Bringing the Urban Environment Into the Classroom: Learning From an Estuarine Mesocosm

Appendix B: Project Introduction Sheet

Mesocosm Project

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to collect and examine sediment and organisms from an urban salt marsh and learn about these organisms and their place in their ecosystem.

Objective

At the conclusion of this project, each group will present information in the form of a PowerPoint presentation to the other groups regarding one of the following:

• The Banded Killifish
• The Starlet Sea Anemone
• The Periwinkle Snail
• The Grass Shrimp

Information will be provided via fact sheets containing information and Internet-based resources. Students are encouraged to research their organism using the Internet.

Presentation Format

The PowerPoint presentation will consist of between 7 and 10 slides and take the following format:

• Title slide with group members' names
• 3 slides containing information about your organism: These slides should include information about the geographic range of your organism, its habitat, its life cycle, what it eats, what eats it, and any other information you deem important.
• Between 1 and 3 slides of your observations: These slides should include any observations that you make about your organism (how it swims, how it eats, etc).
• 3 slides about your organism and urban ecology: These slides should include information about how your organism is affected by humans and how your organism contributes to humans.