eDNA

This activity is a useful introduction to not only DNA but the information that careful collection of environmental DNA can give us. Students are stepped through learning about how trace DNA is left throughout our environments and how this DNA is collected and sent for analysis.

Scientists work in a huge range of environments and some are extremely challenging to gain access to in order to collect data to understand the ecosystems. One such extreme environment is that around cold seeps. New technology such as the collection of environmental DNA enables scientists to gather data in different ways and sometimes more effective ways. In one study it took 93 days to identify a new species of fish using electrofishing techniques, while using eDNA took 4 hours to identify the same species.

This short video clip brings a tirohanga Māori or Māori lens to the idea of biodiversity. Biodiversity and environmental interconnections in terms of food webs and interdependence can be likened to whakapapa and the interdependence between members of a family.

Biodiversity is an important concept for students to think about in terms of healthy ecosystems. Having a range of different organisms offers a greater degree of resilience to a variety of environmental factors. If we had a forest full of beautiful ponga and we had a long hot summer many of these could die. If however there were ponga and a range of other species then some would be able to tolerate the environmental changes much better and potentially enable to survival of the ponga through the extra shade of other more drought resistant species. Use of eDNA is a great tool for scientists to get an idea of how much biodiversity an ecosystem may have.

Introducing Biodiversity is an activity that supports students to build a model of an ecosystem. This activity supports developing student understanding of the science capability of interpret representations. In building a model students are able to explore how the making of a model supports scientists to make scientific sense of the world. As well as helping students to appreciate the concepts of ecosystems teachers can also guide students to consider what are the ways in which the model does not accurately reflect the reality of the ecosystem. Effectively students are being asked to critique this tool in this context.

This activity is research focused and supports students through a question framework to examine the extent, causes and timelines involved in the loss of species diversity. This would offer students the opportunity to engage in the development of some persuasive text, and using a range of formats could enable connections to visual language and potentially information technology if audience response software is incorporated in student presentations.

Being able to apply biodiversity as a conceptual understanding to a New Zealand is one way of developing a localised curriculum. If teachers accompany this with visits to local natural environments, students will have first hand experience of identifying not only species but also of the way each species does not survive without the survival of its niche within the ecosystem.

Developing robust observation skills is a very important skill in science. Getting students to make 10 in 5, ten robust scientific observations in five minutes with a partner can provide competitive opportunities to develop good observations quickly. Another technique could be to cut up this image into smaller pieces and invite students to write a descriptive text that comments on the pattern of species distribution. This could be through cutting vertical slices through the image that would offer opportunities for seeing zonation.

This is a fun experiment and there is always a thrill in being able to see DNA. This offers teachers something concrete for students to engage with as part of an introduction to what is sometimes referred to as the blueprint of life. This experiment is also a great one to critique. The residue that we are left with is supposedly DNA, but how can we verify this? This is where a discussion about reputable sources, and triangulation of information becomes important.

This article offers information about DNA and talks about the sorts of manipulations that scientists are able to make with DNA. in making these manipulations, they learn about not only the DNA but the characteristics that various sections of DNA control and affect.

This article uses scientific vocabulary that on first view may seem fairly technical. However terms such as polymerase chain reaction are entering daily conversations as saliva-based PCR tests are developed by New Zealand scientist Dr Anne Wyllie to test for Covid-19.

This activity offers a series of questions that could be used to support students to read through two articles- New Zealand DNA databank and DNA profiling. The questions help students to focus on the main points of the articles. However these questions could be used for students to gauge general knowledge about DNA. One way of doing this would be to develop the questionnaire as a google survey. This would prompt students to interpret this data in terms of how the general public might respond to questions of privacy around storage of DNA.

This article introduces students to the idea that DNA is contained in such bodily substances as poo. Examining poo, or faeces or scat (all of these are the same thing ) for the DNA contained within them helps scientists to work out what the wētā have eaten. Using this information can help improve the outlook for survival for some of our endangered species. Perhaps this article could provide a launch point for students to explore the insects at school and even to create habitats to support and encourage native species such as wētā to live within school grounds.

The establishment of sanctuaries such as Orokonui takes a lot of time, work, and money. Students could read about how such areas are established and then explore the potential that eDNA monitoring of such areas could offer. Further research into relative costs would enable students to reflect on the tensions between what is quick, easy, costly in terms of environmental decision making.