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Human Impact on Aquatic Environments

Videos

Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APBiology, Earth and Space Sciences

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Khan Academy
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What it is

  • This video about our impacts on aquatic environments discusses many topics including coral bleaching, toxic pollution, dead zones, like the gulf coast, and oil spills. 
  • There is also an interactive quiz and standards for AP Environmental Science courses available.

Teaching tips

Positives

  • The presenter uses images and maps that help support the content.
  • Students may be surprised to know that fertilizers and pesticides are a major source of water pollution in aquatic systems.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Students should be familiar with the terms homeostasis, sustainable, mercury, toxic, and pollution.

Differentiation

  • Pausing the video, turning on the closed captioning, or providing a list of keywords before the video may help some students with comprehension.
  • After the video, students could make posters, presentations, videos, or podcasts about how we are affecting aquatic environments and how we can protect them.
  • Biology and science classes could use this video when discussing bioaccumulation, food webs, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, ecosystems, oceans, ecosystem declines, species extinctions, or nonpoint pollution.
  • Other resources on this topic include this interactive data resource about fertilizer pollution, this PBS video about coral reefs, and this video about coral reefs in Biscayne National Park.

From the scientist review

This 5-minute video presents an overview of the impact of human activity on the ocean and aquatic environments. The resource focuses on topics of ocean acidification, coral bleaching within coral reefs, and hypoxic regions within the Gulf of Mexico that results from farming and other sources of runoff. This is a clear and concise video and is recommended for teaching.
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