Images courtesy of Dr. Stephen Secor and Dr. Scott White

LESSON TITLE: Springs of Life

GRADE LEVEL: 5-8

TOPIC/SUBJECT MATTER: Life Science

TIME ALLOTMENT: Three to four 45-minute class periods

OVERVIEW:

In this video-enhanced lesson, students will explore Florida’s springs using video segments from the NATURE film “Springs Eternal: Florida’s Fountain of Youth” and related activities and discussions. Students will learn about how the springs are formed and will explore the Florida springs ecosystem, with particular focus on the manatees, fish, birds and alligators that live there. Students will also learn about red tide and its threat to the life in the springs. At the end of the lesson, students will conduct research and give a presentation about one species that lives in and/or around the springs.

MEDIA RESOURCES:

Video Clips

NATURE: “Springs Eternal: Florida’s Fountain of Youth

1. “Florida’s Springs”

2. “Life in Florida’s Springs”

3. “Red Tide”

4. “Life in the water supply”

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

Websites

Resources about Florida’s springs and the species living in and around them:

• Florida’s Springs: Protecting Nature’s Gems

This Web site contains information, photographs and educational resources about Florida’s springs. The following section is used in this lesson:

• Life in a Spring

This section includes information and photographs about the different plants and animals living in and around Florida’s springs.

• Web World Wonders/ Ecosystems: List of Organisms in the River and Springs Ecosystem

This site provides detailed information and photographs of species living in and around Florida’s rivers and springs.

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Species

This site contains “Wildlife Fact Sheets,” which include information about a variety of species, including the American Alligator and the West Indian Manatee who live in the springs.

• University of Delaware College of Marine and Earth Studies

This site contains information about eelgrass, as well as information and bird sounds of species including the Great Blue Heron and Osprey, which could be helpful for student research during this lesson.

Standards:

National Science Education Standards, Grades 5-8

LIFE SCIENCE: Content Standard C

As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of

• Populations and Ecosystems

• A population consists of all individuals of a species that occur together at a given place and time. All populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem.
• Populations of organisms can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem. Plants and some microorganisms are producers-they make their own food. All animals, including humans, are consumers, which obtain food by eating other organisms. Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi, are consumers that use waste materials and dead organisms for food. Food webs identify the relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.
• For ecosystems, the major source of energy is sunlight. Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis. That energy then passes from organism to organism in food webs.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Content Standard F

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of

· Natural Hazards

o       Human activities also can induce hazards through resource acquisition, urban growth, land-use decisions, and waste disposal. Such activities can accelerate many natural changes.

· Risks and Benefits

o       Students should understand the risks associated with natural hazards (fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions), with chemical hazards (pollutants in air, water, soil, and food), with biological hazards (pollen, viruses, bacterial, and parasites), social hazards (occupational safety and transportation), and with personal hazards (smoking, dieting, and drinking).

MATERIALS:

For each student:

• “Life in Florida’s Springs Fact Sheet” (RTF) (PDF)

For each group of 3-5 students:

• 1 copy of the “Life in Florida’s Springs: Producer/Consumer Game.”(RTF) (PDF)
  (See the “Prep for Teachers” section for details.)

For the class:

• Producer/Consumer Pyramid (PDF)

• Books, reference materials and/or Internet access to conduct research about life in Florida’s springs.
• A large sheet of paper or board and something with which to write.
• One computer for the teacher with a digital projection system (to play video clips either downloaded or streaming from the Web).

OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Explain what springs are and how they are formed;
• Describe at least 3 different species living in the Florida springs ecosystem, naming why they live in the springs, what they eat and how they get their food;
• Explain why the Florida springs ecosystem is an inverted food pyramid;
• Define “producer” and “consumer”;
• Accurately sort organisms into producers and primary, secondary and tertiary consumers;
• Name types of organisms that function as decomposers and explain the role that decomposers play in the ecosystem;
• Describe how organisms can survive in watery, underground caves without sunlight;
• Define “red tide,” how it is caused, and what danger it poses to manatees;
• Describe one species from the Florida springs ecosystem in detail, including what it eats, factors that pose a danger to its survival, and where it lives during different times of the year.

PREP FOR TEACHERS:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments 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.

Make one copy of the “Life in Florida’s Springs Fact Sheet” for each student.

