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Interactive Lessons
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Oysters in the Environment
- Learn about some aspects of the Eastern Oyster biology and ecology in the Chesapeake Bay.
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Oyster Anatomy Laboratory
- Study the external and internal anatomy of this fascinating mollusk virtually and in the laboratory.
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Hunting for Hemocytes
- Learn how to harvest hemolymph and isolate blood cells from the Eastern Oyster.
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Particulate Matters (Filtering Mechanism Experiment)
- Perform a live filtering experiment and watch how the oyster is able to filter materials from the environment and selectively process them as food or pseudofeces.
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The Chesapeake Bay is the largest most productive estuary in the United States providing habitat for some 2,700 species of plants and animals. Water quality of the Bay is important in maintaining this high level of biodiversity – the variety of species located within an ecosystem. One way to measure biodiversity is to examine biofilm communities. In this activity, you will evaluate some biofilm cultures grown on plexiglass discs that were suspended vertically in the Baltimore Inner Harbor water. The project demonstrates how water quality, depth, and biodiversity are linked. Click here for the Biofilms & Biodiversity lesson plan website.
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Dichotomous keys are designed to assist people with the identification of all types of living things from plants to microbes. By analyzing the physical characteristics of the object/organism in question and using the steps and choices given in the key, the observer can identify an object/organism based upon well established traits. In this activity, you will learn how to make a dichotomous key and how to identify important organisms that are part of a biofilm community (a very useful skill that will help you with the Biofilms & Biodiversity activities).
Click here for the Key to Classification lesson plan website.
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