Impacts of Climate Change on Long Island Sound Salt Marshes

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

Developed by:

Candice Cambrial,

Beth Lawrence,

Kimberly Williams

crcambrial@gmail.com;

University of Connecticut, Dept. of Natural Resources and Center for

Environmental Science and Engineering: beth.lawrence@uconn.edu;

Smithtown High School:

williams[email protected]

Focus

The natural and anthropogenic impacts of climate

change on salt marshes.

Focus Question

How are scientists in our region studying the various

impacts of climate change on salt marsh habitat?

Audience

9th/10th grade Biology or General Science students

as well as upper level science elective courses such

as Environmental Science or Marine Science, as

appropriate.

Learning Objectives

Students will obtain an overview of a variety of different techniques for climate

change research.

Students will describe carbon- and nitrogen-based services associated with

dominant coastal marsh plant species.

Students will identify that shifts in dominant marsh species will alter ecosystem

service provision of Long Island Sound coastal wetlands.

Students will gain an understanding of the complex interactions among climate

change, sea level rise, coastal wetlands, and ecosystem services among diverse

audiences in the Long Island Sound region.

Materials

 Computer or individual ‘smart’ device

 EdPuzzle account

 Case Study handout & PowerPoint

 Drowned sparrow nest & viable sparrow nest printed (recommend images

printed on opposite sides and laminated if possible)

 LCD/Projector with audio

Salt marshes are critical habitats at the

interface of land and sea that fringe the

Long Island Sound. Photo: B. Lawrence

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

 Interactive PowerPoint guided notes worksheet

 Mystery Scientist guided notes worksheet

 CER student worksheet

Audio/Visual Equipment

Computers/Internet access

LCD for PowerPoint presentation (audio required)

Teaching Time

Five teaching periods/days estimating a 45 min class duration. Teachers with

block scheduling will be able to complete the unit in three class meetings.

Seating Arrangement

Students will work in small groups of 4 - 5, in pairs and individually over the

course of the unit.

Key Words

Anthropogenic

Biodiversity

Biogeochemistry

Carbon and Carbon Sequestration

Ecosystem Services

Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse Gas

Invasive Species

Nitrogen and Denitrification

Photon

Vegetation

Salt Marshes

Wetlands

Background Information/Teacher Preparation

 Teachers should be familiar with the basics of climate change and what

causes it. The climate change video used in the EdPuzzle is a good

primer for teachers as well as students.

 Additional background for the “Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh” is included

with the case study.

 Explanation and examples are provided for the Claim, Evidence and

Reasoning technique with the unit materials.

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

Learning Procedure

Summary:

 Day 1 should be used to pre-teach or refresh students about the basics of

climate change they will need to understand to meet the learning

objectives of this module by completing The Greenhouse Effect PHET.

 Day 2 should be used to conduct the Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh case

study parts 1, 2 and 3.

 Day 3 should be used to generate student interest and discussion

(phenomenon) with the drowned sparrow warm up activity followed by the

lead researcher’s interactive Powerpoint.

 Day 4 should be used to conduct the Mystery Scientist Activity.

 Day 5 should be used to complete the unit assessment CER based on the

Mystery Scientist Activity.

Procedure:

Note- all handouts associated with module materials are provided after page 7, but can

also be downloaded via provided links. Teacher materials (including teaching notes and

answer keys) can be accessed via the links in the table below.

Time line

(*45 min

periods)

Content Covered

Materials

Pre-work

Basic review of climate change. EdPuzzle -

free for students and teachers.

Review video of climate change:

 https://youtu.be/XFmovUAWQ640

423 867UQ

EdPuzzle:

https://edpuzzle.com/media/5d5d7378ef14

5440951f9ea4

Day 1

Essential information to pre-teach, or

refresh students about the basics of climate

change they will need to understand to

meet the learning objectives of this

module.

Climate Change: what is it & causes of.

Potential activity/discussions:

-The Greenhouse Effect PHET (for

classrooms with computer access) - See

PHET site for additional optional support

materials (ie- worksheets & diagrams)

-Review results of EdPuzzle questions with

students

Interactive Simulations:

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gre

enhouse

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

Day 2

Case Study Parts 1 -> 3 : “The Polar Bear

of the Salt Marsh?” from National Center for

Case Study Teaching in Science

 Case Study Link:

http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/

collection/detail.html?case_id=101

1&id=1011

 Teaching notes and answer key

posted here:

 saltmarsh_sparrow_teachi

ngnotes.pdf

 saltmarsh_sparrow_answe

r key.pdf

Day 3

Drowned Sparrow Do-Now/Opener/Warm-

Up:

Pass out photos of non-drowned (viable)

sparrow nest and drowned (non-viable)

sparrow nest on opposite sides of a

laminated sheet to each lab group for

discussion.

