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Special Places: Eco-lessons from the National Parks in Atlantic Canada
Grade 11
Species and Spaces – At Risk at Home
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Students will investigate species at risk (SAR) and spaces at risk in the context of Canadian biomes and ecological land classification focusing on Atlantic Canada’s ecoregions. They will describe ecoregions in terms of climate, physical geography, vegetation cover and location relevant to species at risk. They will research, document and make presentations about the natural history and ecology of a population, reasons for endangerment, and interventions necessary to ensure recovery.
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Students will be able to:
- explore and compare Canadian biomes and other ecologically classed land in terms of climate, vegetation, physical geography and location;
- describe population growth and explain factors that influence population growth;
- describe and apply classification systems and nomenclatures used in the sciences;
- develop and deliver an organized and effective presentation.
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Grade level: 11
Subject: Biology: Life Sciences (Atlantic)– Interactions among
living things
Curriculum linkages: 118-10; 213-6; 214-1; 215-3; 318-7; 318-8 (Students will synthesize information from multiple sources and make inferences based on this information. Students will analyze interactions within and between populations.)
Duration: Approximately 75 to 150 minutes (1 to 2 periods) for teacher presentation and discussion; sufficient time for independent research and preparation; approximately 75 to 150 (1 to 2 periods) minutes for student presentions.
Setting: Classroom
Materials: Large classroom maps of Canada and Atlantic Canada; Library and Internet research tools; Park Backgrounders on the national parks in Atlantic Canada; Information Sheets on Blanding’s turtle, water-pennywort and other endangered species; Species at Risk List for Atlantic Canada (p.19.1); Descriptive Analysis Guidelines document (for the student) (p.20.1); Student Descriptive Analysis and Presentation Rubrics (for the teacher).
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A biome is defined as a large geographic area with somewhat uniform climatic conditions. It is a complex arrangement of communities characterized by a distinctive type of vegetation and maintained under the climatic conditions of the region. Typical large scale Canadian biomes include the boreal forest, taiga, tundra, grassland, eastern deciduous forest and desert. In this lesson, a biome is a broad spectrum term that refers to a large geographic area and is not necessarily broken down into sub-components.
In contrast to biomes, ecosystems vary tremendously and can be arranged in multiple scales where smaller ecosystems are included in larger ones. Ecosystems can also range from natural systems to systems that are heavily modified by human activities. A particular biome may be representative of a prairie, but that biome includes a variety of ecosystems.
Ecological land classification has been described as a process of delineating and classifying those ecologically distinctive areas of the Earth’s surface by exploring the “layers” within ecosystems. Each layer or area can be viewed as a discrete system resulting from an interplay of the geology, landform, soil, climate, biota, water, and human factors which may be present.
Ecological land classification is based on the following principles:
- It incorporates all major components of ecosystems: air, water, land and biota.
- The number and relative importance of factors helpful in delineating ecological units varies from one area to another.
- It is based on a hierarchy, with ecosystems nested within ecosystems.
- It recognizes that ecosystems are interactive and that characteristics of one ecosystem can be similar to those of another.
The Canadian Committee on Ecological Land Classification has identified four hierarchical generalized categories: ecozone, ecoprovince, ecoregion and ecodistrict. Three are of importance for this activity and are described below.
Ecozone
The ecozone is an area of the earth’s surface representative of large and much generalized units characterized by interactive and adjusting abiotic and biotic factors. It is at the top of the ecological hierarchy. It defines (on a subcontinental scale) the broad mosaics formed by the interaction of climate, human activity, vegetation, soils, geological and physiographic features of the country.
Ecoregions
They are the subdivisions of the ecozone characterized by distinctive regional ecological factors such as: climate, landforms, vegetation, wildlife, soils, water and regional human land uses. The ecoregions are the bridge between the subcontinental scale ecozones and the more localized ecodistricts.
Ecodistricts
Found within ecoregions, ecodistricts are characterized by distinctive arrangements of landform, relief, bedrock and surficial material, soil, water bodies, vegetation, wildlife and land uses.
