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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Ocean Planet: Biological Roulette: Alien Species

For Students 9th - 10th
Click on the roulette wheel and see how some alien species were introduced into the United States and the effect they have had on our country. This is part of an archived Smithsonian exhibit.
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Website
University of Florida

Florida Museum: South Florida Aquatic Environments: Introduced Species

For Students 9th - 10th
The transport of living plants and animals to areas beyond their native range has been practiced by human beings for thousands of years. While some introductions are intentional, others occur by accident or happenstance. Regardless of...
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Graphic
Curated OER

National Park Service: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas

For Students 9th - 10th
A virtual who's who of invasive plants, herbs, vines, shrubs, and trees. This comprehensive site provides easy-to-read fact sheets that contain native ranges, plant descriptions, ecological threats, U.S. distributions & habitats,...
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Unit Plan
Lumen Learning

Lumen: Boundless Biology: Threats to Biodiversity

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at the impact of overharvesting, such as overfishing, on biodiversity. It talks of the 'tragedy of the commons,' where harvesters do not feel responsible for protecting a species because they fish in shared areas. It also touches...
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Article
Untamed Science

Untamed Science: Competition

For Students 9th - 10th
This well-written article explains what competition in an ecosystem is and the different ways it can manifest itself. It also looks at how organisms avoid competition, some disadvantages and outcomes of competition, the impact of a...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Alien Invasion: Unwanted Travel Partners

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Perform an experiment to observe inadvertent transfer of organisms when new fish are transplanted into tropical aquariums. Apply this knowledge to explain how alien species can rapidly destroy the established ecological balance in an...
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Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Alien Invasion: Estimating a Snake Population [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learn about the effects of alien species on native environments and explore biologists' use of capture/recapture statistics and analysis of sampling techniques by estimating the population size of a tagged species.
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Article
Other

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: How Do They Get Here?

For Students 9th - 10th
An article that explains the pathways by which non-native fish and wildlife find their way into Florida's ecosystem.
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Website
Environmental Education for Kids

Eek!: Alien Invaders

For Students 9th - 10th
The aliens have landed in Wisconsin! You may see them and not even know they are aliens. These invaders are actually exotic plants and animals that have been introduced to our state from other countries or habitats on purpose or by...