Interactive Powerpoint by researcher (~25

min) with directed notes: Overview of

saltmarshes and scientist’s research

Optional extension: NY Times Article

 Suggested phenomena: image of

baby sparrows in nest and nest

drowning.

 Regular Nest:

https://images.app.goo.gl/

giN5s4zVkwyzTBfD6

 Drowned

Nest:https://www.audubon

.org/news/the-saltmarsh-

sparrow-creeping-

dangerously-close-

extinction

 Interactive Powerpoint:

https://kaltura.uconn.edu/media/H

BL-Rec01_bal15101_20190815-

151824/1_0e1n3m2j

 Interactive directed

notes:https://drive.google.com/file/

d/1ffQhjOXXoOyqQracOUKV15Pw

zK6ozA8Q/view?usp=sharing

 Answer key:

https://docs.google.com/document/

d/1g61ZwtfJshZxRBDWfGprTiOOI

4ZOmpPHELsmxErypCA/edit?usp

=sharing

Extension Article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/scien

ce/saltmarsh-sparrow-extinction.html

Day 4

Mystery Scientist Activity

Objectives: “Meet the Scientists”

 Watch assigned videos in groups of

4-6 (note: there are 5 total Mystery

Scientist videos, labeled A-E)

 Suggested ideas for sharing

results:

 Jigsaw results with

students-each group

sharing out to class

 Have students fill in results

on a large scale table

 Matching activity/game-

match laminated photos

with appropriate scientist

 Mystery Scientist Guided

Notes: https://docs.google.com/do

cument/d/1_pu9TZpXp-

H0bOys4MMgkoZGbnSU6fy0UXj

URNFO9AU/edit?usp=sharing

 What do Mystery Scientists Do?

Videos:https://www.youtube.com/c

hannel/UCeh-g0Hcgu-_z9C-

MSq_yeQ/videos

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

Closure/HW: ‘Ask the Scientist’

 Now that you have learned about

what your Mystery Scientist does, if

you could talk to them right now,

what would you ask or suggest to

them about their research? What

about their experiments made you

wonder or wish you knew

more? What more do you want to

know about their research?

Day 5

Do Now/ Warm Up: Brain storm student

question/responses for ‘Ask the

Scientist’. Optional: teacher email a

curated selection to the scientist(s).

Video Reveal of Mystery Scientist.

(Suggested whole class activity)

CER - start in class, finish as HW

assignment. Assessed for grading.

Introduce focus question. “Is the scientist

helping us learn more about climate

change?” Pick a scientist from the

collection.

CER - Students will make a claim using

evidence provided to address the

question. Evidence taken directly from

mystery scientist guided notes. (Crafting

your Reasoning document should be

downloaded for best viewing. *google doc

instructions)

Options:

 Group or individual assessment

activity.

 In class or homework assignment.

IEP students - provide resources with

highlighted preselected evidence/data for

them to choose from.

Three sample CERs have been provided

for classrooms unfamiliar with the Claim

Evidence Reasoning technique.

 Mystery Scientist Identifier videos:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/

UCqsxQpiOWsXiiJ8anoE6tUw?vie

w_as=subscriber

 CER outline (student copy):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ktk

D5J4K5ed1Gb6rLYVnuG9uAEbqc

99B/view?usp=sharing

 CER outline with sentence

starters:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sFo

8wNjXBoUUCmGxcIbMvSlUdcuCr

_Hj/view?usp=sharing

 Crafting your Reasoning:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ye

2DcM_mlTpJshuro21yiA4fPpXUoz

bZ/view?usp=sharing

 Sample CER:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1exk

apvzwWhpJt9pqAkEQdwq4aL854

G4-/view?usp=sharing

 Grading Rubric:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yJe

KR3-

gWYgGYYPb3SCuOWQf2QpOno

bR/view?usp=sharing

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

The “Me” Connection

 Explain how human development of coastal land has impacted the salt

marsh habitat.

 Describe how anthropogenic actions have caused sea level rise.

