Deep Sea Urchins and Other Echinoderms

Introduction

National Middle School Science Standards

Life Science, Earth Science

Key Terms

marine biodiversity, echinoderm, sea star, sea urchin, deep sea, ocean exploration

Key Concepts

• Characteristics of echinoderms
• Seafloor ecology
• Biodiversity of echinoderms  
• History of deep ocean discovery  
• Technology used by marine zoologists 

Resource Types

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The Deep Sea Discovery of Echinoderms resources support students in meeting the following middle school NGSS Performance Expectations.

Life Science

MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

• MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

• MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

• MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

Earth Science

MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

• MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.