Make 1 copy of the “Life in Florida’s Springs: Producer/ Consumer Game” for each group of 3-5 students, including the cards and the chart. Cut up the cards for each group, making sure that each group gets a complete set of 15 Cards. (Each card should feature the name of one species.) Each group should also have one Producer/ Consumer Game Chart (not cut up).

Load the “Producer/Consumer Pyramid” onto a screen that can be seen by the class, or recreate it on a classroom board.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

These brief video segments can be used alone or in combination, to introduce a topic or to spark discussion among your students. The video segments can be adapted for any grade level. Stream the video segments from the playlist below, or scroll to the bottom of the page to find downloadable QuickTime versions of the videos. These videos are also used in the lesson plan Springs of Life (grades 5-8).

Excerpts from the NATURE episode, “Springs Eternal: Florida’s Fountain of Youth”

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Video Clips

1. Florida’s Springs:

An introduction to Florida’s springs and how they are formed.

2. Life in Florida’s Springs:

A close up look at life in the warm Florida springs and the various predators supported by the abundant life.

3. Red Tide:

An introduction to red tide and the danger it poses.

4. Life in the Water Supply:

A close look at life in a town’s water supply and it’s energy source.

The Reptiles: Alligators and Crocodiles looks at the ultimate predators at the margins of the water and the land.

Some amuse us, others terrify us. They slither, swim, walk and crawl, leap and lunge, and some spend their entire lives contained within a shell. Their ranks include some of the most skillful predators on Earth. And their long-departed dinosaur ancestors are an unending source of fascination to humanity, both in fiction and scientific endeavor. They are “The Reptiles,” the fascinating subjects of a four-part NATURE miniseries.

With guidance from leading experts on Alligators and Crocodiles, the first episode reveals that the world of these creatures is a lot more complex than we ever imagined. Some of the most surprising sequences reveal that the crocodile is not only the ultimate predator in the natural world but also a highly intelligent animal. The prorgam explores what the future holds for these living dinosaurs.

To order a copy of The Reptiles: Alligators and Crocodiles, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for The Reptiles: Alligators and Crocodiles was originally posted February 2003.

It was an evening she’ll never forget. Tammy Woehle was jogging down a Florida freshwater beach with her dog when she suddenly found herself in the jaws of an alligator.

“It just happened so fast,” the 22-year-old later told reporters about the 2001 incident. “He was right next to me. I could see his belly and he looked big.”

Luckily, Woehle was able to run away from the 8- to 12-foot long gator, which had grabbed her leg and pulled her down. But not every alligator attack victim is so lucky. Since 1948, the large reptiles have killed about a dozen people in the Southeastern United States, with most of the fatalities occurring in Florida.

Experts, however, emphasize that alligator attacks are rare — and fatalities even rarer. Dogs are far more dangerous, for instance, not to mention cars. Still, run-ins with alligators are on the increase, as populations of the protected animals grow, and people build homes, offices, and parks near alligator habitat.

To keep safe, alligator specialists offer these tips:

• Never, ever feed an alligator. Most problem gators have been fed, which causes them to lose their fear of people. In Florida, feeding alligators is against state law — and is punishable by 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
• When in alligator habitat, stay alert, particularly at key feeding times near dawn and dusk. Don’t swim or wade if possible. If you have to, be sure to scan the water carefully for lurking gators. They can look like logs floating just under the surface.
• Don’t clean fish or feed ducks in gator habitat. The free meals can attract alligators.
• Keep small children and dogs away from the water’s edge. Alligators eat small prey, and nearly half of all known human fatalities were children under the age of 12.
• When boating, don’t dangle arms or legs in the water.
• Stay at least 35 feet from an alligator on land. They can move quickly.
• Don’t disturb babies or nests, which look like big mounds. Mother alligators closely guard their nests.

Got a ‘gator in the garden, and don’t want him there? Then call Todd Hardwick.

Hardwick, 40, is one of Florida’s three dozen licensed alligator trappers. When worried citizens call state officials to report a nuisance alligator, the state calls on experienced trappers like Hardwick to size up the situation and recommend whether the big lizard should stay, go, or, in some cases, be killed. In 2001, Floridians phoned in 17,000 alligator reports, resulting in the relocation or deaths of more than 5,000 alligators. Under state rules, problem alligators smaller than 4 feet long are typically moved into one of the state’s preserves, but bigger animals may have to be killed.

