This Week Day 1- Engage. Introduction to a local Harmful Algal Bloom. What do we know? What don’t we know? Begin algal bloom experiment. Day 2- Explore and Explain. Construct marine food webs and trophic pyramids. Play “Trace the Toxin” game. Day 3- Explore, Explain, and Extend. Jigsaw activity exploring HAB socio-ecological systems and predicting their future in a warming climate. Day 4- Explain, Extend, and Evaluate. Look at our bloom with microscopes. Revisit our conceptual diagrams and evaluate conclusions.
THE BLOB Our phenomenon this weeks begins with The Blob.
Sea Surface Temperature (Celcius) The Blob occurred off the US west coast in 2014. It was a huge patch of water that was anomalously warm, meaning that it was warm compared to the average water temperature in previous years.
ALGAL BLOOM Right after The Blob, there was a huge bloom of algae.
Since algae are plants, they produce chlorophyll Since algae are plants, they produce chlorophyll. Satellites in space can measure the amount of chlorophyll in the water. Where there is a lot of chlorophyll in the ocean, there is an algae bloom. NASA NOAA
Let’s zoom in to the coast of Washington State. NASA NOAA
This is a real satellite image This is a real satellite image. You can actually see the algae bloom just with your eyes. NASA NOAA
NOAA (Vera Trainer) If you zoom way in to the algae bloom to look at individual algae, you can see cells of Pseudo-nitzschia, a genus of microalgae that includes several species that make the neurotoxin domoic acid. NOAA
TOXIC CLAMS After the algae bloom, scientists found that razor clams on the beach were too toxic to eat.
Extremely high levels of an algal toxin called domoic acid, which is produced by a group of phytoplankton called Pseudo-nitzschia, led to closures of recreational razor clam harvests in Oregon and Washington in 2015. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Shiro’s Sushi NOAA (Vera Trainer)
Shiro’s Sushi NOAA (Vera Trainer)
The Blob → Algal Bloom → Can’t Clam What happened!?! The Blob → Algal Bloom → Can’t Clam So what happened? How did the blob create the algae bloom? And how did the algae bloom make the clams toxic?
What questions do I still have? What did I learn from others? What do I know? What questions do I still have? What did I learn from others? Fill in what you know and your questions
What questions do I still have? What did I learn from others? What do I know? What questions do I still have? What did I learn from others? Compare what you know Compare your questions with your group Write down notes in this box
Split into groups As a group, draw a Conceptual Model What processes caused the 2015 closure of razor clam fisheries in WA? Things to think about? What ingredients do algae need to bloom? Where do these ingredients come from? What makes an algal bloom “harmful”? What is the fate of these harmful products?
Let’s grow a bloom!
Let’s grow a bloom! No Nutrients No Light
Let’s grow a bloom! No Nutrients No Light No Nutrients Light
Let’s grow a bloom! No Nutrients No Light No Nutrients Light Nutrients
Let’s grow a bloom! No Nutrients No Light No Nutrients Light Nutrients