Subject: Biology, Environmental Science
Lesson Topic: Adaptation and change over time
Author: adapted from Project Wild Aquatic
Grade Level: K-12
Summary of Activity/Lesson: Students will learn about adaptation by designing fish for a
particular habitat. (NCSCOS 6th grade - 7.06; 7th grade - 7.06; Biology - 3.05, 4.03; Earth and
Environmental - 1.06).
Activity: Fish Symposium
Goals: Students will demonstrate adaptation to a natural environment
Objectives: 1) Students will design a fish for a particular aquatic environment
2) Students will present their fish and explaining its habitat
3) Students will determine how environmental changes affect their fish’s
survival
4) Students will discuss natural selection and its contribution to evolution or
change over time
Materials:

Adaptation chart for each group

Big paper to draw and plan fish (the bigger the better – poster board is great)

Colors (crayons, markers, pencils, etc.) – Markers are the best so that the pictures will
show up well for the presentation or when photographed

Decorations (paper, sequins, etc…if you have the time and you want to deal with glue)

Glue (if you have the time and want to deal with it)

Pencils/pens for taking notes

Paper (notebook or copy) for planning and taking notes
Procedure:
1) Divide students into groups of 3-5
2) Instruct the students that they are each a group of scientists. They are planning to present
their discovery of a new fish at their annual meeting and they lost the film upon return.
Each group must design the fish they have discovered that is adapted for the environment
that they were given. They can use any colors, shapes, etc as long as their creation is
appropriate for the assigned habitat.
3) Assign each group a habitat card with a description of the environment
Examples (see appendix with habitat cards)

toxic waste lagoon

coral reef

tidal bay

ephemeral wetland

brackish body of water

mountain river

deep ocean

ice lake in Antarctica
4) Pass out the adaptation chart (see appendices) and briefly make sure that they understand
each characteristic listed.
5) They must determine the following:

Mouth shape

Size

Body shape

Scientific and common name

Coloration

Predators

Reproduction

Any unique characteristics

Food type
that the class should know
*** Make sure each drawing has the three following requirements:
a) picture of the fish
b) some representation of the environment
c) the name of the fish written clearly
6) Give students at least 20 minutes to brainstorm, design fish, and decide the other
characteristics.
7) Each group will then present their creation to the class as if they were presented their
findings at a conference. They should report the characteristics of their fish and tell us
why their fish is specially adapted to survive in their environment.
8) Ask the class to imagine that several scenarios happen and I will ask groups to respond
with what would happen to their creation (See examples below).
Earthquake
Severe drought
Extreme flooding
Loss of a particular food source
Predation or loss of predator
Human impacts
9) Class will conclude with a discussion of how animals and plants are adapted for their
specific environment (some more than others). Then we will talk about how natural
selection occurs by allowing those organisms that are best suited for the current situation
to survive. Then talk about how a continual survival and selection for those animals with
a particular genetic makeup will lead to change over time or evolution.
10) Each student will record their observations and conclusions on a sheet of paper to turn in
for a teacher assessment. They will need to write briefly about their fish, why it is
adapted, and then explain in their words the process of natural selection and evolution.
Sample Materials: See examples in Photo Gallery
Disclaimer: These lesson plans were compiled, edited, written, and/or prepared by Erin Spruill,
UNCW Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program (CORMP). CORMP is a NOAA grant
funded program, located at the UNCW Center for Marine Science, Wilmington, NC. Feel free to
update or adapt the existing lesson plans to fit your needs. We ask that you credit the authors
and editors of these activities. In addition, please contact us with new methods and activities you
implement in the classroom. Continual collaboration and revision will allow us to provide
educators with the most useful and current resources for classroom use. Thank you.
Radioactive swamp:
Ice lake:
This swamp of goo glows during the Eleven months out of the year, there
day and throughout the night. It is are 2 feet of ice floating at the top of
located behind a power plant.
the lake. The water is about the
Because of the damaging effects of
same temperature year round and
the waste, there are no known
there are very few breaks in the ice
surviving plants or animals except
sheet.
your newly discovered fish.
Mountain river:
Tidal bay:
This is a fast moving water system at
This northern lying bay changes
a high elevation making it hard to
water depth dramatically several
move upstream. The water is cold
times a day. The depth will rapidly
most of the year, but in the dead of shift from a few inches to more than
summer it warms a little. Sometimes
20 feet in a matter of minutes.
ice can form in the winter.
Ephemeral wetland:
Deep ocean:
This lake only appears when it rains
heavily and collects more than 4 or 5
inches of water. Otherwise the land
appears to be completely dry. Some
water is present in a water table
about 1 foot beneath the soil surface.
It is very dark, cold, and there isn’t
much food available. The deep
water column provides lots of room
to play “hide and go seek.”
Coral reef:
Brackish water:
The water is warm and full of
brightly colored creatures. There are
lots of visitors such as sharks, rays,
turtles, and even humans. The water
seems to get warmer by the day.
This water is where the salt and
fresh waters meet. It changes when
there is too little or too much rain.
This is also where many people are
building and changing the
landscape.
ADAPTATION
ADVANTAGE
EXAMPLES
Mouth -------------------Sucker shaped mouth
Longer upper jaw
Longer lower jaw
Duckbill jaws
Extremely large jaws
Feeds on very small plants & animals
Feeds on prey it looks down on
Feeds on prey it sees above
Grasps prey
Surrounds prey
sucker, carp
spoonbill, sturgeon
barracuda, snook
muskellunge, pike
bass, grouper
Fast moving
Bottom feeder
Feeds above or below
Bottom dweller
Stable in fast moving water
trout, salmon, tuna
catfish, sucker
butterfish, bluegill
flounder, halibut
sockeye salmon, chub, razorback
Predators have difficulty seeing it from
below
Predators have difficulty seeing it from
above
Can hide in vegetation
Can hide in vegetation
Can hide in rocks & on bottom
most minnows, perch, tuna, mackerel
Hidden from predators
Protected by adults
Dispersed in high numbers
Stable until hatching
High survival rate
trout, salmon, most minnows
bass, stickleback
striped bass
perch, northern pike, carp
guppies
Body Shape -------------Torpedo shape
Flat bellied
Vertical disk
Horizontal disk
Hump backed
Coloration --------------Light colored belly
Dark upperside
Vertical stripes
Horizontal stripes
Mottled coloration
bluegill, crappie, barracuda, flounder
muskellunge, pickerel, bluegill
yellow & white bass, snook
trout, grouper, rockbass, hogsucker
Reproduction ----------Eggs deposited on the bottom
Eggs deposited in nests
Floating eggs
Eggs attached to vegetation
Live babies