Connection to Other Subjects

History/Geography, Economics

Evaluation

EdPuzzle answers, Case Study answers, Interactive PowerPoint worksheet,

Mystery Scientist guided notes and CER worksheet.

Extensions

Day 3: Read and discuss ‘Saltmarsh Sparrows Fight to Keep Their Heads Above

Water’ article published by the NY Times.

Day 4: Utilize the student generated responses to the ‘Ask the Scientist’ activity

to email a select number of questions to the researchers who participated in the

Mystery Scientist activity videos.

Day 5: Complete the Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh case study (Part 4 & 5)

Resources/Helpful Links:

Review video of climate change:

https://youtu.be/XFmovUAWQ640 423 867UQ

Ocean Literacy Link:

http://oceanliteracy.wp2.coexploration.org/ocean-literacy-framework/

Instructional Resource News Platform: Newsela:

https://newsela.com/

LIS Salt marsh response to SLR graphic:

http://2pywec11qb6ms796h1llfxn1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-

content/uploads/2015/08/SLAMMdid-you-know-fact-sheet2-V05.pdf

How LIS was formed (animation):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeeIgDs4SdY

Sea Level Rise by State:

https://sealevelrise.org/states/

Greenhouse Gas simulator:

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/greenhouse

Salt Marsh-Climate Change Teaching Module

PHET - Greenhouse Effect

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/greenhouse

MIT’s greenhouse gas simulator:

https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/mits-greenhouse-gas-simulator/

How sun’s energy gets to earth’s surface:

https://science360.gov/obj/tkn-video/4ee36f26-71e6-41cd-bdcf-

662c4dca6e9b/earths-heat-balance-suns-energy

Greenhouse Gas Activities:

https://authoring.concord.org/sequences/388

Scientific Inquiry, Literacy and Numeracy

 Scientific inquiry is a thoughtful and coordinated attempt to search out,

describe, explain and predict natural phenomena.

 Scientific inquiry progresses through a continuous process of questioning,

data collection, analysis and interpretation.

 Scientific inquiry requires the sharing of findings and ideas for critical

review by colleagues and other scientists.

 Scientific literacy includes speaking, listening, presenting, interpreting,

reading and writing about science.

 Scientific literacy also includes the ability to search for and assess the

relevance and credibility of scientific information found in various print and

electronic media.

 Scientific numeracy includes the ability to use mathematical operations

and procedures to calculate, analyze and present scientific data and ideas.

Next Generation Science Standards

HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability

of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have

influenced human activity.

Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts

Essential Principle 6: The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected

Fundamental concept e: Humans affect the ocean in a variety of ways. Laws,

regulations and resource management affect what is taken out and put into the

ocean. Human development and activity leads to pollution (point source, non-

point source, and noise pollution) and physical modifications (changes to

beaches, shores and rivers). In addition, humans have removed most of the large

vertebrates from the ocean.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

Case copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Bualo, State University of New York. Originally

published October , . Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work. Photo

of saltmarsh sparrow by Wolfgang Wander,  - ., <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saltmarsh_sharp_tailed_sparrow.jpg>.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

Beth A. Lawrence, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

Christopher R. Field, University of Maryland, Annapolis, MD

The Polar Bear of the

Salt Marsh?

Part I – What’s Going On?

Katie was horried. A sudden feeling of unease overtook her. Looking at the drowned nestlings oating in a tangle of

saltmarsh grass made her sick to her stomach. is was the fth drowned saltmarsh sparrow nest she had discovered

this breeding season. Katie had been exploring the wetland adjacent to her house in coastal Connecticut since her dad

had given her a set of binoculars for her eighth birthday ten years ago. A competent naturalist, she knew that saltmarsh

sparrows were ground-nesting birds, endemic to the tidal marshes of the eastern United States and were decreasing in

population size throughout southern New England. She noted another drowned nest in her eld notebook and asked

herself, What could be going on here?

