THE HABITAT GAME

Materials Needed

Large roll of string or rope

Name Tags in sets of 8 :

1. Snowy Egret

2. Great White Heron

3. Osprey

4. Peregrine Falcon

5. White Crown Pigeon

6. Cormorant

7. Roseate Spoonbill

8. Brown Pelican

Posterboard or sheet rolls of paper cut to the same size

Script: Place is Key West in the 1970’s. This is not a true scenario.

1. High water levels during nesting caused by rainfall and/or discharged through canals can cause the loss of Roseate Spoonbill's nesting. Between 1955 and 1971, 61% of the spoonbill’s feeding habitat in the United Keys was lost. Dredging and filling destroyed most of the shallow pools and mudflats. The Spoonbill ceased to exist by the 1970’s. The Roseate Spoonbill students must leave the circle. (Tighten up the string.)

2. Due to injection wells offshore, the water contains a high concentration of contaminates. Many species of fish swim in that area. The Cormorants eat the fish. Cormorants can't live with high concentrations of various containments. All of the Cormorants died and they’ll have to leave the circle. (Tighten up the string.)

3. Accidentally, large concentrations of DDT were released. The Pelican eggs became soft shelled and were crushed when the female Pelican sat on the eggs. They were never able to recover from the accidental release of DDT. Over many years, all of the Brown Pelicans became extinct. The Pelicans need to be removed from the circle. (Tighten up the string.)

4. Due to the development of more housing and shopping areas, all of the hardwood hammocks trees were destroyed. The Ospreys couldn’t find any high trees to build a large nest. The Ospreys became extinct and those Ospreys must leave the group. (Tighten up the string.)

 5. The White-Crowned Pigeon is only found the Florida Keys and the nearby Caribbean. It eats only fruit that it finds in tropical hammocks. The hammocks also depend on this bird because it disperses seeds for many of the trees. The successful nesting of the White-Crowned Pigeons depends on our willingness to preserve poisonwood trees. Because of it’s small breeding range and destruction of its feeding habitat it became extinct. The students that represented the White-Crowned Pigeon need to be removed from the group. (Tighten up the string.)

Instructions

Pre and Post-laboratory Exercise

1. On a scratch piece of paper have the students make three columns. One column they write down what they know about Florida Keys birds. Also have them write down what they know about natural habitats. In the second column have them write down what they would like to learn. In the third column they write down what they have learned. The instructor grades this part.

Pre-laboratory Exercise

1. Break the students up in groups of eight

2. Each student is assigned a bird. Allow the student to find facts about their bird.

3. Have the students write the five facts about their bird on the posterboard and have that student share the information to the rest of the class.

Lab

1. Have one bird species stand close together.

2. On the floor have the string go closely around each group’s feet.

3. Read the script.

4. At the end have a group discussion.

 

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