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Life Under Pressure
Revised by Chris Lundberg, Program Coordinator
Mathematics & Science Center
Photo: NOAA
Developed with funding from the Mathematics & Science Center
Major
Understanding
Within the animal kingdom there are phyla that consist of organisms that
spend most of their adult lives on the bottom of the oceans. They have
adapted physiologically to this bottom or “benthic” environment, which
presents unique challenges of temperature, pressure, food sources, and
absence of light to living organisms. Students will observe, describe and
hypothesize the unique survival adaptations of living organisms and their
roles in various undersea communities.
Grade/Subject
Life Science; Biology I; Environmental Electives
Objectives
Investigate life functions of animals and understand that the basic
needs of organisms must be met in order to carry out life processes.
Investigate and describe dynamic equilibria within populations,
communities, and ecosystems.
Use the following terms correctly: benthic, adaptation, limiting
factor, environmental stress, chemosynthesis, phylum, arthropod,
mollusk, echinoderm, regeneration, undersea vents.
Examine five benthic organisms and describe how they are adapted
to biotic and abiotic factors in order to meet life needs.
Time
Life Under Pressure
Introduction:
Activity:
Explanation:
Lab Activity:
Practice:
Closure
Definitions and statement of life problems
Demonstration of pressure with students
PowerPoint Slide Presentation
Examination of native benthic organisms
Identification of survival adaptations
Review of concepts and discussion
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5 min
5 min
20 min
20 min
15 min
10 min
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Materials
Photo: A.C. Lundberg
For each student:
Student Handout: Life Under Pressure
Paper towels
Magnifying glasses
For the Teacher:
Computer and projector
PowerPoint Presentation: Life Under Pressure
2 – 2-liter plastic soda bottles
Minnow bucket/cooler with aerator or classroom saltwater aquarium
5 gallons of Instant ocean or other saltwater mix
6 plastic trays for specimens and wash bottle
Living specimens of the following organisms:
Sea Star, Sea Urchin, Whelk, Spider Crab, Horseshoe Crab.
Preserved specimens of the following organisms:
Octopus, Squid, Clam, or other organisms
State and
National
Correlations
Virginia Standards of Learning: Life Science (LS.4, LS.5, LS.7, LS.9,
LS.10, LS.12). Biology (BIO.7, BIO.8, BIO.9).
National Science Education Standards: Content Standard A (Observe,
predict, infer, and draw conclusions); Content Standard C (Populations
and ecosystems; Structure and function in living systems; Regulation and
behavior; Diversity and adaptations of organisms).
Instructional
Strategies
Introduction
Define term “benthic” and describe criteria for classifying an animal as
benthic. Have students name some problems for animals living on the
bottom. Discuss various methods that have been attempted over the years
to study life on the ocean floor.
Activity: Pressure demonstration with students. Use two clear 2-liter
plastic soda bottles – one empty and one filled with water – and screw the
caps onto each. Select two students to demonstrate that it is easy to crush
the empty bottle in their hands, but difficult to crush the bottle filled with
water.
Photo: NOAA
Explanation
Begin explanation using the PowerPoint presentation. Follow directions
in Teaching Tips – Expanded PowerPoint Teaching Notes – to present the
lesson explanation. Discuss with students the reasons for the various
strange features of deep-sea organisms.
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Lab Activity:
Organize students into groups of 4 or 5. Set up the touch animals into
five different stations, with supporting information and materials for each
station. Distribute to students Student Handout: Life Under Pressure.
Instruct student groups to rotate through the different stations in order and
examine the each organism at each station. Allow each group 4 minutes
at each station. Instruct students to classify each organism by phylum and
record at least three different adaptations to life under the ocean that they
observe. Note: explain to students the rules for handling living
organisms in the lab setting. See Background Information for teaching
tips on this activity.
Touch Animals Stations
Station 1: Sea Star
Station 2: Sea Urchin
Station 3: Knobbed or Channeled Whelk
Station 4: Spider Crab
Station 5: Horseshoe Crab
Review Activity
Review the lab activity and Life Under Pressure student handout with
students. Identify the correct answers for the classification and survival
adaptations of the organisms. Expand and elaborate on student responses
and questions. Refer to the Answer Key to Touch Animal Activity for
assistance to review student responses.
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Practice
1. For a homework or in-class practice activity, have students research
and report to the class on various benthic animals and how they deal
with the problems (pressure, light, etc.) in their habitat.
2. Take your students on a virtual dive with the Extreme 2003 online
expedition and have them observe more unique adaptations to the deep
sea. Go to their website at http://www.ocean.udel.edu/expeditions/
index.html to begin your deep-sea odyssey!