Question

1. What factors could lead to drowned nests in a tidal salt marsh?

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

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“e Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh?” by Lawrence and Field

Part II – Rising Sea Levels

Since it was low tide, Katie decided to tromp through the marsh to the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area

headquarters to see if she could talk with somebody who might have more information. Dierent salt marsh plants

can tolerate dierent amounts of ooding and salt concentrations. is variation in physical stress tolerance leads to

vegetation zones or bands, each dominated by dierent grass-like plants. Katie traversed the band of vegetation closest

to the ocean where cordgrass (Spartina alterniora) exclusively dominates the daily ooded low-marsh elevations. In

southern New England salt marshes, marsh hay (Spartina patens) dominates the intermediately ooded band, and

black rush (Juncus gerardii) occupies the higher, drier, and less salty marsh elevations. Marsh hay and black rush are

excluded from the low marsh by low soil oxygen levels and high salt concentrations. Cordgrass has the ability to oxy-

genate its root zone and has physiological adaptations to deal with high salinity, allowing it to tolerate the frequently

ooded and salty low-marsh zone.

After a hot slog through the marsh, Katie was relieved to arrive at the Barn Island headquarters and see Chris Smith, a

natural resource manager for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Katie

blurted out, “Chris, I found another drowned nest of saltmarsh sparrows this afternoon. at’s the fth one this

season! Have you heard reports from other people like this?”

Chris laughed, “Hi Katie, nice to see you too.” In a more serious tone, he added, “Actually, I’ve had several birders

report nest drownings this breeding season, and it seems like more and more are documented each year.” Chris was

thoughtful for a moment and then pulled out a recent issue of a preeminent scientic journal and said, “Check out

this article. Maybe there’s something in here.”

“Wow, I didn’t know global mean sea-level has risen 14–22cm in the last century. at’s crazy!” exclaimed Katie as

she skimmed the article. “Actually, their models suggest that about 70% of sea-level rise since 1970 is attributable to

human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions.”

Chris responds, “So sea levels are rising, but I’m unclear how…”

As Katie continued reading the article she responded, “e two biggest contributors to sea-level rise are thermal expan-

sion of the oceans—as water warms, it takes up more volume—and glacier mass loss. Basically, the earth is warming

up due to our use of fossil fuels and causing water to expand and ice to melt.” Katie continued, “But what’s going on

in Connecticut? Is that what’s drowning all these saltmarsh sparrow nests?”

Questions

2. What kind of information, either biotic or abiotic, could Katie and Chris use to determine whether sea-level rise

is occurring in salt marshes in Connecticut?

3. Sea-level rise of 14–22 cm over 100 years may not seem like much (1.4–2.2mm per year), but consider how the

slope of the land determines how much will be inundated. Will steeply or gently sloped areas be more impacted?

Try sketching the two situations.

4. Make a diagram showing the three dominant vegetation zones of the salt marsh, indicating relative elevation and

distance to the ocean. Based on salt and ooding tolerance thresholds of the dominant plant species, predict how

plants will shift in response to sea-level rise; show this on your diagram.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

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“e Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh?” by Lawrence and Field

Figure 1. Mean percentage change in occurrence for the dominant plant species in 55, 1-ha plots

in Connecticut salt marshes surveyed in 2003 and 2013 (data adapted from Field et al., 2016).

Part III – Vegetation

“ere’s a researcher at the University of Connecticut that monitored vegetation in 55, 1-hectare plots in 12 dierent

salt marsh complexes along the Connecticut coastline in 2003 and 2013,” Chris said pensively. “I wonder whether we

could determine if sea-level is rising here by comparing the change in occurrence of the dierent plant species.”

Katie jumped at the suggestion and exclaimed, “Let’s do it!”

Question

5. Do the data in Figure 1 provide support for rising sea levels in coastal Connecticut? Why or why not? What other

information would support this hypothesis?

Juncus gerardii Spartina patens Spartina alterniora

10.0

5.0

0.0

-5.0

-10.0

-15.0

-20.0

-25.0

% change in occurrence

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

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“e Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh?” by Lawrence and Field

Part IV – The Future

While Katie was data crunching, Chris looked into the literature and found that sea-level rise in southern New

England is predicted to be much higher than the global average (Yin et al., 2009; Boon, 2012; Sallenger et al., 2012).

Observed sea-level trends at tide stations in southern New England range from 2.44 to 2.87 mm/year over the past 50

years (NOAA; www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov) and from 1980 to 2009 increases in the rate of sea-level rise have been

3–4 times the global average (Sallenger et al., 2012). Even with no future carbon emissions, coastal areas face over 0.5

m of sea-level rise over the next century, with more than 1 m possible (Schaeer et al., 2012).

“Yikes!” exclaimed Katie. “Well, couldn’t saltmarsh plants move in response to increased ooding? Can’t we just expect

marshes to migrate landward?”

