Oh What a Tangled Web: Ecosystem-Based Management

The lab activity described here was created by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project.

Investigation Summary and Learning Objectives

Marine ecosystem food web. Image courtesy of NOAA.

Students begin this investigation by reading about Ecosystem-Based Management tools and techniques. They then watch a short movie about how the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) project of the Census of Marine Life (CoML) endeavor will track and monitor ocean life with implanted tags and underwater listening lines. In Part 2 of the investigation, students play the Australian Fisheries Management Authority's Great Australian Fisheries Challenge game, in which helps students learn about managing a marine ecosystem in a sustainable way by assuming the role of a fishery manager.

After completing this investigation, students will be able to:

• define Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM);
• explain the four steps of the EBM process;
• explain why fisheries should use EBM approaches;
• describe the types of EBM tools used for fisheries management; and
• understand that fisheries management is more complex than just counting fish.

Context for Use

The previous investigation, Lab 2: Are You Going to Eat That?, alerted students to some of the fishing practices that are harmful to marine ecosystems. This investigation introduces students to the ecosystem-based management process and the tools used by researchers to assess and maintain ecosystem health.

The entire investigation will take two 50-60 minute class periods. The reading, Checking In Questions, and Stop and Think Question in Part A should take students 30-45 minutes to complete. The POST animation is approximately 2-3 minutes long. The Great Australian Fisheries Challenge game in Part B will take most of a class period if students manage all 3 fisheries.

Activity Overview and Teaching Materials

In Part A, students visit the Ecosystem-Based Management Tools Network website to read about the EBM process, EBM tools, and how those tools are used and developed. They also watch an animation produced by the POST project of the Census of Marine Life, which explains how the project will tag and monitor the life, migration, and death of marine animals. To play the POST movie, computers must be equipped with QuickTime Player.

In Part B, students play the Great Australian Fisheries Challenge game, created by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. The game is aimed at late primary and early high school students, and helps students learn about managing a marine ecosystem in a sustainable way by assuming the role of a fishery manager. The player chooses what they think is the best way to deal with the issues and challenges that fishing may present. Such challenges include adverse effects on the marine environment, interactions with protected species, and maintaining fishing at a sustainable level. To play the game, student computers must be equipped with the Adobe Flash Player.

An Activity Sheet (Acrobat (PDF) 34kB Jan31 08) is provided for students to use during this activity. (The word processing version (Microsoft Word 30kB Jan31 08) of the activity sheet is also available.) "Stop and Think" questions are incorporated into the student webpages and the Activity Sheet serves as a place for them to record their answers.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Students will encounter new vocabulary in this investigation. Encourage students to create a list of new and unfamiliar vocabulary words and definitions. The Great Australian Fisheries Challenge game has a built-in dictionary that can help with new terms encountered in the game.

If time is short, you can assign different groups of students to manage different fisheries rather than having all students manage all three fisheries in the game. The game can also be assigned as homework if your students have computer access at home.

Assessment

You can assess student understanding of topics addressed in this Investigation by grading their responses to the Stop and Think Questions.

Show me possible responses to Stop and Think Questions

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Additional Resources

Background Information

• Learn more about the Ecosystem-Based Management Tools Network for promoting awareness, development, and effective use of tools for EBM in coastal and marine environments.
• The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) produces a series of educational materials including Australian fisheries fact sheets, fishing methods diagrams and summaries, maps, image libraries and more.

Pedagogic Considerations

• Mark Wagner and Michael Guerena of the Orange County (CA) Department of Education's Educational Technology group, created this 22-minute video, Games in Education, about the use of video games for authentic and experiential learning in K-12 classrooms.

Content Extension

• On March 21st, 2005, Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea (COMPASS) released a Scientific Consensus Statement on Marine Ecosystem-Based Management (Acrobat (PDF) 728kB Jul25 07). This document, signed by more than 220 scientists and policy experts from academic institutions across the U.S., highlights current scientific understanding of marine ecosystems, explains how this knowledge shapes the call for a new management approach, and provides a definition for what the scientific community envisions when it recommends "ecosystem-based management" for the oceans.
• The Census of Marine Life is a growing global network of researchers in more than 70 nations engaged in a ten-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans -- past, present, and future. This website provides information about the census and links to the 17 sub-projects (including POST) that comprise the Census of Marine Life.