Marine biology - what does climate change mean for aquaculture?

Suitable for secondary, high school and college students, this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom, school clubs and at home.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 biology and geography.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• One significant effect of climate change is that the ocean is becoming increasingly acidic. This has implications for marine life, including farmed shellfish such as oysters and mussels. Dr Susan Fitzer at the University of Stirling is investigating what climate change means for shellfish farming, and how aquaculture could adapt to keep thriving. This article explains key biological processes such as biomineralisation, isotopes and ocean acidification.

• This resource also contains an interview with Susan about her career path. If your students (or you) have questions for Susan, you/they can send them to her online. All you need to do is to go to the article online (see the Futurum link below), scroll down to the end and type in the question(s). Susan will reply!

• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) and activities to prompt students to reflect on Susan’s research.

• The PowerPoint and animation summarise the main points in the article. A script with activity ideas is also available.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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