Students will collect soil samples and analyze them with some of the same procedures used by researchers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Soil microfauna (e.g. nematodes) will be extracted from the samples using a Baermann funnel. Students will compare their own data to published data from researchers working in Antarctica.
PolarTREC teacher Andrea Skloss’ lesson was inspired by her Chukchi Sea Ecosystem Study aboard the USCGC Healy. In order to understand why this area is a biological hot spot of productivity, scientists must study components such as the trophic levels and more.
Objectives
In organisms and environments, the student knows that interdependence occurs among living systems and the environment
In this set of lessons, students have the opportunity to think like scientists as they examine actual data related to Arctic ground squirrels, organize it in logical ways, and make inferences based on the data.
Objectives
Students will develop an understanding of some of the ways scientists use and organize data.