Chris responded, “Maybe. Let’s look at some satellite images of coastal Connecticut and think about it.”

Question

6. Brainstorm three potential challenges to marsh migration.

References

Boon, J.D. 2012. Evidence of sea level acceleration at US and Canadian tide stations, Atlantic Coast, North America.

Journal of Coastal Research 28(6): 1437–45.

Field, C.R., C. Gjerdrum, and C.S. Elphick. 2016. Forest resistance to sea-level rise prevents landward migration of tidal

marsh. Biological Conservation 201: 363–9.

Sallenger, Jr, A.H., K.S. Doran, and P.A. Howd. 2012. Hotspot of accelerated sea-level rise on the Atlantic coast of

North America. Nature Climate Change 2(12): 884.

Schaeer, M., W. Hare, S. Rahmstorf, and M. Vermeer. 2012. Long-term sea-level rise implied by 1.5 C and 2 C

warming levels. Nature Climate Change 2(12): 867.

Yin, J., M.E. Schlesinger, and R.J. Stouer. 2009. Model projections of rapid sea-level rise on the northeast coast of the

United States. Nature Geoscience 2: 262–6.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

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“e Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh?” by Lawrence and Field

Part V – How to Respond?

Imagine that you own a $1.5 million house in Old Saybrook in the marsh migration zone. What would you do in the

face of sea-level rise?

You will be assigned one of the following ve sea-level response strategies to research for the next class meeting. Spend

about thirty minutes researching your assigned strategy and develop a list of pros and cons and bring it with you to

class next time.

• Beach nourishment

• Sea wall construction

• Conservation easement

• Sell property

• Put house on stilts (adaptation)

You will share your list with others so make sure that you are prepared!

Interactive Directed Notes on Salt Marsh Scientist Talk

Name:______________________________________ Date:________ Class:_____

Interactive Directed Notes on the Salt Marsh Scientist Talk

Link to interactive Powerpoint: https://kaltura.uconn.edu/media/HBL-

Rec01_bal15101_20190815-151824/1_0e1n3m2j

THINK - PAIR - SHARE

Why are coastal marshes important?

...did you miss anything important? Use the space below!

COMPARE and CONTRAST

Compare and contrast Carbon and Nitrogen-based ecosystem services provided by salt

marshes.

COMPARE

(What is similar?)

CONTRAST

(What is different?)

Interactive Directed Notes on Salt Marsh Scientist Talk

BRAINSTORM

The narrator reviewed some of the reasons wetlands have been lost. Brainstorm TWO ways

they can be restored.

NOTES

What is the BIG question? (What is the research question?)

THINK LIKE A SCIENTIST

The researchers sampled three plots in each zone and 20 different sites. Why did the

researchers sample so many sites?

FIVE SENTENCE ESSAY

What should we do with the invasive grass the researchers analyzed? Support your response

with evidence from the presentation!

Mystery Scientist Guided Notes

Name:______________________________________ Date:________ Class:_____

Mystery Scientist Guided Notes

Directions: Watch the ‘mystery scientist’ video you have been assigned to answer the questions

below. You answers do NOT need to be in complete sentences, bullet points are fine. Your task is to

make notes on this information to help you with a future challenge! HINT: put the captions on the video

to help your team.

What part of sea level rise or climate change does this scientist study?

What parts of the ecosystem is this scientist focused on?

Ex: sediment, water chemistry, grasses, fish, birds, etc.

WHY is this scientist focused on this in particular (why is it important)?

Mystery Scientist Guided Notes

How do they do their research? Ex: observational studies, experiments, etc.

What type of equipment they use? Ex:quadrat frames, mist nets, satellite imagery, etc.

How is their research currently being used (or could be used)?

Claim- Evidence- Reasoning

Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (C-E-R)

Student Graphic Organizer

Question: Is the scientist helping us learn more about climate change?

**Use your Mystery Scientist Guided Notes!

(Claim)

Write a statement that

responds to the question.

(Evidence)

Provide information from

your the video to support

your claim. Your evidence

should be appropriate

(relevant) and sufficient

(enough to convince

someone that your claim

is correct).

Bullet points or sentences.

(Reasoning)

Use scientific principles

and knowledge that you

have about the topic to

explain why your evidence

(data) supports your

claim.

In other words, explain

how the information you

chose from the video

helps or doesn't help

people learn more about

climate change.