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...
This lesson uses the image of a jumping Asian carp to use the physics of ballistics to calculate the speed at which a jumping carp will hit the water (or you! OUCH!)
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.
Students sharpen analytical, logic, and problem solving tools by thinking critically about how human activities spread invasive species and how to control them.
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.
Hydrilla and Brazilian elodea are invasive aquatic plants that occupy freshwater habitats. While hydrilla is native to Asia, Africa, and eastern Australia, and Brazilian elodea is native to South America, both plants are invasive to North America. Because these plants are related and both have pointed green leaves that whorl...
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...
The nutria is a large, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America. Nutria were introduced to the United States for their fur. After a boom in nutria ranches during the 1930s, the animals escaped or were released from fur farms in the Pacific Northwest, Louisiana and other states, where theyare now...
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...
Knotweeds are a group of closely related invasive plants from Asia. Knotweeds are very tall plants that can grow to over three meters with bamboo-like hollow stems and heart-shaped or lance-shaped leaves. They spread quickly and form tall, dense thickets. They dominate stream banks, sides of roads, gardens, and other...