IsitaFishoraMarineMammal?

Summary:Marinemammalsandfisheshaveverysimilarmorphologythathelpthemthriveinaquaticenvironments,buttheyareactuallyverydifferentanimalsthatsurviveintheiraquatichabitatsinuniqueways.Thisactivitywillhelpstudentscompareandcontrastthesetwoanimalgroupsbyplayingamatchinggame.Goals&Objective:Personwillunderstand(1)howvariousspeciesarerelatedbyeithercategorizingthemasafishoramarinemammal,(2)howfishes’bodilyfunctionsdifferfrommarinemammals,and(3)whatfishesandmarinemammalshaveincommon.Grades:K-2ndDuration:15minutesVocabulary:Aquatic:growingorlivinginornearthewater.Ectothermic:bodytemperatureisthesameastheambienttemperature;“cold-blooded.”Endothermic:bodytemperatureisconstantandcreatedinternally;“warm-blooded.”Gills:therespiratoryorganoffishesandsomeamphibians,bywhichoxygenisextractedfromwater.Lungs:therespiratoryorganofbirds,reptiles,andmammalsbywhichoxygenisextractfromair.Marine:relatingtotheocean.Streamlined/Hydrodynamic:adesignthatpresentsverylittleresistancetoaflowofwater,increasingspeedandeaseofmovement.Vertebrate:agroupingofanimalsthatisdistinguishedbythepossessionofabackboneorspinalcolumn,includingmammals,birds,reptiles,amphibians,andfishes.Materials(ifyouchoosetoprint)

• Scissors• Coloringutensils• Computertoresearchanimals

Background&Activity:Whenwalkingaroundtheaquarium,youmaynoticealloftheanimalsareaquatic.Theanimalsallswiminthewater,haveasimilarbodyshapedcalledstreamlinedsotheycanbehydrodynamicastheyswim,andhuntfortheirfoodinthewater.However,notalloftheanimalsdependontheiraquaticenvironmentsexactlythesame.Forexample,someanimalsbreathedifferently;someanimalsusetheirgills,someanimalsuselungs.Thisisbecauseanimalscanbedistantlyrelatedandfallintodifferentanimalfamilies,whilealladaptingtothesameenvironmenttosurvive;forintheaquarium’scase,theocean.Forourlastexample,fishesusegillstobreath,andmammalsuselungstobreathe.Tolearnmoreaboutanimalstheyarestudying,scientiststrytoorganizeanimalsintotheiranimalfamilies.Forouractivity,wearespecificallygoingtofocusonmarinemammalsandfishes.Fishesareagroupofanimalsthatarecompletelyaquaticvertebratesthathavegills,scales,swimbladderstofloat,mostproduceeggs,andareectothermic.Sharks,stingrays,skates,eels,puffers,seahorses,clownfishareallexamplesoffishes.Marinemammalsareagroupofanimalsthatcaneitherpartiallyorcompletelyaquaticvertebratesthathavelungs,havehair(atleastatonepointintheirlife),producemilkforlivebirth,andareendothermic.Whales,dolphins,seaotters,sealions,seals,walruses,manatees,andpolarbearsareallexamplesofmarinemammals.

(Someanimalsarerule-breakersthough…gotothebottomforsomebonustrivia&resarch!)

Drawalineandmatchthecharacteristicsontheright-handcolumnwiththeanimalgroup

ontheleft!(HINT:someareboth!)

FISH

MARINEMAMMAL

Ectotherm(cold-blooded)

Endotherm(warm-

blooded)

Nursesyoungwithmilk

Scales

Furorhair

Breathesoxygenthroughgills

Breathesoxygenwith

lungs

Livebirth

Layseggs

Usesfinstosteerandpropel

Vertebrate

Oceanecosystems

1stOption: Put a blue circle around the animals that are marine mammals. Put a red circle around the animals that are fish!

2ndOption:Print off this worksheet and cut out the animals and separate them into their animal group.

BONUSLEARNING:Somespeciesoffishesandmammalsactuallygivebirthdifferentlythantheirfishormammalcousins...Wearegoingtoexplorethedifferentmethodstogivebirthin

theanimalkingdom.Researchthedifferencebetweenthesevocabwords:

Oviparity (most fish): ________________ ________________________________ Ovoviviparity:______________________ ________________________________ Viviparity (most mammals):____________ ________________________________

Give an example of a fish that is ovoviparious:

Give an example of a mammal that is oviparious: