A Lesson Plan from the Virginia State Parks'
Your Backyard Classrooms
Habitat Hunt
Grade Levels:
    6 - 12

Objectives:
    Students will investigate variation among aquatic habitats by:

Standards:

Science:

    One of the fascinating things about coastal environments is the variety of habitats which can exist relatively close together. Extreme environmental changes such as periodic inundation, temperature fluctuation and varying salinity all make demands on flora and fauna which require some unique and highly specialized adaptations. In this activity, students explore three or more habitats.

Background:
    Each of the seven Chesapeake Bay estuarine Virginia state parks offers at least three different aquatic habitats for exploration. These habitats include streams, ponds, tidal creeks, swamps, marshes, tidal rivers and the Bay itself. Each type of habitat is unique physically, chemically and biologically, and each plays an important role in the ecology of the Bay and the surrounding region.
    Streams are the first corridors for surface water en route to the Bay. Typically, within the Bay region, streams are cool, clear, well-oxygenated, have pH ranges reflecting nearby soil and vegetative conditions, and move at a slow but perceptible pace.
    Stream waters in the Bay area often pause in ponds, which are nearly always man or beaver-made. There the water takes on new characteristics. Oxygen levels and clarity often drop, temperatures typically rise i summer but drop in the winter, and the pH may be altered by the pond's biological activity.
    Eventually, the stream waters reach sea level where they meet the tides of the Chesapeake Bay. Depending on proximity to the mouth of the Bay, the tidal waters' characteristics vary. Salinity may be imperceptible or approach that of sea water at 35 parts per thousand. In the main tributaries and tidal creeks, the waters are often turbid (murky) from suspended silt and an abundance of plankton. Temperatures reflect prevailing weather patterns. pH typically rises with proximity to the mouth of the Bay, due to the buffering effect of the high calcium levels of sea water. Water movements result primarily from the tides and wind.

Materials:
    Students will make their own lists but the following could be used:

Resources:
    See "Species Zonation List".

Procedure:

Before the Trip:

       
  1. Study the park information section of this guide to become familiar with the park to be visited. Identify at least three aquatic habitats that can be investigated during a field trip there. Visit the park; the staff will be glad to assist. In some parks, the various habitats are far apart and require transportation between sites; thus careful planning and timing are essential.
       
  2. Review the activity procedure with the class. Describe to the students the basic types of aquatic habitats that will be visited (such as stream, pond and tidal river) and orient them to the basic park features using the maps in this guide, a topographic map of the park, and other visuals if available. (See park information section for USGS topographic map numbers.)
       
  3. Lead the class in a brainstorming session to make a list of basic aquatic habitat characteristics that can be measured or observed in the field, such as water movements, available light, substrate, turbidity, biota, salinity and pH.
       
  4. Divide the class into teams of about four students each. Assign each team the responsibility of collecting data on one aquatic habitat characteristic. More than one team can collect information on the same characteristic, if the list is small or the class large. Each team makes predictions about what they think their data will show.
       
  5. Help each team devise a plan for collecting data. Include:
    • a data collection method
    • data entry chart (include date & time of measurements)
    • an equipment list
    • questions to answer after visiting all sites. An especially important question is: What are the similarities and differences in the observations between sites and what appear to be the underlying causes? Be sure the teams can carry out their plans within the allotted time for the field trip.
       
  6. Before departing for the park, the teams should practice their data collection techniques such as measuring salinity, pH and turbidity with water samples prepared at school or collected from nearby bodies of water.

At the Park:
       
  1. Each team caries out their data collection plans. Assist them when necessary.
       
  2. After all the sites have been visited, but before leaving the park, each team presents their observations to the whole class, explaining how close their observations were to their predictions and describing the differences and similarities in their observations between the sites. Speculate about what factors, manmade and natural, influence the observed characteristics and how.

Time Required at the Park:
    2 to 4 hours, access to tidal areas might be limited by the tide. Ask park staff in advance which phase is best.

Time of Year:
    Any but observations will vary with the seasons.

Where in the Parks:
Caledon:
    Woodland streams, hardwood swamps, fresh and brackish marshes, a pond, tidal creeks and Potomac River. Access to all but woodland streams near visitor center is seasonally restricted and requires park-provided transportation.

Chippokes:
    Cypress swamps, marshes, tidal creek and James River reached via College Run Trail; a woodland stream originates behind antique farm complex (no direct trail).

Leesylvania:
    Woodland streams, hardwood swamps, fresh marshes and tidal creek all accessible from Powell's Creek Tr.; Potomac River flows past picnic area.

Mason Neck:
    Woodland streams, hardwood swamps, fresh marshes, a pond, tidal creeks and Belmont B ay all accessible by Bay View Tr.

First Landing/Seashore:
    Chesapeake Bay accessed from office parking lot; cypress swamp pools behind visitor center; salt marshes, tidal creek and Broad Bay reached from 64th Street boat ramp area; White Hill Lake reached via trails.

Westmoreland:
    Potomac River, tidal creek and brackish marshes reached by Big Meadows Tr.; hardwood swamps and fresh marshes reached by Turkey Neck Tr. from end of Big Meadows Tr.; pond reached by Rock Spring Pond Tr.

York River:
    Woodland streams, hardwood swamps, fresh and brackish marshes, a pond, tidal creeks and York River; all reached on foot from visitor center.

Extensions: (Follow-up):
       
  1. The teams organize their data with graphs, bar charts and tables, and formally present their findings to the rest of the class. They should suggest reasons for the differences and similarities between the aquatic habitats and suggest how these ideas might be tested.
       
  2. Lead the class in a discussion to synthesize the team observations into generalized profiles for each habitat and to find apparent correlations in their data.
       
  3. Using the data, examine the list of apparent correlations. Develop these into hypotheses and experimentally test them.


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