This video describes the movement of Atlantic fish and plankton northward into Arctic regions as the climate warms.
There are many ecological implications of this, including changing or disrupting the Arctic food webs and changing the population dynamics of Polar and Atlantic species.
Humans are also increasingly accessing Arctic waters and impacting the food webs and ecology of this remote and rich ecosystem.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This resource effectively outlines the ecological implications of a changing climate.
The video describes the concepts of competition, energy transfer, food web dynamics, and invasive species in a well-illustrated example.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the concepts of food webs and energy transfer between trophic levels.
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Differentiation
Before showing the video, ask students to predict a typical food chain in an Arctic ecosystem. Ask them about characteristics of cold water animal species.
Consider having students draw a graphic organizer to compare and contrast Atlantic and Arctic aquatic food chains.
Discuss other regions where animal migrations due to climate change may have ecological impacts on native species.
This resource presents (in detail) the human impact on the Arctic and also how Atlantification has caused species invasion and biodiversity loss in the Arctic ecosystem. This resource is suitable for comparative analysis within the Atlantic and Arctic ecosystems. This is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Science and Engineering
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-6 Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
