As an undergraduate Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to teach about biodiversity and the vulnerability of species due to climate change.
The biodiversity of plant and animal species on planet Earth is threatened by several factors such as habitat loss, poaching, disease, overexploitation of natural resources, and introduction of invasive species. Climate change is expected to be one of the leading causes of species decline or extinction. This lesson plan discusses the extinction of one mammal species, the Bramble Cay melomys. It is believed to be the first mammalian extinction due to climate change.
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.
The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
Teacher-submitted lesson plan, contributed by Dr. Robin Suyesh, Assistant Professor, Sri Venkateswara College (University of Delhi), India
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| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Biodiversity, Conservation, Species and Speciation, Biosphere, Extinction Biogeography, Endemic Species, Vulnerability of Species, Susceptibility of Species, Species Extinction, Habitat Loss, Endangered Species, Threatened Species, Mammalian Extinction, Bramble Cay melomys |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Biosphere |
| Location | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online |
| Approximate Time Required | 55-65 min |
| Share |
|
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video (~8 min)
Play the video, ‘What is biodiversity and why is it important’, by Commonwealth Scientific and IndustrialResearch Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, to introduce the topic of biodiversity. Use this video interview of Dr Steve Morton to understand the importance of biodiversity and its benefits. Stress on how anthropogenic climate change may affect biodiversity. Also emphasize how certain species may possibly go extinct due to climate change.
Reading (20 min)
Use the review article, ‘How does climate change cause extinction?’, by Cahill et al. (2013), from the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences), to explain to your students the proximate causes of climate change related species extinction. Discuss the various case studies presented in the reading and assess the possible climatic factors responsible for the extinction of these species. Use the findings in this review to explain to the students that there may be both direct and indirect effects of climatic variations on the survival of a species. Also, discuss how the inference of the proximate causes of species extinction may require scrutiny in several cases.
Reading (7 mins)
Use this editorial, ‘The Bramble Cay melomys: the first mammalian extinction due to human-induced climate change’, by Graham R. Fulton, Pacific Conservation Biology, 2017, 23, 1-3, to explain the case of the extinction of a mammalian species, Bramble Cay melomys due to climate change.
Classroom/Laboratory Activity (20-30 min)
Use the IUCN’s Red List to carry out a hands on activity that shows the relationship between the extinction of the Bramble Cay melomys and climate change:
Suggested questions/assignments for learning evaluation
Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Video; “What is biodiversity and why is it important?” | Developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia. |
| 2 | Reading; “How does climate change cause extinction?” | Review article: Cahill AE, Aiello-Lammens ME, Fisher-Reid MC, Hua X, Karanewsky CJ, Yeong Ryu H, Sbeglia GC, Spagnolo F, Waldron JB, Warsi O, Wiens JJ. 201 How does climate change cause extinction? Proc R Soc B 280: 20121890. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1890. |
| 3 | Reading; “The Bramble Cay melomys: the first mammalian extinction due to human-induced climate change” | Editorial by Graham R. Fulton, Pacific Conservation Biology, 2017, 23, 1-3. |
| 4 | Classroom/Laboratory Activity; “IUCN Red List” | Developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Biodiversity, Conservation, Biogeography, Endemic Species, Vulnerability of Species, Susceptibility of Species, Species Extinction, Habitat Loss, Endangered Species, Threatened Species, Mammalian Extinction, Bramble Cay melomys |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Biosphere |
| Location | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online |
| Approximate Time Required | 55-65 min |
| Share |
|
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video (~8 min)
Play the video, ‘What is biodiversity and why is it important’, by Commonwealth Scientific and IndustrialResearch Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, to introduce the topic of biodiversity. Use this video interview of Dr Steve Morton to understand the importance of biodiversity and its benefits. Stress on how anthropogenic climate change may affect biodiversity. Also emphasize how certain species may possibly go extinct due to climate change.
Reading (20 min)
Use the review article, ‘How does climate change cause extinction?’, by Cahill et al. (2013), from the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences), to explain to your students the proximate causes of climate change related species extinction. Discuss the various case studies presented in the reading and assess the possible climatic factors responsible for the extinction of these species. Use the findings in this review to explain to the students that there may be both direct and indirect effects of climatic variations on the survival of a species. Also, discuss how the inference of the proximate causes of species extinction may require scrutiny in several cases.
Reading (7 mins)
Use this editorial, ‘The Bramble Cay melomys: the first mammalian extinction due to human-induced climate change’, by Graham R. Fulton, Pacific Conservation Biology, 2017, 23, 1-3, to explain the case of the extinction of a mammalian species, Bramble Cay melomys due to climate change.
Classroom/Laboratory Activity (20-30 min)
Use the IUCN’s Red List to carry out a hands on activity that shows the relationship between the extinction of the Bramble Cay melomys and climate change:
Suggested questions/assignments for learning evaluation
Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Video; “What is biodiversity and why is it important?” | Developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia. |
| 2 | Reading; “How does climate change cause extinction?” | Review article: Cahill AE, Aiello-Lammens ME, Fisher-Reid MC, Hua X, Karanewsky CJ, Yeong Ryu H, Sbeglia GC, Spagnolo F, Waldron JB, Warsi O, Wiens JJ. 201 How does climate change cause extinction? Proc R Soc B 280: 20121890. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1890. |
| 3 | Reading; “The Bramble Cay melomys: the first mammalian extinction due to human-induced climate change” | Editorial by Graham R. Fulton, Pacific Conservation Biology, 2017, 23, 1-3. |
| 4 | Classroom/Laboratory Activity; “IUCN Red List” | Developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). |
