A pool of brine in the deep sea can be up to four times as salty as the surrounding sea water. The deep sea ecosystem relies on chemosynthesis and the organisms that live there are often strange to us. The lesson focuses on researching these organisms and developing a food web. 

Concepts

the gulf of mexico, cold seeps, organisms, chemosynthesis, ocean habitats, methane, mussels, octopuses, crustaceans

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Read about current research into these organisms: http://www.mbari.org/mbari-partners-with-monterey-bay-national-marine-sanctuary-to-study-deep-seafloor-animals/

Classroom Considerations

• Each group of four students will need access to the Internet to complete research
• Requires the ability to draw inferences rather than just searching and finding the exact answer
• Lesson is the third in a series of 16

Pros

• Includes many links to related lessons and resources
• Provides articles to prepare for the lesson as well as suggested web pages to help scholars find quality research

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.2 RST.6-8.4 RST.6-8.7