As Part 1 of NATURE’S The Reptiles series shows, Hardwick’s job requires equal measures wildlife biology, teaching skill, and brute force. Sometimes, he simply needs to educate a frightened homeowner about alligator habits.

Hardwick runs a successful business called Pesky Critters that responds to hundreds of calls a year on everything from problem possums to marauding monkeys. Some of his captures have ended up on his spacious 7-acre farm, which often holds 100 animals or more and sponsors educational programs. Hardwick recently chatted with NATURE in between calls for help.

How did you get involved in this business?

I’m a native Floridian and growing up, I spent my time running around vacant land catching and watching animals. I didn’t want to go to the mall and play Pac-man. I even learned how to catch small alligators. By the time I was in high school, I was catching problem animals in exchange for movie and pizza tickets.

I got a lot of ridicule. People would ask me: “What kind of a job is possum catcher?” I thought it could a good one. Increasing human population was causing loss of habitat, and when there are more people and less habitat there are going to be conflicts. Most people aren’t very good in hand-to-hand combat with an opposum. So I’ve been doing it for 22 years now, and have captured tens of thousands of animals. It’s not a job for me, it’s a lifestyle.

Where do alligators fit in?

Well, [catching nuisance] raccoons and opossums is the bulk of my business. But from April to July, I pretty much run around chasing alligators. During those four months, it is just crazy because it’s alligator breeding season. The weather warms and they become very active, and start looking for romance in all the wrong places. I’ll have 50 to 75 complaints at a time in my territory, which stretches 220 miles from Fort Lauderdale to Key West. And it just keeps getting busier.

That’s a big change from when alligators were considered to be threatened with extinction, isn’t it?

When I was young, the alligator was an endangered species. Today, we call them a nuisance. There are over one million alligators in Florida — it’s a tremendous success story. But while we were helping them come back, we weren’t stopping development. So there’s a big misconception about who has moved into whose neighborhood. I’ll go visit someone who’s screaming about an alligator, and I’ll remember the area as being a wetland five years before. So I remind them that that they are the ones who bulldozed the wetland. I want them to understand that they are the invader here, not the alligators. I’m almost an ambassador for the alligator.

When I’m out there, I do all sorts of education. One of the biggest problems is that people living in Florida are from everywhere except from here, so they don’t know how to behave in alligator country. [I remind them that] the number one problem is people feeding alligators. It conditions them and takes their fear away. But you can’t tell a mom that a 9-foot gator is not a threat to her toddler — it is. They are conditioned to hunt small animals that are low to the ground. Gators eat dogs so commonly in Florida that the state refuses to keep records.

How do you decide if an alligator needs to be killed?

The good news is that there is a clear process. If the alligator meets certain criteria [including size], whether it is a threat to people, property, or pets, then it may have to be killed. But even if I have to kill one of my favorite alligators, I realize we may be preventing a possible human fatality. It also benefits the rest of the alligator population. By preventing any attack we can save thousands of alligators. That’s because when an alligator grabs someone there is tremendous publicity. People panic and want every alligator in the area removed.

Have you had any close calls?

I’ve been hospitalized several times for bites from raccoons, possums, and skunks. But fortunately I’m very good at what I do and have only been bitten once by an alligator, and it was a very mild bite. But you can never drop your guard. Even a 6-foot alligator can easily drown you. My health insurance company was very hesitant to insure me years ago, but now if I go in and can show I still have ten fingers, I get a renewal!

How big was the biggest alligator you’ve caught?

It was 12 foot, 7 inches and weighed 425 pounds. I’ve also caught a 22-foot, 250-pound reticulated python. It had been turned loose in a state park, and grew over 10 or 12 years. Then it grabbed a raccoon and went under someone’s house. We pulled it out and zipped it into a sleeping bag. Then I got on a plane with it to California, to be on the Johnny Carson show.

South Florida is unique — it’s almost like an open-air zoo. All of these pets that people release don’t die, they thrive. I’ve handled animals from all over the world without leaving home. I’ve captured escaped mountain lions, stampeding buffalo, and several hundred monkeys (it’s one of my specialties). Anything you can think of has, or will be, loose down here. And I’ll be the guy chasing it.

Where are you headed now?

