Shark Bay Video Lessons

This exercise is designed to introduce students to the Shark Bay seagrass ecosystem and how scientists collect information to help them understand the relationships of some of its important species. The lesson starts with an exploration of the seagrass beds themselves and builds to include the larger animals and the role they play in the ecosystem. Some of the key concepts in this lesson are interdependence, the flow of energy in ecosystems, the important role of predators, and common scientific practices (hypothesis generation, data collection, hypothesis-testing). The lesson can be taught at a variety of grade levels and feedback is welcome on how any of these materials can be improved or made more specific to particular grade levels. Please send any comments or ideas for other lessons/concepts to Mike Heithaus. The videos below are streaming, if you would like copies of the files for use on offline computers, please send an email.

Downloadable Materials:

• Student Activity Book
• Species identification sheets and Data Packets

Click here to request a copy of the Teacher instructions. These instructions contain learning outcomes of all activities, suggested answers, and additional activities for students. Videos are developed in collaboration with Symbio Studios, and co-produced by Mike Heithaus as part of the PBS Science Matters series.