Species at Risk
In Canada, COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), assesses the level of risk of extinction for wildlife species. These assessments are based on the best available scientific, aboriginal traditional and community knowledge on the status of each species.
According to the COSEWIC Report May 2002, there are currently 402 species listed as being at risk in Canada. Please visit the COSEWIC Web site for the most current listing (www.cosewic.gc.ca).
There are five categories or designations of species at risk:
- Extinct – A species that no longer exists anywhere on the planet. There are presently 11 species in Canada on this list (e.g. passenger pigeon, Labrador duck, great auk, eelgrass limpet).
- Extirpated – A species that no longer exists in a particular area or jurisdiction, but still occurs elsewhere. There are 19 extirpated species in Canada (e.g. tiger salamander, timber rattlesnake).
- Endangered – A species that is facing imminent extinction or extirpation. There are 125 species in Canada listed as endangered, (e.g. wolverine, roseate tern, beluga whale, Atlantic salmon, thread-leaved sundew, Eskimo curlew).
- Threatened – A species that is likely to become endangered in Canada if factors such as habitat loss continue. In Canada, there are 100 species considered threatened (e.g. water-pennywort, Anatum peregrine falcon, golden crest, Blanding’s turtle, woodland caribou).
- Special Concern (formerly "vulnerable") – A species is designated to be of special concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. There are 147 species of special concern in Canada (e.g. Gulf of St. Lawrence aster, monarch butterfly, wood turtle, and northern bottlenose whale, Atlantic cod, polar bear, short-eared owl).
Parks Canada has identified the Blanding’s turtle and water-pennywort, found in Kejimkujik National Park as priority species for national recovery efforts. In Atlantic Canada, there are currently 60 species at risk listed by COSEWIC and/or provincial legislation as endangered, threatened or of special concern. Although some of these species occur throughout the Atlantic region, their distribution is not uniform. Some species require highly specific habitat that is limited in distribution, occurring in only a few areas. It is important to remember that landscapes outside national parks and protected areas also represent critical habitat for species at risk and need to be considered when managing for those species.
National parks have existed in Canada for well over a century. They play an important role in the protection and study of species at risk. National parks and national marine conservation areas protect living examples of ecological diversity. They are protected for public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment, while being maintained in an unimpaired state for future generations. Each park and area offers a legacy of protection, living laboratories and centres for research about the natural world and how it functions.
This lesson uses ecological land classification criteria linked to the unique characteristics of each national park in Atlantic Canada and its surrounding region as a context to study species at risk.
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- Begin this lesson by giving your students a general introduction to the Ecological Classification of Canada: (http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/ecostrat/intro.html). Include an explanation of how to classify ecologically distinctive areas of the Earth. Explore the major ecological composition of ecozones and the linkages between the various biotic and abiotic components within an ecosystem.
- Discuss with your students the differences and similarities between the biomes and the ecological classification systems. (Use a large map of Canada to identify the various biomes and ecoregions that will be studied.) Use the Environment Canada Narrative Descriptions of Terrestrial Ecozones and Ecoregions of Canada (www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Framework/NarDesc/ Canada_e.cfm).
- Discuss and emphasize that all living things and their population size and growth, are impacted and influenced by the abiotic and biotic realities of an ecoregion. For example, soil type determines (to a certain extent) the kind of plant life; wind and cold temperatures do the same. Soil moisture (bogs and wetlands) mean that plant life has adapted to survive in moist conditions, etc. You may choose to prepare a chart in order to show some of the significant factors that affect or influence population growth within the ecoregion. Your chart could look like this example:
| Plants (flora) (type of species, variety and arrangement of species, etc.) |
Wind speed |
| Wildlife (fauna) (predator/prey ratios) |
Amount of precipitation |
| Trees (conifers and/or deciduous) |
Temperature |
| Photoperiod |
Human activities impacting on habitat (forestry,tourism, mining) |
| Presence of decomposers |
Length of growing season |
| Photosynthesis activities |
Depth of soil |
| Evapotranspiration |
Soil moisture |
| Symbiotic relationships |
Fire |
- Select the Atlantic Maritime and Boreal Shield ecozones to compare obvious biotic and abiotic differences. You may wish to prepare a chart showing and comparing the physical geography (soils, landforms), wildlife and location. (An example chart is presented at the end of this lesson.)
