Artificial Reefs Research Assignment
Opening Question:
"Can human-made objects, such as sunken ships or oil rigs, provide good habitats for marine
animals?" Write your response in the space provided.
Student Objectives:
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hypothesize whether human-made objects in the water can provide good habitats for
marine animals;
view pictures of human-made marine habitats, and discuss what they see;
make charts hypothesizing the pros and cons of artificial reefs;
read and answer questions about two articles concerning artificial reefs; and
write paragraphs on the pros and cons of sinking a ship off the Florida coast to create an
artificial reef.
Visit this website to define artificial reef:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_reef (NOTICE: Wikipedia is not USUALLY a good source of
internet information. Choose your sources WISELY!)
Visit these sites to see examples of artificial reefs.
http://www.bigshipwrecks.com/environment/other%20wrecks/artifReef.htm
http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/rigs-to-reefs/information.html
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/artreef.html
What are the some different types of structures used for artificial reefs? List at least 4.
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What types of plants and animals make their homes in these artificial reefs? List at least 4.
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Make a list of Pros and Cons that hypothesize the positive and negative impacts of
artificial reefs on the marine ecosystem.
________PROS__________________________________CONS___________
Read the following articles:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/02/0201_artificialreef.html
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/ask-an-expert/2010/03/should-we-create-artificial-reefs
1. Why are marine organisms attracted to a sunken ship?
2. When a ship sinks and turns into an artificial reef, does it matter how it is shaped or what it is
made of? Why?
3. Over time, do artificial reefs become very similar to or very different from natural reefs?
4. How might a sunken ship help a nearby natural coral reef?
5. What are the ecological arguments against artificial reefs?
Now, in a different color, REVISE your Pros and Cons list using the information you have
gathered.
Consider the pros and cons of creating a new artificial reef by deliberately sinking a ship
off the west coast of Florida. There are already a number of artificial reefs in this area, as
shown on this map of Pinellas County.
Write paragraphs explaining the pros and cons of sinking the ship and provide your own opinions
about what should be done. You should use the empty space at the bottom of this page.