By doing this lab, you will understand the effect increased carbon dioxide has upon the ocean by examining the consequences of ocean acidification upon sea urchin larvae.

At the website Our acidifying ocean, you will see a Table of Contents on the left and an arrow button in the lower right corner. You will complete Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the website. To start Part 1, click on the arrow button on the lower right. You may move forward and backward in this part using the arrow buttons. Please follow the instructions on the pages to complete each part. Follow the same instructions for parts 2 and 3 as well.

After you have completed parts 1, 2, and 3, answer the following questions by copying them to a Word document, filling in the answers, and submitting them to your instructor in the assignment dropbox.

1.   State the correct order of the items from the virtual lab on the pH scale.
2.   Name four calcifiers from the virtual lab.
3.   Name four non-calcifiers from the virtual lab.
4.   After you run the lab in part 2, complete the following:

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pH 7.7	Replicate A ___________ microns
	Replicate B ___________ microns
	Replicate C ___________ microns
pH 8.1	Replicate A ___________ microns
	Replicate B ___________ microns
	Replicate C ___________ microns

5.   A drop in a pH of _____ units has a measurable effect on sea urchin larval growth.
6.   What does this data suggest?
7.   What effect does this drop in pH have upon the growth of the sea urchin larvae?
8.   What would this do to the sea urchin population?
9.   How would this affect other animals that feed upon sea urchins?
10.   Name a species which feeds upon adult sea urchins.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”

Reference:

• Inquiry-to-Insight (I2I) (n.d.). Our acidifying ocean. Retrieved from http://i2i.stanford.edu/AcidOcean/AcidOcean.htm

Evaluation Criteria

Read the Natural Science Assignment Rubric [PDF file size 175 KB] to understand expectations for this assignment. These assignments, together, make up 5% of the total course grade.