9-12 Human Impacts: Dolphins

South Carolina Aquarium Online Curriculum > 9-12 Activities > 9-12 Human Impacts: Dolphins

Human Impacts

The South Carolina Aquarium, in partnership with teachers, has created this online curriculum for teachers to use with their students in the classroom. One of the curriculum themes for High School is Human Impacts. The activities teach concepts that build on this theme. All activities are based upon South Carolina Science Standards, and each activity contains background information, procedures, materials lists, standards addressed, assessments, curriculum extensions and resource lists. We hope teachers will enjoy this resource!

If you are a teacher planning to participate in our Human Impacts (Dolphin Lab) School Program, we recommend completing 3 activities before your program. Those activities include: Marine Mammals, Diets and Dangers and Dolphin Strandings. The most important activity being Dolphin Strandings.

We have added at-home and virtual learning modifications to our recommended activities. Be sure to see how you can engage your students at-home and virtually with our activities!

Original ideas and concepts for this Human Impacts Dolphin Unit were created by Lea Caswell for her masters thesis project from Montreat College.

Recommended Pre-visit Activity
♥ At-home and Virtual Options

Students will use a dichotomous key to distinguish between marine mammal species based on external characteristics. They will also research and learn about the unique adaptations marine mammals have to help them survive.

Recommended Pre-visit Activity
♥ At-home and Virtual Options

Students will learn about marine food webs, how fragile the ocean ecosystem is and why it is important to study the diets of apex predators like bottlenose dolphins. Once students understand food webs, they will play a game that will introduce the concepts of bioaccumulation and biomagnification.

Recommended Pre-visit Activity
♥ At-home and Virtual Options

Students will learn what it means when an animal strands. They will learn why bottlenose dolphins strand by analyzing stranding reports and they will identify natural and human-induced causes of strandings. They will also learn ways they can help protect bottlenose dolphins.

Students will learn about different bottlenose dolphin populations in Charleston, SC, called stocks. Students will match dorsal fin photos to identify dolphins. Students will learn how dolphins are sentinel species.

Recommended Post-visit Activity

Students will participate in small group debates. Students will learn how to research current controversial topics, find scientific and professional research that supports their side of the issue, organize arguments into a logical structure, and effectively communicate their point of view to the rest of class. Students will also have to listen objectively and vote on other topics presented during class.

Recommended Post-visit Activity

What impacts do ocean plastics have on animals? How do macroplastics lead to microplastics? What are some lifestyle changes that could be made to reduce our litter, waste and overall ecological footprint?