3. Have students investigate on the possible adaptations of life in other
extreme environments, such as life on other planets. Go to the NASA
Astrobiology Institute page to begin their search and ask an
astrobiologist at http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/astrobio.
Closure
Review of Benthic Adaptations
Review with students the three phyla represented by the touch organisms.
Ask students to define the term “benthic” and then describe problems
which these organisms experience in their under water habitat. Ask
students to name four ways in which benthic animals are adapted to their
environments. Ask students to name 3 additional benthic animals and
describe how their adaptations assist these animals.
Extensions
1. Explore undersea thermal vents using the VENTS Geographic
Information System. Click on the NOAA’s GIS-VENTS site at
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/coax.gis_www.html and use this
powerful mapping tool to explore these unique undersea ecosystems.
2. See with your own eyes Positive Proof for Pressure! Check out this
activity where you can conduct your own water pressure experiment
using a cup or milk jug.
3. Investigate another unique type of deep sea life – “rusticles.” Go to
NASA Ocean Explorer site for information on these unique formations
created by the work of tiny microbes located 3,800 meters beneath the
surface of the ocean.
Photo: A.C. Lundberg
Assessment
Sample items are provided for use in checking students’ understanding or
for use as a paper-pencil test.
Paper-Pencil Test: Life Under Pressure
Product: Life Under Pressure
Rubric: Life Under Pressure
The following table shows how the assessment items are related to
specific objectives.
Photo: VIMS
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Objective
Investigate life functions of animals and
state the basic needs of organisms in order to
carry out life processes.
Investigate and describe dynamic equilibria
within populations, communities, and
ecosystems.
Use the following terms correctly: benthic,
adaptation, limiting factor, environmental
stress, chemosynthesis, phylum, arthropod,
mollusk, echinoderm, regeneration, undersea
vents.
Examine and classify five benthic organisms
and describe how they are adapted to biotic
and abiotic factors in order to meet life
needs.
Major Understanding: Within the animal
kingdom there are phyla that consist of
organisms that spend most of their adult
lives on the bottom of the oceans. They
have adapted physiologically to this bottom
or “benthic” environment, which presents
unique challenges of temperature, pressure,
food sources, and absence of light to living
organisms.
Teaching Tips
Photo: A.C. Lundberg
Life Under Pressure
PaperPencil
Test
2, 6, 8, 11
Product/
Performance
3, 9, 10,
14
1, 4, 12
5, 7, 13,
15
See Product
and Rubric
For additional information on teaching this lesson, go to the following
links:
Background Information
Expanded PowerPoint Presentation Notes
Answer Key to Touch Animal Activity
Answer Key to Paper-Pencil Test: Life Under Pressure
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References
Below are listed several excellent web sites on the internet which provide
excellent information concerning unique undersea organisms.
Animal Diversity Web. Michigan Museum of Zoology web site
featuring diversity of animal kingdom.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
Deep Sea Pages. Web site by Dr. Paul H. Yancey, Whitman College,
Walla Walla Washington, U.S.A. A great site for information on methods
of deep sea research and adaptations of sea organisms to high pressure.
http://people.whitman.edu/~yancey/deepsearesearch.html
Photo: NOAA
NORFANZ Voyage. Web site of the National Oceans Office, Australia.
Provides many great images and media downloads as well as a question
and answer section for deep-sea life.
http://www.oceans.gov.au/norfanz
National Undersea Research Program (NURP). The site of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s undersea research
program. Provides many images and movies.
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~wwwnurc/NURPHOME.HTML
Ocean Explorer Gallery. This site by the NOAA provides links to
hundreds of images and videos of the living ocean.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/gallery/livingocean/livingocean.html
Ocean Planet. NASA seawifs site for images and research information.
http://www.seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A wonderful and useful site by
the University of California at San Diego with information and collections
on marine vertebrates, benthic invertebrates, and geophysical data.
http://collections.ucsd.edu/mv/
University of California at Berkeley Paleontology Site. The following
site contains a wealth of information and collections concerning
echinoderms, arthropods, and other invertebrate organisms.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu
VIMS “The BRIDGE” Web Site. This is a site for teachers that has
been developed by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Lots of good
information and links.
http://www.vims.edu/bridge
Life Under Pressure
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. This is the world famous Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institute site for K-12 educators.
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http://www.whoi.edu/K12/k12-whoi.html
The Mathematics & Science Center: Where it all adds up! Website of
the Mathematics & Science Center with a variety of information on
programs and opportunities for students. http://www.mathscience.info
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