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In this activity, students review the research data of a team of scientists who studied the effects of introducing a lizard predator on the food webs of a group of small islands in the Bahamas. After analyzing graphs, students will answer a series of questions based on the data.

In this activity students will learn about the many factors, both man-made and natural, that affect fish populations in the estuary. By learning how humans have a negative influence on estuarine fish populations, students will learn how to become better stewards of the environment.

In this lesson, part of the NC Science Now series, students will identify the factors that affect the Red Drum population and discuss the relationships between predator and prey.

Students explore a bay ecosystem and how the different organisms of the ecosystem compete with one another for resources.

Students will read scientific text about top predators in Arctic marine ecosystems and how they may be affected by global climate change. Students will work individually or collaboratively to write a report based on the scientific text they have read and participate in a large-group discussion session based on their analysis.

In this activity, students will use a simple sampling method to determine if invasive species impact other plants and animals in the forest. This activity focuses on garlic mustard, but the same procedure can also be used with other invasive plants in different habitats. Note: This activity can also be simulated in the classroom with different kinds of leaves to represent different plants.

This multimedia resource, part of the NC Science Now series, describes researchers at Duke are using an innovative method to track Gray Seals and determine where and how often seals eat. The study will also provide information about how humans interact with these animals and how that affects their sustainability over the long term. Components of this resource include a video, a related blog article, and an interview with a marine conservation biologist. Links to these components are provided on the page under the heading "UNC-TV Media."

In this role-playing activity, students take on the roles of members of a forest ecosystem to illustrate the challenges facing endangered species, environmental stewards and economic interests.

This brief video lesson discusses how large sea animals collect enough food to sustain them. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.

This brief video lesson describes the squid's most extraordinary adaptations that have evolved to help them thwart predators. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.

This multimedia resource, part of the NC Science Now series, outlines how the population of lionfish, an invasive species, has been spreading north since its introduction in the 1980s off Florida, collapsing the reef food webs and reducing the area of the coral reefs. Lionfish have no known predators and a rapid reproduction rate, which is why they are taking over and reducing the overall biodiversity of NC reef ecosystems. Components of this resource include a video, related text articles, and an interview with a NC marine ecologist. Links to these components are provided on the page under the heading "UNC-TV Media."

This online tutorial defines and explains endosymbiosis through a description of the relationship between amoebae and bacteria. Students will also learn the role endosymbiosis played in the evolution of eukaryotes and how endosymbiosis hsa changed our view of the branching pattern on the tree of life.

This video describes how Herring and Great Blac-backed gulls in a crowded breeding colony on Maine's Appledore Island coexist. The signals that the gulls have evolved to prevent violent clashes are also discussed.

After completing this investigation, students should be able to: name at least three reasons why coral reefs are important to humans; explain the role of symbiosis in reef ecosystems; and explain the differences between living corals in the ocean and the pieces of coral one might see washed up on a beach.

In this activity, students will collect actual data from WildCam Gorongosa and use those data to create graphs and answer an ecological question of their choice.

Students conduct research and create a presentation in which they become an organism or species that resides in the tropical montane cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Living history projects are non-written, alternative assessments in which studnets embody a particular object, organism, or person other than themselves.

Students are asked to formulate a hypothesis, and collect and analyze real research data to understand how quickly natural selection can act on a population. This activity supports the film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree.

Students explore the Everglades ecosystem using the Internet, to develop an understanding about conservation of resources in the context of the Everglades, to explore relationships between species and habitats, and to develop an understanding of how human beings have altered the equilibrium in the Everglades.

Students geolocate marine ecosystems. They watch videos, make observations about species, populations, and communities of organisms, and discuss how they interact with and depend upon one another for survival.