WELCOME, TEACHERS and TANK VOLUNTEERS! 10:00 INTRODUCTIONS & - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

WELCOME, TEACHERS and TANK VOLUNTEERS!

10:00 INTRODUCTIONS & THINGS WORTH EMPHASIZING JUDY PICKENS West Seattle area coordinator 10:15 SIS ON THE WEB PHIL SWEETLAND Database/technical support volunteer 10:25 TANK EQUIPMENT NANCIE HERNANDEZ Technical support contractor/area coordinator + PHIL 11:45 LUNCH BREAK 12:15 FEEDING & MONITORING NANCIE & PHIL 1:00 LESSONS SUPPORTING NGSS/COMMON CORE JUDY + BETH MILLER K-12 stormwater education and outreach program manager, Seattle Public Utilities 1:45 LAST QUESTIONS & EVALUATION JUDY

WHAT IS SALMON IN THE SCHOOLS?

A program that uses the rearing of salmon to develop an understanding of biological processes and systems, habitat, stewardship, and the importance of salmon to Pacific Northwest culture and commerce.

WHAT IS SALMON IN THE SCHOOLS - SEATTLE?

A coalition of city staff and environmental volunteers supporting salmon- based opportunities for public and private students in Seattle to build stewardship and environmental literacy. SIS-Seattle provides resources and expertise to enable teachers to offer school-wide, hands-on learning through the rearing of salmon. SIS-Seattle is one of several regional intermediaries between schools and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, making sure that schools get eggs and that the program meets all state requirements. SIS-Seattle is maintained through volunteer efforts, governmental funding, and school support.

PARTICIPATION

73 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN SEATTLE HAVE PERMITS FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR.

NEW MAP

YOUR SALMON-YEAR TIMELINE

COHO OR CHUM

October - Schedule fall spawning field trips and classroom visits. Recruit tank volunteer. October-December - Prepare tank, brief students, and plan with tank volunteer. Early January - Pick up eggs or receive delivery. Begin developmental observations and

• ther salmon-related learning experiences.

Late February/early March - Engage students in feeding fish and monitoring water quality. April-May - Release fry at permitted location and explore habitat. File release report and sign up for next year.

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT

MAINTAINING YOUR SALMON AQUARIUM: EQUIPMENT

Initial filtering or screen External cooling wand chiller Large filter Cabinets must have proper air flow on at least three sides. AquaEuro chiller ¼ HP

Water pump for chiller

TYPICAL TANK SET-UP

Thermometer Aerators Small filter Water inlet tube

Left Side Open Left Side With Vented Door Right Side With Second Vent

Provide adequate air circulation to keep the chiller cool. Locate near a water source and electrical outlet. If possible, position off the floor to prevent dust accumulation.

LOCATING YOUR CHILLER

EXAMPLES OF TANK SET-UPS

PROPER CHILLER VENTILATION

ENGAGING ALL THROUGH ART

LEARNING FOR ALL AT THE TANK AREA

TYPES OF FILTERS

KEEPING FILTER CLEAN

LUNCH !

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MAINTAINING YOUR SALMON AQUARIUM: FEEDING & MONITORING

ABOUT YOUR EGGS

✓ Do not feed your fish until they have completely absorbed their yolk sacs. ✓ Begin by “tease feeding” in tiny amounts until your fish learn to eat. ✓ Feed no more than your fish will eat before it settles to the bottom. ✓ Test water at least once per week while in fry stage. ✓ Switch to flake food as fry grow because it stays suspended longer. ✓ Switch to bloodworms a few weeks before release; they too, stay suspended. ✓ Do not feed on weekends but do arrange for feeding over long holidays and vacations.

FEEDING TO REDUCE MAINTENANCE

This is the “suture line,” where the salmon’s yolk sac used to be. It needs to be almost completely invisible before they are fed. Full absorption of the yolk sac is known as “buttoning up.” These chinook were fed for the first time about A WEEK AFTER this picture was taken. The fish will look very skinny at this point but they are OK!

FROM BUTTONING UP TO READY TO RELEASE

WHAT TO MONITOR WHEN

Every school day

✓ Check and record water temperature. ✓ Check for any trash in the tank and remove it with a net. ✓ Check for dead eggs or fish and remove it with net. ✓ Check that the filter/aeration system is running and bubbling. ✓ Note any unusual fish behavior, ex. Circling, curved alevin. ✓ Record information on charts. Weekly or more frequently if levels rise ✓ Check ammonia, nitrite, and pH with Master test kit (nitrate is

• ptional but of interest).

