Life Science: Ecology

Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Anglerfish This video segment from NOVA: "Animal Imposters" shows the lightning-fast strike of the anglerfish.	6-8	QuickTime Video
Animal Hearing Students explore how sound is created, the importance of hearing in certain environments and some environmental causes of hearing loss.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Antarctica: A Challenging Work Day What happens when the ground under your feet is ice and it's moving? This video segment adapted from NOVA features some of the dangers faced by scientists conducting research in Antarctica.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Antarctica: Sea Ice This video segment adapted from NOVA uses microwave images to reveal how sea ice doubles the size of Antarctica each winter. Rare footage shows how sea ice crushed the famous ship Endurance in 1914.	K-12	QuickTime Video
Beavers This video segment explores the world of the beaver, including the biology of the species and, more importantly, its ability to transform an ecosystem for its own benefit.	K-5	QuickTime Video
Bee Navigation This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores honeybee communication and navigation.	6-8	QuickTime Video
Beneath the Waters of Cocos Island The nutrient-rich waters surrounding Cocos Island set the stage for astounding predator-prey interactions, as seen in this video segment from NOVA: "Island of Sharks."	6-8	QuickTime Video
Body Breakdowns This interactive feature from the NOVA "Surviving Denali" Web site details the variety of ways the body can fail while climbing a high-altitude peak.	6-8	HTML Interactive
Capturing Carbon: Where Do We Put It? In this interactive activity from NOVA scienceNOW, explore options for storing carbon dioxide in order to prevent further global warming.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Caves: Extreme Conditions for Life This video segment adapted from NOVA raises the provocative idea that if life can exist in the most extreme environments on Earth — such as in dark, toxic caves — then perhaps living things can also survive in harsh environments on other planets.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Climate Change This video segment adapted from NOVA explains the difference between weather and climate and features groundbreaking analysis revealing that Earth's climate has changed much faster than previously believed.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Creepy Crawlies This interactive feature from the NOVA: "Odyssey of Life" Web site explores the often unwitting relationship we share with the billions of organisms that reside in our bodies and in our homes.	K-8	HTML Interactive
Crocodiles! Clickable Croc This interactive feature from the NOVA "Crocodiles!" Web site details some of the characteristics that have enabled crocodiles to thrive for 200 million years.	6-8	HTML Interactive
Dances with Bees This interactive feature from the NOVA "Tales from the Hive" Web site explores the methods honeybees use to communicate to their hivemates the location, quantity, and quality of nearby food sources.	6-8	HTML Interactive
Decomposers Without the work of decomposers, living organisms would eventually use up all the raw materials in the environment, and dead organisms and wastes would pile up. This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" describes the role of decomposers as the Earth's great recyclers.	K-5	QuickTime Video
Deep-Sea Bestiary This document from the NOVA: "Into the Abyss" Web site describes the physical and behavioral traits of some of the least-known and most unlikely creatures on earth.	6-8	HTML Document
Deep-Sea Vents and Life's Origins Deep-sea vents are home to life forms that do not rely on the Sun's energy. They depend instead on energy from volcanoes on the ocean floor. This video segment adapted from NOVA hypothesizes that life on Earth may have begun in this extreme environment.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Desert Biome This video segment from NOVA: "A Desert Place" describes the physical characteristics and organisms that define the desert biome.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Duck Development This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling.	6-8	QuickTime Video
Embryo to Duckling This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling.	K-5	QuickTime Video
Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Exploring the Arctic Seafloor In this interactive activity adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn what some of the first imagery ever shot on the Arctic Ocean seabed tells us about life in extreme environments.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Flood: Farming and Erosion In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists investigate how farming along the Mississippi River impacts floods and what can be done about it.	3-12	QuickTime Video
From Seed to Flower Watching plants grow is like watching paint dry: It happens so slowly that the changes are imperceptible from one moment to the next -- and yet the end results are dramatic. This video segment shows just how amazing plant development can be by depicting various phases of the process using time-lapse photography. Footage from NOVA: "The Shape of Things."	K-5	QuickTime Video
Frozen Frogs This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows how the common wood frog freezes solid every winter, an adaptation that allows the organism to survive the cold winter.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Grand Canyon: Conservation and Development This video segment adapted from NOVA explores the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam on the beaches, wildlife, and vegetation of the Colorado River.	3-12	QuickTime Video
The Grand Canyon: Evidence of Earth's Past In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a fossil found among the Grand Canyon's rock layers reveals the existence of a shallow sea that once covered most of western North America.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Grand Canyon: The Top Two Rock Layers This brief video segment adapted from NOVA uses illustrations and the well-preserved footprints of a small reptile to portray the history of the Grand Canyon's top two rock layers.	3-12	QuickTime Video
A Hole in the Sky This video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles two scientists who were surprised in 1984 to discover a hole in our atmosphere's ozone layer as big as the United States.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Homo Sapiens Versus Neanderthals This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.	6-12	QuickTime Video
How Did Life Emerge Here? This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the emergence of life on the islands of Hawaiʻi from a barren volcanic platform under the ocean waves to the rich explosion of life that covers the many climate zones of the islands today.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Hurricanes: New Orleans Under Threat This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW exposes how decades of development and geography combined to make the potential damage from a hurricane uniquely devastating in New Orleans, Louisiana.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Igloo 101 Learn what it takes to build an igloo—from the best kind of snow to the most effective tools—and other little-known facts about these traditional Canadian Inuit structures in this interactive activity from NOVA.	3-8	Flash Interactive