I’ve already got 2 raccoons and a possum in the truck. I’m heading to a golf course where a 10-foot alligator is supposed to be intimidating golfers. I told them they should just put up a sign up that says “alligator hazard.”

In the summer of 1521, the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon lay dying on a Florida beach, mortally wounded during a skirmish with a native tribe. Drawn by tales of crystal clear springs bubbling with glittering flecks of silver and gold, the aging adventurer had come seeking the legendary fountain of youth. Instead of finding immortality, however, the trip cost Ponce de Leon his life.

But the sparkling springs were no fantasy — as NATURE’s Springs Eternal: Florida’s Fountain of Youth shows. In an amazing underwater tour, Springs Eternal takes viewers down into Florida’s magical transparent pools, where toothy alligators lurk and lumbering manatees slumber. The filmmakers even follow researchers deep into the earth, diving into the dark and mysterious underground rivers that feed the springs.

Florida’s springs are home to many alligators.

Ponce de Leon named his landfall “La Florida,” meaning “land of flowers.” But Florida is just as famous for its springs, which spew out billions of gallons of fresh, cool water every day. The state boasts more than 350 gushers, one of the highest concentrations in the world. The reason for the watery bounty can be found underground, where porous limestone bedrock provides plenty of nooks and crannies for water storage. The bedrock, in fact, is riddled with flooded underground caverns.

Most of the wildlife action, however, is to be found in the remarkable pools and rivers formed by the springs. Shoals of fish drift in the lazy currents, including some oceanic species that swim up from the sea each winter to enjoy the warmer water temperatures. Rich carpets of rippling aquatic grasses carpet the sandy floor, attracting grazing manatees, the gentle marine mammals also known as sea cows. The springs are also known for a more ferocious inhabitant: the American alligator. Indeed, alligators are so common that Ponce de Leon’s fountains of youth might better be called fountains of tooth.

The large reptiles, which can grow up to 12 feet long, predate the dinosaurs. Having changed little in the last 65 million years, these living relics have managed to elude extinction. Only human exploitation has hampered their success. In Florida, for example, alligator populations plummeted due to spiraling demand for their leathery hides, which were made into everything from boots to wallets. Between 1930 and 1940, over one million alligators were killed in Florida alone. In the 1970s, however, stiffer regulations allowed populations to rebound. Today, they are quite common again, living proof of the power of foresighted conservation policies.

Springs Eternal gives viewers a front-row seat to alligator life, from the bellowing, splashy displays put on by males in search of a mate, to the gentle courtship that follows a first date. It also provides a fascinating glimpse into the enormous mounds of rotting vegetation that female alligators build to incubate their eggs. In early summer, the expectant mothers bury up to 90 golf-ball-sized eggs in their mounds, then stand by on a protective vigil.

About two months later, the eggs begin to hatch. The newborns call out in high-pitched peeps, alerting their mother to lumber over and scrape away the entombing material, allowing the babies to claw their way free. Moms may even help break open the eggs and tuck the young into their mouths for a trip to the nearby water. Typically, however, only half the eggs hatch, the rest having been eaten by predators, such as snakes and raccoons.

For the next six months, the hatchlings will stick together in groups called “pods” that are protected by the mother. The youngsters may stay in the vicinity of the nest for up to three years. But just two of every 10 newborns will make it to adulthood. The other eight will be snapped up by hungry neighbors, including sharp-beaked herons. Springs Eternal captures several of these long-legged wading birds on the hunt, stalking baby gators drifting unaware in the grass. The tough-skinned reptiles aren’t an easy meal. The herons must repeatedly shake and pound their prey against the water to break its bones, so that it will slide down their narrow throats.

Birds aren’t the only threat to baby gators. Hungry fish eat their share — as do other alligators. Even young alligators that have grown 4 feet long may fall victim to cannibals lurking in their neighborhoods. Still, enough gators survive their perilous early years to keep populations growing. And as more people flock to Florida, the two animals are bound to come into conflict. While alligators rarely attack people, they have been known to help themselves to pet dogs and livestock.

Sometimes, however, having a wild alligator on your property can be a benefit. Large gators, for instance, dig themselves sunning holes near lakes and rivers, providing a place for rainwater to collect. In dry years, farmers have discovered that these “alligator holes” are perfect natural watering holes for their livestock, saving them the work of building new ones.