✓ Record information on chart. March thru May ✓ Rake a net across the gravel to check for uneaten food or fish waste. ✓ Clean tank as needed or at minimum, change 15 gals per week.

INVOLVING STUDENTS

Student jobs

• Temperature specialist
• Feeder
• Trash / mortality / systems specialist
• Ammonia tester
• Nitrite tester
• Nitrate tester (optional test)
• pH tester
• Cleaner

Choose a model that works for you and your students.

• Alternating teams
• Tank monitoring or feeding as rewards
• Alphabetical order
• One team to monitor throughout project
• One team to help with cleaning throughout project
• ???

Make an X to indicate that feeding and trash systems have been checked. Track mortality and keep the count of live eggs/fish up-to-date. Comments to include hatch, mineral block addition, cleaning, etc. If temperature not recorded, use 48° F.

Date Feeding Trash/ Systems Mortality Count Ammonia Nitrite pH Nitrate Temp °F ATU °F Comment

3/1 190 50 1,342 3/2 190 48 1,358 3/3 190 48 1,374 3/4 1 189 1.00 1.00 7.2 30.0 49 1,391 Changed 20 gallons of water 3/5 189 48 1,407 3/6 189 48 1,423 3/7 4 185 0.35 1.00 6.6 60.0 48 1,439 Cleaned sponge; added 100 drops pH Up; added mineral block 3/8 185 49 1,456 3/9 185 48 1,472 3/10 185 49 1,489 3/11 8 177 0.15 1.00 7.0 40.0 49 1,506 Changed 25 gallons of water

MONITORING

X X X X X X X X X X X

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ACCUMULATED THERMAL UNITS

Temperature affects everything from the rate at which salmon eggs develop to the amount of food that fry require and the amount of dissolved oxygen that water will hold. Accumulated thermal units (ATUs) are a way to track the effect of temperature in order to predict when eggs will hatch and when alevin will start swimming freely as fry. What is an ATU? ATU is the number of degrees (“increment”) that each day’s tank water temperature is over freezing, added to the ATUs as of the previous day. In Fahrenheit, the increment over freezing is tank water temperature minus 32o F. How to use ATU measurements Involve students in using ATU measurements to predict date of hatch and date when alevins will start swimming freely (“button up”). In a creek or river, other factors such as oxygen level and water flow also influence the speed of development but, in your tank, temperature is usually the only variable.

SPECIES STAGE ATUs in °F CHINOOK SALMON To start hatching 860-980 To start swimming freely 1620-1800 CHUM SALMON To start hatching 850-950 To start swimming freely 1620-1800 COHO SALMON To start hatching 720-900 To start swimming freely 1260-1450

All compare water in vial with a color card

WATER QUALITY GOALS

Ammonia: Goal 0 ppm. High ammonia can quickly poison your fish. Carefully monitor! Nitrite: Goal 0 ppm. A trace amount will stress fish; a high amount will kill them. Nitrate: Goal 0 - 40 ppm. Slowly rising levels can stress fish, causing listlessness and loss of appetite. pH: Goal 7 - 7.6 ppm. Levels above or below this range can make ammonia and nitrite even more toxic.

TRACKING TANK CHEMISTRY: An Example

SALMON AS A BUILDING BLOCK FOR LEARNING

HOW TEACHERS ARE USING THEIR SALMON TANK TO SUPPORT CLASSROOM LEARNING

NGSS Standard Science and Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts Salmon Lifecycle 4 LS1-1 4 LS1-2 3 LS1-1 3-LS3-2 3-LS4-2

• Engaging in an

argument from evidence

• Developing

and using models

• LS1A: Structure and

function internal and external

• LS1D: Information

processing/ sense receptors

• LS4B: Natural selection,
• LS3B: Variation of traits
• LS1B: Growth and

development of Organisms

• Systems and

system models

▪ Salmon Books (see handout) ▪ Salmon Logs - Mini lessons link the salmon tank to district science kits, Animals 2x2, and Organisms ▪ Salmon Development and Behavior Observations ▪ Predicting Salmon Hatch - Students calculate accumulated thermal units using temperature data and math to predict when eggs will hatch in their tanks ▪ Field Trips/ Salmon Dissection

NGSS Standard Science and Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts Salmon Habitat and Human Interactions 3-LS3-1 5-ESS3-1 3-LS1-1 3-LS4-4

