Vanishing Ecosystems
Target Audience
AS Biology students who wish to extend their knowledge of how an increase in CO2 concentration on
the Earth is destroying the environment.
Key Concepts
CO2, climate change, fossil fuels, organic compounds, oceans, depletion of basic components for
ecosystems
The Activity
Climate change has been a hot topic for discussion in many a world summit meeting for a number
of years. However, these discussions generally refer to atmospheric CO2 levels. Until a few years
ago, the effect of increasing levels of dissolved CO2 in our oceans has been largely ignored.
In this activity you are going to investigate the effect rising atmospheric CO2 levels have on our
Oceans and the ecosystems associated with them, for example coral reefs. What are the direct
effects? How might these direct effects impact the Earth’s delicate status quo and ultimately
on our eventual existence?
Background Knowledge
A basic knowledge of the carbon cycle and photosynthesis would be an advantage.
Resources
You are going to use the following press releases from the National Science Foundation website to
gather your research on this controversial topic.
• General overall effect of rising atmospheric CO2 levels on the acidity of the Earth’s Oceans.
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100401
• Effects of coral reefs http://www.ciw.edu/news/coral_reefs_need_deep_co2_cutbacks_soon.
Outcomes
In your research you are going to have collected data from a number of press releases and, of course,
websites you find yourself. Think about the most suitable outcome through which to communicate your
findings to others. Perhaps you would like to write your own press release giving the whole picture to
date. [A press release is a one to two page brief outline of the whole story for a journalist to translate
into a readable form for the general public in a newspaper eg The Guardian.] Maybe you could try out
your press release with fellow students playing the part of the journalists.
Helpful hints
• Revise the carbon cycle and photosynthesis before you tackle this activity.
• Photosynthesis plays a key role, but why is this affecting the level of dissolved CO2 in the
oceans?
• How are coral reefs and shells of shellfish formed?
• What happens if photosynthesis is reduced, especially in plants and microbes in the ocean?
Going further
It would appear that not all marine organisms contribute to the carbon cycle. Read about this
interesting cyanobacterium: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112588&org=NSF&from=news. What
makes this organism so unique?