Students practice geographical skills to map the routes of invasive species from their native habitat to some of the regions to which the exotics have spread.
The American Bullfrogs are a highly reproductive aquatic species that are native in central, eastern United States and Southeastern Canada. This species was first introduced to western America as a food source (frog legs!); since then it escaped aquaculture ponds and have spread widely. Bullfrogs lay up to 20,000 eggs...
Asian carps—fish in the Cyprinid family—have been part of our culture for centuries. We use them as ornamental aquarium fish (goldfish and koi) and food fish, and to help keep aquaculture ponds clean. However, when Asian carps escape into natural waterways, they can cause big problems for human health, the...
Students conduct a "blitz" by quickly rotating through hands-on specimen stations and answering the BioBlitz questions. Then, students are assigned one invader to research more thoroughly and present to the class.
The Chinese mitten crab was first identified in the south San Francisco Bay in 1992 by commercial shrimp trawlers, and quickly spread to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. The Chinese mitten crab threatens ecosystems, earthen structures, and fisheries by preying on and competing with many species, including fish eggs,...
What ancient animal in modern times has a primitave spinal cord that may resemble the first vertebrates on earth, spends most of its life stuck to a boat or rock, produces an exoskeleton made of cellulose and is more associated with plants than animals? Tunicates are marine invertebrate filter feeders...
Crayfish are one of the most threatened groups of animals in the world. About 45 percent of North American crayfish species are considered to be at risk of extinction. However, a few crayfish species are among the world's most invasive freshwater organisms. Taking into consideration that invasive crayfish are the...
In Design the Ultimate Invader, students use their imagination to design the ultimate invasive species. This activity is a perfect way to launch a unit on invaders, and can serve as an assessment tool to help us learn the knowledge of our learners towards invasive species and invasion biology.