Activity 1 - Webs and Stacks

Purpose:  To explore the value of fish, both environmentally and economically, to Ontario.

Outcomes:  Students will be able to describe some of the environmental and economic relationships of Ontario fish, and some of the impacts if those relationships are severed, using lake trout as an example; students will also be able to visualize the economic worth of sport fish to Ontario.

Subject: Science, Biology (Ecology), Mathematics

Group size: Class

Site: Classroom

Time: 1 hour plus homework

Supplies: Newsprint if desired; copies of resource sheet(s)

Before the activity: Copy resource sheets

References: 
See http://www.statefishart.com/lesson.pdf, pg. 8-13, for a brief primer on  fish. 
See http://www.mapcrow.info/ for the distance between any two relatively large cities.
See http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/SORR/2ColumnSubPage/STDPROD_085774.html for a detailed history of Lake Trout in the upper Great Lakes.
See http://www.epa.gov/solec/sogl2009/0008salmontrout.pdf for the status of salmon and trout in all Great Lakes.


 

A QUICK LOOK 

Students will use word webs, a reading assignment and a math challenge to explore the environmental and economic value of fish to the Province of Ontario.

READY, SET, GO!

 
Part A

First, ask students for the names of different kinds of animals, and list them on the board or newsprint in the order that they mention them.  Chances are, it will be a while before fish or any particular kind of fish comes up.  Ask them why that might be, since fish: 

• at 400 million years old, are the world’s oldest (and some might argue most successful) vertebrates
• at  upwards of 25,000 species worldwide, represent more than half of all animals with backbones; many more, especially from deep sea areas, may be undiscovered
• with over 160 species in Ontario, almost double the number of mammals here.

If it doesn’t come up near the top, indicate that it might be because fish are largely an invisible resource, hidden beneath the surface, largely out of sight and out of mind.  And that now they are going to "uncover" some things about fish.

Note:  If fish comes up near the top of the list, ask the person who thought of it why they did.  Chances are, it will be because they’re an angler, or keep fish in an aquarium, or just like fish for dinner!  At any rate, there is a connection with fish, and if you don’t have it, you might not think of them for the reasons mentioned above.

Now, write the word FISH in the middle of the blackboard or a large piece of newsprint.  Ask students to brainstorm all the words they can think of that relate to it.  Encourage them to explain if the linkage is not obvious.  Begin to create a web out of the words provided.  Continue until you’ve either run out of words or run out of space.

Next, circle related words in the same colour, e.g. descriptive terms (slimy, scaly, slippery, streamlined) in red, ecological/relational terms in green (fish food, water, insects, habitat, energy) and human-related terms in blue (fishing, eating fish, tackle, lures, bait, boats).

Part B

Indicate that they are going to focus on the ecological value of fish by looking at one fish:  the lake trout.  Read together with the class, or assign as homework, Resource Sheets 1 or 2, depending on their reading level.  As they read, have them list or draw all the ecosystem links that contain lake trout, and all the direct or indirect impacts resulting from the loss of lake trout.

Once the assignment is complete, summarize their findings on the board in a new web with lake trout in the middle.  Highlight the effects of breaking some of those strands.

Point out that, while lake trout is an extreme example due to its position as a keystone species in a major lake system, the loss of any fish will have similar, if less obvious, "ripple effects."  The last part of the article is a cautionary tale:  when we break something in nature, it is sometimes harder than we think to put it back together again!

Part C

Take another look at the human-related words.  Most should relate to either fishing or eating fish.  Indicate that while fish are used for oils, dietary supplements, leather, fertilizers and animal feed, fishing for food and/or sport is a primary activity, one that here in Ontario contributes greatly to the provincial economy.  In fact, the sport fishery alone, in 2005, was worth over 2.5 billion dollars through sales of supplies, equipment, boats, vehicles and lodging directly or indirectly related to fishing.

Now, 2.5 billion of anything is hard to visualize.  Challenge your students to imagine a stack of 2.5 billion loonies.  How tall would it be, assuming each loonie to be 2 mm thick? (5.0 billion mm)  How many km is that? (5000)  How far is that from the nearest major city?  Take some guesses, e.g., London to Saskatoon, and find out how far that might be on a map or globe.  Use the distance website under References to confirm and refine your estimates.  How long would it take to drive there, averaging 80 km/hr.? (62.5 hr.)  How many hears of spending would it take for your loonie stack to circle the earth?  (40,000 km circumference/5000 km/year = 8 years)  A worksheet is provided (Resource Sheet 3).

OTHER IDEAS

Challenge your students to come with other ways to creatively visualize $2.5 billion.