The Fish Kill Mystery

Author:	Erica F. Kosal Department of Biology North Carolina Wesleyan College ekosal@ncwc.edu
Abstract:	In this case study, students speculate on what may have caused a major fish kill in an estuary in North Carolina. In the process, they explore how land runoff and excess nutrients affect aquatic communities, and learn about the complex life cycle of the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria. The case is appropriate for an introductory environmental science course, a general biology course that covers ecology, or a general zoology course.
Objectives:	To explain how land runoff may affect aquatic communities. To describe in detail two effects that excess nutrients may have on aquatic ecosystems. To describe the complex life cycle of Pfiesteria as an example of dinoflagellate biology. To describe how human activities have contributed to problems such as eutrophication, which may come back to influence human health.
Keywords:	Fishkill; fish kill; eutrophication; Pfiesteria piscicida; aquatic ecosystems; dinoflagellate; land runoff, excess nutrients; estuaries; estuary; nutrient influx; North Carolina
Topical Area:	Regulatory issues
Educational Level:	High school, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division
Formats:	PDF
Type/Method:	Role-Play
Language:	English
Subject Headings:	Environmental Science Ecology Biology (General) Zoology
Date Posted:	10/09/03
Date Modified:	N/A
Copyright:	Copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work.

Teaching Notes

Case teaching notes are intended to help teachers select and adopt a case. They typically include a summary of the case, teaching objectives, information about the intended audience and how the case may be taught, a case analysis or answer key, and references.

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Answer Key

Answer keys provide answers to the questions posed in a case study. Since these questions are intended to be answered by students and are often graded, answer keys are password-protected and access to them is limited to registered instructors.

I used this case in a cooperative experience with a middle school science teacher and a Chatham colleague. We broke the case into smaller “chunks” that would fit in a 40-minute class period. At the end of each chunk we raised questions for the students to consider, and they wrote responses in a science journal. We created charts to help the students organize information and their answers. We also located and designed activities that corresponded to sections of the case. For example, when the case mentioned dissolved oxygen, we had the students do a hands-on activity to explore the concept of dissolved oxygen. We also used the 5E Model of Inquiry paying particular attention to 2 of the 5 essential features of application and extension. [Editor‘s Note: see http://www1.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/science/instr/teaching5Es.htm for a brief description of this model.] Through the process of exploring the case, students refined their initial hypothesis and cited the evidence for their decisions (again, all of this was recorded in their journals). At the end of the case study, the students had a field trip to an area called Nine Mile Run which empties into the Monongahela River. It was, in the past, a source of contamination and a ”fish kill“ location. It has since been cleaned up and no longer serves as a pollution source.

By taking this case in smaller chunks and exploring vocabulary when necessary, we felt the case was an excellent way to engage middle school students in the process of inquiry.

There is an excellent book, And the Waters Turned to Blood: The Ultimate Biological Threat by K. Baker (Simon and Shuster, 1997), that gives more context to the case and some interesting information about the health effects of this study on the scientists who conducted the research. Another book that might be of interest is one we used by Jean Craighead George, Who Really Killed Cock Robin? An Ecological Mystery published by Harper Collins Children’s Books in 1991.

Barbara Biglan
Education
Chatham University
Pittsburgh, PA
biglan@chatham.edu
6/26/2007

I retired from public high school and I'm teaching in a diocesan middle school. I have used the case studies extensively in high school but I've modified some of them for middle school. As always, I and my students appreciate what your program at Buffalo has done for our understanding of difficult concepts. Science is fun and this could not be more true than when my environmental science class put on a school-wide performance about the content in The Fish Kill Mystery. I have video about segments if you'd like to enjoy them with us. Thank you for allowing me to make the content "real" for my students.

Patrick Alarcon
Middle School Science
St. Mary School
Ridgefield, Ct 06877
alarconp@smsridgefield.org
5/3/2011

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