Impacts

Brief reading about the risks and solutions of abandoned and derelict vessels, including an anecdote about locating and removing vessels in Georgia.

Reading and accompanying activity about the importance and challenges faced by diamondback terrapins.

Reading and activity exploring the impacts of derelict fishing gear on whales and other marine mammals. 

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  Rubber band entanglement exercise simulating the impacts of marine debris entanglement on marine animals' comfort and ability to feed.

Experiment comparing the breaking points of several weights of fishing line.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  Introductory reading on the sources and impacts of derelict fishing gear.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  A simple experiment demonstrating the bouyancy of several common types of debris and their potential behavior throughout the ocean's currents.

A timed activity/game demonstrating the difficulty of distinguishing "food" from plastic debris for marine life like seabirds.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  Discussion of litter-based sources of marine debris, including a brief look at impacts and prevention strategies, including an anecdote about seeds and litter found on the wrack line, or tidal line, in North Carolina.

This brief reading passage discusses types, sources, and impacts of marine debris, including an anecdote about recovery from Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.

In this lesson, students are presented with background information about marine debris – what it is, its origins, and current statistics. Students will engage in a brief discussion about its impacts. Afterward, students are given handouts to review the scientific process. Students are asked to come up with three research questions about the prevention or removal of marine debris.

This lesson covers different impacts of marine debris on the ecosystems and human communities, including ingestion, entanglement, and our own experiences. Students will complete two activities:

Trash Tale is a fill-in the blank, "Mad Libs"-style activity telling the story of a piece of trash that ends up in the environment and what happens to it along the way.

Students use scientific models as a tool to evaluate the many kinds of risk tsunami marine debris poses. They then explore the risk posed by live organisms that have colonized tsunami marine debris.

Plastic pellets (also called “nurdles”) are small pre-production pieces that are shipped around the world to factories that melt them to produce a variety of products. Pellets are often lost during transit, and because they float can be found throughout the ocean and on beaches everywhere.