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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Ocean Biodiversity and Biocoding

Introduction

National Middle School Science Standards

Life Science

Key Terms

marine zoology, biodiversity, ecosystem, niches, coral reefs, DNA barcoding

Key Concepts

  • Quantifying biodiversity and its value 
  • Ecology of coral reefs  
  • Diversity of marine invertebrates
  • Threats to ocean biodiversity
  • Technology used by marine biologists  

Resource Types

Middle School Level

High School Level

Advanced Reading Level

Resource Libraries 

Invertebrate Zoology Subject Guide Smithsonian Libraries

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The Ocean Biodiversity and Biocoding teaching 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-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

  • MS-LS2-5 Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Resource Type
Subject Guides
Grade Level
6-8
Learning Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
Topics
Life Science