal District Court, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that it would close all fishing of pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel in a large part of the sea lions’ critical habitat. But what were the costs of this decision? And is the solution to disappearing Steller’s sea lions really that simple?