Illuminating Photosynthesis This interactive feature from the NOVA: "Methuselah Tree" Web site details the process of photosynthesis and its role in the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Ingredients for Life: Water This video segment adapted from NOVA goes on a whimsical journey in search of life forms thriving in extreme conditions on Earth and in outer space. Animations show ice on Jupiter's moon, Europa, and signs that water once existed on Mars.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Intertidal Zone This video segment from NOVA: "The Sea Behind the Dunes" explores the community of organisms that exists in the New England tidal marsh.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Life Before Oxygen This video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA features evidence of life on Earth before the atmosphere contained a rich supply of oxygen.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Mammals Get Their Chance In this video segment adapted from NOVA, animations of an asteroid hitting Earth are used to illustrate this widely accepted theory of dinosaur extinction and the resulting conditions that favored mammals.	K-5	QuickTime Video
Marathon Migrators This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores how the migratory patterns of shorebirds have evolved to coincide with the spawning of horseshoe crabs.	6-8	QuickTime Video
Masters of Disguise In the face of danger, what's a spineless animal to do? This video segment introduces the concept of camouflage -- how animals achieve it and how this form of disguise benefits both predators and prey. Footage from NOVA: "Animal Impostors."	K-12	QuickTime Video
Metamorphosis: Change of Plans All animals develop and grow over time. The animals in this video segment, however, undergo very dramatic changes on their way to adulthood -- a developmental process known as metamorphosis.	K-5	QuickTime Video
Migration of the Monarch This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores the migratorial exploits of monarch butterflies.	3-8	QuickTime Video
More Than an Image This video segment explores how humans perceive the world through vision. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Vision."	3-8	QuickTime Video
Moriussaq: A Case Study in Hearing Loss This video segment follows neurophysiologist Allen Counter as he studies an epidemic of hearing loss in Moriussaq, Greenland, one of the quietest places on Earth. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Hearing."	6-8	QuickTime Video
Nature's Pharmacy In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about chemicals in nature that are used in medicine.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Nature vs. Nurture Revisited Which dictates our existence -- our genetic makeup or the environment we grow up in? Kevin Davies offers an update on this long-standing debate, from the NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.	9-12	HTML Document
A Night in the Coral Reef Coral reefs are often portrayed as brightly lit, bustling underwater marvels full of colorful creatures. This video segment, adapted from NOVA, paints a different picture as it explores the nocturnal behavior of organisms in the reef.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Night Vision This interactive feature from the NOVA "Leopards of the Night" Web site highlights the nighttime habits and abilities of a wide range of nocturnal creatures.	6-8	HTML Interactive
Oil Spill: Exxon Valdez, 1989 This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Also featured is a marsh where an oil spill occurred 20 years earlier; analysis suggests that environmental damage may last for decades.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Photosynthesis This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" looks at photosynthesis, the chemical process plants use to make their own food.	3-12	QuickTime Video
The Power of Touch This video segment explores the role of touch in the development of young animals, including humans. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Touch."	3-8	QuickTime Video
The Reproductive Role of Flowers In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn about the critical role of flowers in seed plant reproductive biology.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Role of Genetics in Obesity In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, meet researchers who are studying obesity and trying to understand the role that hormones and genetics can play in regulating appetite.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Scent of an Alewife This video segment from NOVA: "Sea Behind the Dunes" tracks the return of spawning alewife fish from the open ocean back to the freshwater streams and ponds where they were born.	3-8	QuickTime Video
Seahorse Basics This diagram from the NOVA: "Kingdom of the Seahorse" Web site reveals some of the more remarkable traits of this enigmatic creature.	3-8	HTML Document
Sea Turtles This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Animal Pathfinders" describes the life history of the sea turtle.	6-8	QuickTime Video
Seeing Through Camouflage This interactive feature from the NOVA "Leopards" Web site presents a wide variety of ways in which animals use coloration to their advantage.	6-8	Shockwave Interactive
The Sense of Taste This video segment explores the sense of taste in humans -- why we have it, and what happens when we lose it. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Taste."	3-8	QuickTime Video
Shape of Things: Trees This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" describes the pervasiveness of branching systems, which are found in all multicellular organisms.	6-8	QuickTime Video
Shark Attack! The Hunt This interactive feature from the NOVA "Shark Attack!" Web site details the six senses sharks use to find and capture their prey.	6-8	HTML Interactive
Should We Grow GM Crops? Learn the pros and cons of genetically modified (GM) crops, and cast your vote on whether they should be grown. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" Web site.	9-12	HTML Interactive
Sound Waves Underwater: True or False This interactive quiz from the NOVA Web site features an array of interesting facts about the nature of sound underwater.	3-12	HTML Interactive
Super Salmon This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explores genetic modification of salmon and possible consequences.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Surviving Winter In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the various physical and behavioral adaptations that animals rely on to help them survive changing environmental conditions, such as the arrival of winter.	6-12	Student Activity
Talking Bacteria In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, microbiologist Bonnie Bassler shares her discovery that bacteria coordinate group activity by communicating through chemical signals.	6-12	QuickTime Video

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Life Science: Ecology