Energy Flow in the National Park
Exploration 2

Migratory and resident species rely on resources found in habitats that make up ecosystems. Survival of migratory shorebirds depends on ecosystem resources. The Nationalpark Schleswig-Holstein Wattenmeer is a critical refueling stop for migratory birds.

Students will read the information for Exploration 2: Energy Flow in the National Park from the Companion Reader and work on Activity 1: Habitats worksheet below. Use the Poster “Wadden Sea”, available for download at Wadden Sea Resources (if the hyperlink does not work, go to http://www.iwss.org/resources?language=da&resource_type=All, select English and poster from the dropdown menu, and download the Poster “Wadden Sea”)

Students will:

1. Analyze the poster.
2. Identify the different habitats in the park.
3. Make note of the species found in each habitat. You may need to make inferences if a species is shown in habitat, but not labeled in that habitat. Use clues in the poster to name the unidentified animals.
4. Ask students to show their observations on the digital platform of your choice (e.g. Seesaw, Flip Grid, Padlet)
5. Share your observations digitally with your group members and/or whole class.
6. Using examples from the poster, apply the vocabulary terms by identifying the biotic and abiotic factors of the Wattenmeer ecosystem.
    

Formative Assessment
Digital representation of observations and examples of abiotic and biotic facts.
   

Students should read the Activity 2: Roles in the Ecosystem worksheet below. Provide students with the “Wadden Sea Species Cards” (in PDF below) to gather information about the organisms in the national park ecosystem.
   

Students will:

1. Work in a small group (3 or 4 students).
2. Use information from the reading to classify each organism in the card deck.
3. Sort the cards into three groups: producer, consumer, and decomposer.
4. Sort the consumers into three groups: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
5. Students will build a digital display as a record of their work (instruct students to use the digital platform of your choice to work on their display).
6. View the displays created by other groups and compare similarities and differences.
7. Leave a comment or question for the other groups.

Formative Assessment
As a scientist, students will organize the producers, consumers, and decomposers of the Wattenmeer ecosystem to show how energy flows through the system. Students should work in their groups to arrange the cards to show how energy flows through the ecosystem.

Note: If your students are unfamiliar with energy transfer in ecosystems, use an easy introductory game to help students understand the transfer of energy within an ecosystem.
 

For this activity, students will need a digital or paper copy of the Poster “Wadden Sea”, the “Wadden Sea Species Cards” (in the PDF below), and materials they created in the first two activities of Exploration 2. Students should read the Activity 3: Food Web worksheet prior to starting the activity.
 
Students will:

1. Use the “Wadden Sea Species Cards” to find information about the organisms in the Wattenmeer ecosystem.
2. Use arrows to show the direction of energy transfer. Begin by adding the sun to the poster diagram. Draw arrows from the sun to producers.
3. Draw an arrow from the nutrient source (food) to the consumers. Some consumers will have more nutrient sources than others.
4. In the mudflat and tidal creek, add bacteria and fungi as decomposers in the soil. Add a label for detritus near the filter feeders, siphon feeder, and worms.
5. Use a dashed arrow to connect producers and consumers to decomposers. The dashed arrow indicates that the producer or consumer is dead. Eventually all of the organisms will die and decompose.
6. Compare food webs, and discuss similarities and differences.

Formative Assessment
Create a food web of the Wadden Sea ecosystem.

 

Respond to the following prompt:

• As a scientist, analyze the food web.
• Which species are in direct competition for nutrient resources? Explain.
• Which species would be most affected by a decrease in cockles? Explain.

• Use mixed-ability pairs.
• Read-aloud strategies can be used for the information sections.
• Chunk tasks and set a time schedule for completion.
• Provide sentence starters for writing activities.
• Allow students to check answers with peers.

• Students examine animals of the Wadden Sea.
• Students explore the energy transfer in the Wadden Sea ecosystem.