Evading Extinction In The Oean

Author: Panna Gattyan

Caption: Ocean life is more harshly affected by changing climate than land life because there are less ways to evade the increased temperatures, like finding a shaded spot or going underground. As a result, sea creatures are disappearing twice as fast as land creatures. Many factors contribute to extinction in the sea, including: ocean acidification & warming, overfishing, coastal development, habitat loss, poaching, invasive species, and plastic pollution. However, it is difficult for landlubbers such as ourselves to see the changing environment below sea level.

In this exhibit, you will be randomly assigned an ocean species that is endangered or extinct by picking a paper from the box below. You will be given a species and an Endangered Number from 1-10. Below your assigned species is a 10 question form. As you move through the exhibit, you will encounter 10 challenges scattered on the walls related to different extinction factors that you must answer. Different species have different levels of endangerment. Every wrong answer, you lose points from your Endangered Number. Your goal is to evade extinction by keeping at least one point before finishing the challenges and the exhibit. At the end of the exhibit, you can add your result to the collective board to see how you fared.

Source: National Geographic, Nature Magazine

Tags: Climate Change and Oceans