Student Name:                                                                                                                    Grade:  

                  

Field Trip to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography

 

Introduction:

   The purpose of this field excursion is to observe and study live marine life, their habitats,

and the major environmental concerns that they face.  The Birch Aquarium is divided into

three sections: 1) the Exhibit Gallery is to your left (south) when you walk in; 2) the Hall of

Fishes (fish tanks) is to your right (north; and 3) the outdoor tidepools are straight ahead,

behind the building (west).

  This worksheet is divided into three parts: Part I questions cover the two major exhibits:

Global Warming and Seahorses; Part II questions address the Hall of Fish aquarium tank

exhibits. Note that the Hall of Fish questions are ordered according to a counterclockwise

circuit of the hallway loop. Part III questions address the outdoor tidepool exhibits. Take a

self-guided tour by yourself, or work as a student group.

 

Part I. The Exhibit Gallary  

Global Warming Exhibit

 

 1. From what two common earth materials do climatologists extract their data from for determining

global surface temperatures and levels of atmospheric CO2 in the distant past?  What exactly in

these earth materials are they extracting, measuring and analyzing?

 

Material #1: Collect samples of  ____________ contain ______________, which indicates _______________. 

 

Material #2: Collect samples of  ____________ contain ______________, which indicates _______________. 

 

 2. Over the last 650,000 years, CO2 in our atmosphere has never risen over what level?  ____ ppm

 

 3. What is the current level of CO2 concentration in our atmosphere?                                   ____ ppm

 

 4.  How much has CO2 in our atmosphere risen over the last 50 years?                          _____ ppm

 

 5. What are the predicted levels of CO2 in our atmosphere 50 years from now if we

     continue to burn fossil fuels at present rates?                                                                       _____ ppm

 

 6. Describe the relationship between Earth’s average global temperature and level of atmospheric

     CO2 on Earth over the last 600,000 years.   Are the two factors directly proportional to each other?

 

 

 7. How will increases of CO2 in our ocean affect ocean acidity and carbonate shell production?

 

 

 8.Take the “Stabilize Emissions Challenge” – interactive exhibit, if possible.  How did you do? 

 

 

Seahorse Exhibit

   1. What are seahorses?  Note their general classification and the six major types.

 

 

 

   2.  What are three major types of habitats where seahorses call home?

 

 

   3. How and what do seahorses eat?   

   4. What are the seahorse’s natural enemies, and how do they protect themselves from them?

 

 

 

   5.  Describe some of the seahorse’s unusual dating and mating behaviors.

 

 

 

   6.  How many seahorses are harvested every year, in terms of weight?  What are they used for?

 

  

   7. Why are numerous species of seahorses presently in danger of collapse worldwide? 

 

 

   8. What are some of the solutions to stabilize and increase seahorse numbers?  

 

 

 PART II. THE hall of FISHES

 

 A.  THE SARDINE TANK – Front entrance (Tank #1)

    1. Why do sardines swim with their mouths wide open? (Hint: They use their gills for two purposes)

 

 

    2. What happened to the California sardine fishery back in the 1950’s?  Reasons why it happened?

 

 

B. WESTERN NORTH AMERICA COASTAL WATERS AND The California Current

   1. What two principle limiting factors in the physical environment affect marine productivity?

 

 

   2.  Describe the California Current within the North Pacific Gyre.   Circle 3 correct choices.

              Boundary or Transverse?           Eastern or Western?            Cold or Warm?

 

   3.  Why is the California Current and adjacent coastal waters a particularly rich marine ecosystem?

         (Hint: think about the physical limiting factors)

 

 

   4. Where is the geographic boundary between the Northwest and Southern California marine

         ecosystems?  (Hint:  Look for the “elbow” of California’s coastline.)   Why there?

 

 

   5. What do think are important human impacts on Southern California’s offshore marine habitats?

 

 

C. Northwest Coast Marine HAbitats – (Tanks 2 through 7)

     1. List the types of marine habitats displayed.  Note the types of sea bottoms.

 

 

    2. List five of the most common types of marine life found in the Northwest Coast tanks.

 

 

    3. Take a close look at Tank #5.  What is so special about tank #5?   Describe what you see.

D. Southern California Marine HAbitats – (Tanks 10 through 19)

     1. List the types of marine habitats displayed.  Note the types of sea bottoms.

 

 

    2. List five of the most common types of marine life found in the marine habitats listed above.

 

 

    3. How do Northwest Coast marine communities differ from the Southern California Coast’s?

 

 

 

E. Kelp Forest TANK (Tank #19)

  1. Spend some time studying the marine life in the very large kelp forest tank. Identify and count

       as many species of sea life as possible.   How many species are there?

 

 

 

  2. Name and describe (in some detail) one species in the kelp tank that you find most interesting.

 

 

 

  3. List two major ways that a kelp forest promotes and sustains abundant and diverse sea life.

 

 

  4. What types of environmental issues do you think that San Diego's kelp forest marine

         communities face? (Include both natural and human-related impacts)

 

 

F. West coast Baja and MAinland mexico Marine HAbitats – (Tanks 20 through 23)

     1. List three types of marine habitats displayed.  Note: the types are listed on or near the tanks.

 

               

    2. List five of the most common types of marine life found in the Mexican waters marine habitats.

 

 

G. Tropical Coral Reefs systems and Marine Baselines – (Tanks 25 through 33)

   1. Find the Tropical Seas coral reef tanks/exhibits.  Read and study the information listed.  Note that

       a "baseline" is the original state that an ecologist would compare the current evolving state to. 

       Compare the baseline of Caribbean reefs (prior to major European impact) to its current state. 

       What are some of the major changes since the time of Columbus?  Why?

                           

 

 

   2. What are some threats or causes for the collapse of the coral reef systems worldwide?

 

 

   3.  What are some of the ways that humans are providing relief to troubled coral reef systems?

 

 

 

   4.   Why are healthy coral reef ecosystems important and worth saving?

 

PART III. THE outdoor tidepool exhibits

 

   1. How many animal phyla do you recognize in the tidepool habitat?  ___ Is there a dominant one?

 

 

   2. What principle characteristics do these organisms possess that makes them so well-suited to the

          tidepool habitat? 

 

 

 

  3. What animal species, that are no longer abundant in wild tidepools along our shoreline, do you

   recognize in the tidepool habitat?    Why have they vanished?  How can they make a comeback?

 

 

 

 

PART IV. Post field lab Reflection

Write a reflection of your field trip experience (about 150 words).  1) What did you discover and learn

on this excursion?  2) How did this trip contribute to what you learned in the classroom?  3) What did

you enjoy most about this fieldtrip?  4) What did you find challenging or thought-provoking?  5) What

are your constructive comments about how to make this fieldtrip better – what’s good? – what’s bad?. 

(Write on this page, or type-out on a separate piece of paper).