- Identify those ecozones within Atlantic Canada (the Atlantic Maritime, Arctic Cordillera, Taiga Shield and Boreal Shield). Inventory the climate, vegetation, physical geography and location. Identify some general biotic and abiotic differences between ecoregions in each ecozone. Again, you may wish to prepare a chart to differentiate and compare the ecoregions. (An example chart is presented at the end of this lesson.)
- Introduce and discuss the importance of national parks as representative examples of natural areas of Canadian significance with particular biotic and abiotic characteristics. (See the National Parks System Plan on the Parks Canada Web site for further information.) By law, they are protected for public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment, while being maintained in an unimpaired state for future generations. One of their critical roles is to provide protection for species at risk in Canada.
- Introduce the concept of species at risk in Canada and COSEWIC’s role in identifying species populations that are being threatened (www.cosewic.gc.ca). Discuss the different levels of risk (extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened, special concern) and those factors that threaten their populations: competition, environmental quality, disease, parasitism, predation and human activities.
- Hand out the Blanding’s turtle and water-pennywort Information Sheets to the students. Within the ecoregion where Kejimkujik is located, discuss the factors that regulate the population size of these species in the national park e.g.:
- Water-pennywort: stabilization of water levels, recreational activities and vehicular damage, land development.
- Blanding’s turtle: nest flooding, raccoon predation, existing park infrastructure, habitat fragmentation.
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Student Application Activity:
NOTE: There are other Park Backgrounders and endangered species Information Sheets that may help you and your students with research. They can be found within the Special Places curriculum supplement Lesson Resources section.
- Divide the class into working teams of three to four students. Explain that they will be carrying out research, preparing a presentation on a species at risk in a national park and describing the ecoregion in which the species resides.
NOTE: Explain that they can design any form of presentation, such as: bulletin board display, brochure, booklet, PowerPoint presentation, video news broadcast or informational video, 3-D model, or any other similar creative format.
- Have working teams select a species at risk that resides in a national park in Atlantic Canada. Try to encourage working teams to select different ecoregions and/or different species at risk.
- Hand out each group the Descriptive Analysis Guidelines document.
- Working teams will carry out a descriptive analysis of their species at risk in the selected ecoregion using the Guidelines document to orient their research.
- Working teams will deliver the results of their descriptive analysis to the class or school in large in a creative, interactive format. Teachers can evaluate the presentation using the attached Presentation Rubric.
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Students will consolidate their research and presentation data in a report format that provides key information about their species at risk in the selected eco-region. The report can be written in the form of:
- a technical, scientific report providing basic ecological information or;
- an article format, written to be included in an environmental magazine or journal (such as Canadian Geographic, Canadian Forests, Outside, etc.) or;
- a transcript of a radio interview with a wildlife biologist or geographer about the species and the ecoregion. Teachers can evaluate the report using the attached Descriptive Analysis
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Teachers can evaulate the report using the attached Descriptive Analysis Evaluation Rubric.
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Justify whether or not your species at risk could survive in another ecoregion. Use one of the example ecoregions that was presented by another group of students.
- Categorize the reasons why species are at risk, comparing natural versus unnatural reasons. Discuss and debate whether we should intervene when the reasons are natural.
- Introduce a change to the system (e.g. global warming with an increase of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius in the next 100 years) and identify what effect that would have on the species studied.
- Compare population growth of species at risk within and outside a national park. Consider: competition, environmental quality, disease, parasitism, predation, human activities.
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NOTE: Consider working directly with the school librarian to set up a Web site list for students to research species at risk, land classification and other pertinent information.
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