• Constructing

explanations and designing solutions

• Developing and

using models

• Obtaining

evaluating and communicating information

• LS2A: Interdependent

relationships in ecosystems

• ESS3C: Human impacts
• n Earth Systems
• LS2C: Ecosystem

dynamics, functioning and resilience

• LS4D: Biodiversity and

humans

• Cause and effect
• Systems and

system models

• Patterns

▪ Habitat Go Fish - Play Go Fish with cards showing elements of healthy salmon habitat ▪ Salmon Logs - Mini lessons link the salmon tank to district science kits, Plant Growth and Development, and Ecosystems ▪ Tank Water-Quality Observations/Monitoring ▪ Field Trips ▪ Salmon Books (see handout)

NORTHWEST COASTAL TRIBES & SALMON CBA

Unit includes ▪ Sample lesson plan ▪ Texts, diagrams and note catchers for student use ▪ Assessment supports for teachers and students ▪ Aligned to the OSPI-developed Humans and the Environment Classroom-Based Assessment ▪ Designed for grade 3 but can be adapted to grades 4 and 5 ▪ Sample lesson sequence follows the CCC Being a Writer Performance Task five days of lessons

GETTING STARTED: A GUIDE FOR YOUR FIRST YEAR

ORIENTING YOUR STUDENTS OBSERVING THEIR SALMON

SHARING WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED EXPLORING IN THE WILD

ORIENTING

Salmon Connections - Students view a summary of salmon in Pacific Northwest environment, commerce, and culture and how everyone has a role in habitat stewardship.

▪ Gain a basic understanding of the central role that salmon play in the region and how students are connected. ▪ Begin to link their behaviors to sustainability of this iconic species. ▪ Begin to understand their participation in rearing salmon at their school.

AND/OR

Generation to Generation - Students observe how juvenile salmon are very much like but not exactly like adult salmon.

▪ Compare and contrast physical features of salmon throughout their life cycle ▪ Observe changes in salmon as they grow in the tank. ▪ Cultivate observation skills and an interest in learning more.

OBSERVING

Salmon Logs - Students cultivate observation skills to understand systems and life- science concepts.

Kindergarten: Animals 2x2 unit extension First Grade: Organisms unit extension Second and Third Grade: Plant Growth and Development unit extension Fourth and Fifth Grade: Ecosystems unit extension and optional temperature interactions unit

AND/OR

Generation to Generation - Students observe how juvenile salmon are very much like but not exactly like adult salmon.

▪ Compare and contrast physical features of salmon throughout their life cycle ▪ Observe changes in salmon as they grow in the tank. ▪ Cultivate observation skills and an interest in learning more.

SHARING

‘Did You Know?’ Salmon Poster - Students research interesting facts about salmon and share them with others.

▪ Gain experience in researching information sources and accurately using English to communicate findings in writing. ▪ Use art to enhance communication for a specific purpose. ▪ Extend what students have learned about salmon to others at school.

AND/OR

Comparing & Writing About Life Cycles - Students compare similarities and differences in life cycles and creatively write about what salmon may experience.

▪ Understand how all living things experience gestation, birth, growth, reproduction, and death. ▪ Gain experience in using creative writing to communicate information to others.

EXPLORING

Exploration activity included in your release field trip:

▪ Scavenger hunt (Carkeek, Lake Washington) ▪ Habitat exploration in teams (Fauntleroy)

AND/OR

Habitat Go/Find - Students search for features in a wooded ecosystem and answer critical questions about what they find.

AND/OR

Native Plants & People - Students find and examine native plants that early Coast Salish people could have sustainably harvested for a variety

• f uses.

DOING SCIENCE

Anatomical Systems* Life Cycle Similarities & Differences* Habitat Similarities & Differences* Drain Rangers* Salmon Tank Temperature Light, Water, Air & Camouflage Salmon Story Bracelets Stairs, Ladders, and Fish Ladders Salmon Survival Game Lost and (Puget) Sound

*SUPPORTS NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS AND/OR COMMON CORE

DOING MATH

Predicting Salmon Hatch* Only the Strong Survive

DOING LANGUAGE ARTS

Salmon Researching & Reporting* Salmon Reading & Vocabulary Posters for Puget Sound

DOING SOCIAL STUDIES

Sustainability & Stewardship* Commercial Salmon Fishing Performing a Salmon Story

ADDITIONAL LESSON PLANS BY LEARNING AREA

WHAT MORE YOU MIGHT DO

Refer other interested teachers by April 1. Program capacity is 75 schools. Priorities for new schools are ▪ Elementary grades ▪ Under-served schools ▪ Schools with tank assistance Send effective lesson plans to share on our website. Join the SIS-Seattle steering committee.

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BEFORE YOU HEAD HOME