The Salmon Challenge: Adapted for water quality

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The Salmon Challenge Adapted for water quality
Case synopsis On a family trip to
Alaska, Raja and Malli, students from Singapore,
visit a national park at a river. Salmon are
actively swimming and jumping upstream in the
large fish ladder. A conversation with the park
naturalist reveals that salmon migrate upstream
to reproduce, that they find their way back to
the hatching ground by smell, and that it is
hazardous for the new hatchlings to make their
way back to the sea, especially when streams are
not in good condition.
Learning Objectives including 21st Century
Competencies for your one investigation Global
awareness and cross cultural skills, Information
and communication skills, Responsible decision
making. Science objectives
Know Need to Know
Salmon do not live in Singapore Fish ladders do not exist in Singapore Salmon can live in both fresh and salt water Some fish lay eggs, others have live young Adult fish are strong enough to jump against a fast current. People can work as naturalists in parks Fish have to have specific conditions to live in an aquarium Salmon are edible Why do fish have this behaviour? How long do salmon live? How old are they when they do this? Who invented fish ladders? Why? What does it mean for a stream to be in good condition? Why would that affect the young salmon? Why can these fish live in both salt and fresh water? How much energy does it really take to jump up against a fast current? How do salmon smell their way home?

• Some Other Useful Resources
• Life Cycle of Salmon http//www.youtube.com/watch?
  vEqmGSexPaEk
• The WHAT IF model of watershed health and fish
  communities http//www.epa.gov/ceampubl/fchain/wha
  tif/index.html

Investigation Students will eplore the Salmon
Challenge simulation, collecting data on
outcomes of their decisions They will plot the
growth data. Potential Student Products Table,
graph, One page paper on keeping streams safe for
fish. http//your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/multimedia/
water-and-land/salmon-challenge/
Investigation Ideas Chemisty of water and what
the salmon smell Guppy aquarium to watch fish
life cycle/ development/ behaviour Use fresh
water invertebrates to test effects of
fertilizer, etc. on water quality Do water
quality sampling in local streams Creating a
balanced diet with salmon Role of salmon for
North West Natives Compare Singapore River with
Yukon River
http//www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Hatcheries/Ni bus/image
s/Nimbus-ladder.jpg
http//humandtv.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images
/haida-salmon.21194911_std.jpg