Grade Level: 12th Grade

Learning Standard: Advanced Placement

Time Requirements: 1 period preparation, 1 period post-trip evaluation

Topics Covered: Conservation, Ecology, Biodiversity

Pre-Visit:
This field trip assumes students are in their second year of biology and can appreciate the concepts of biodiversity, adaptation and the food chain.  On this trip students will observe animals and come to a deeper understanding of the political and social, as well as biological, pressures that endanger these and other animals.  In the pre-visit class discussion will be initiated about factors that endanger biosystems. Terms such as "endangered", "vulnerable" and
"extinct" will be discussed and working definitions created. The consequences of removing an "insignificant" species from its ecosystem will be examined.

Materials : large posters of endangered animals, slides

Visit:
Students begin with a short tour of the Wildlife Center as a group, familiarizing themselves with the specific animals.  Students will gather for 60 minute Foraging Ecology class directed by PPWC staff. This covers food chain classification, energy pyramid, adaptations, diets, skull examination and some animal demonstrations.  Further discussion will be directed toward factors that endanger specific species.  Students return to enclosures to view three different endangered animals making notes on their habitat, diet, evolutionary adaptations, social groupings and behavioral patterns as exhibited in captivity.  View public sea lion feeding.

Post Visit:
Discussion of specific items of interest.  Extend examination of the role of lower life forms in the global ecology, including viruses and bacteria. Ethical and practical issues of intentional extinction (such as has been attempted with smallpox) will be discussed.  Discussion of practical means that students can participate in conservation efforts.

Homework:
2-page research paper evaluating the current conservation status of one of the three endangered animals studied at the Wildlife Center.  Compare observations of the conditions in the wild with those observed in captivity. Research further adaptations. Attempt to evaluate a prognosis for survival.

Assessment:
Will be based on the notes taken, participation in discussions and the research paper. 

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