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Hypoxia in Coastal Marine Ecosystems (Project Eddie)

Author(s): Annette Brickley1, Kathy Browne2, Gabi Smalley2

1. NES-LTER Education & Outreach Coordinator 2. Rider University

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Summary:
Aquatic ecosystems are home to a complex intersection of physical and biological factors and an intersection of natural and anthropogenic factors. In the Chesapeake Bay, low oxygen events have occurred periodically and may be connected with harmful…

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Aquatic ecosystems are home to a complex intersection of physical and biological factors and an intersection of natural and anthropogenic factors. In the Chesapeake Bay, low oxygen events have occurred periodically and may be connected with harmful algal blooms, fish kills, heavy flooding/runoff events, and warming temperatures. Careful monitoring of the system by the Chesapeake Bay Program since 1984 allows scientists and policymakers to evaluate the causes of the events and monitor improvements in the health of the ecosystem.

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Version 1.0 - published on 11 Apr 2022 doi:10.25334/C6A2-GS25 - cite this

Description

Students will use a multi-variable 10-year data set from the Chesapeake Bay to investigate the change in dissolved oxygen concentration over time. To determine the possible cause(s) of hypoxic events, students will analyze additional variables and will need to relate and apply their understanding of natural and anthropogenic processes affecting the ecosystem. Students will support their conclusions with evidence from their analyses.

Students will be able to:

  • Support a conclusion using evidence and their understanding of relevant scientific concepts.
  • Explain how environmental factors in aquatic ecosystems can cause hypoxic or anoxic events.
  • Make connections between natural and anthropogenic processes that affect aquatic ecosystems.
  • Use different data analysis techniques to quantify and/or validate the relationship between two or more variables.

Students will use appropriate and sufficient data sets and analyses of those data to support a conclusion about the cause of one or more hypoxic events. They will show their understanding of relevant scientific concepts in their reasoning, and their skills analyzing and interpreting data as evidence to support their conclusion(s).

Project EDDIE Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry & Exploration) is a community effort aimed at developing teaching resources and instructors that address quantitative reasoning and scientific concepts using open inquiry of publicly available data. Project EDDIE modules are designed with an A-B-C structure to make them flexible and adaptable to a range of student levels and course structures.

 

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