{"id":1614,"date":"2018-01-02T13:02:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T18:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horizon-research.com\/ASSET\/?page_id=1614"},"modified":"2025-10-29T19:50:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T23:50:46","slug":"the-mystery-at-sunrise-farm-pond-part-three","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.horizon-research.com\/ASSET\/getting-started-interdependence\/driving-question-pathway-the-mystery-at-sunrise-farm-pond\/the-mystery-at-sunrise-farm-pond-part-three\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mystery at Sunrise Farm Pond (Part Three: Putting it all Together)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Navigating this Part of the Pathway<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This part of the pathway provides students with experiences that allow them to come up with a final answer to the overall driving question: Why are the fish dying in Sunrise Farm Pond? \u00a0First, students consider and illustrate ways in which the organisms in a farm pond are important to each other.\u00a0 Next, using their emerging understanding of the importance of abiotic factors and their knowledge of organisms\u2019 needs for survival, students examine the interconnectedness of these components using a food web model.\u00a0 Finally, students refine their cross-sectional pond models to reflect their improved understanding of what is causing the fish in the pond to die.<\/p>\n

Disciplinary Core Ideas<\/div>
Click on the links to view the K-12 progression for each listed DCI in a new tab.
5.LS2.A<\/strong> \u00a0(Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems)<\/a>
\nThe food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. <\/b>Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as \u201cdecomposers.\u201d Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. <\/b>Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.\u00a0<\/div><\/div>\u00a0(NGSS Lead States, 2013)\u00a0\u00a0<\/div><\/div>\n

Connections to Other Pathway Parts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Part Three of the pathway builds on the ideas discussed in Part Two and serves to connect the initial disturbance (i.e. fertilizer runoff) with the outcome (i.e., fish dying).\u00a0 The three pathway parts together represent the natural sequence of events that occurs when a pond is overloaded with nutrients.\u00a0 Therefore, all parts should be included in instruction and done in order.<\/p>\n

Teacher Content Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because decomposers use oxygen as they consume dead organisms, the levels of oxygen in the pond decrease as the decomposers consume dead algae.\u00a0 In addition, algae block sunlight from reaching underwater producers<\/a>, which makes it harder for the producers to make oxygen.\u00a0 For both reasons, oxygen levels in the pond go down, and other organisms are not able to survive.\u00a0 Initially, some organisms (e.g., perch) may move to other areas of the pond with more oxygen; however, their food sources (e.g., mayfly larvae, minnows) will also decrease because they have less oxygen.\u00a0 With limited food sources, some perch will die.<\/p>\n

Student Thinking:<\/strong><\/h3>\n