Integrating Research & Education in Paleontology & Marine Ecology:An Inquiry-based Grade 6-8 Curriculum that Investigates Spatial & Temporal Patterns in Naticid Gastropod Predation

Western Washington University, Bellingham WA

Investigators

Abstract

This award was made via the Awards to Facilitate Geoscience Education (AFGE) program to Drs. Thor Hansen, Western Washington University and Patricia Kelley, UNC Wilmington. The award provides funds to organize grade 6-8 students from schools around the coastal U.S. to learn about ecology and paleoecology of marine ecosystems and gain an understanding of the workings of science by participating in an authentic scientific investigation. The students will help the PI's collect data on the modern predation habits of the moon snail, a carnivorous gastropod. Moon snails leave a diagnostic trace of their feeding by drilling distinctive beveled holes in the shells of their prey. The students will collect shells with drill holes in them to help the scientists identify the characteristics of the preferred victims, such as size, morphology and age. Drillholes also provide information on; 1) identity and size of the predator (based on the size of the hole that is drilled); 2) the efficiency of the predator (by analyzing the siting of the borehole on the prey's shell); and 3) the success of the attack (based on whether the hole completely penetrates the victim's shell). Fossil records left by the moon snails and their prey create an excellent system for testing hypotheses concerning the evolution of predator-prey relationships. Current work by Kelley and Hansen on the naticid system tests the hypothesis of escalation using a database of 146,000 mollusc samples collected from Gulf and Atlantic coastal plain sediments. In order to complete the study of fossil records, the PI's need data from modern samples. They propose to work with students from across the U.S. to collect this data. The PI's have recruited teachers to work with them. They will train the teachers in a two-week workshop and will develop a curriculum based on the collection of shells. Data from each class will be posted on a common web site. The students will be an integral part of a real scientific investigation. The PI's will work with a variety of schools, including many schools with substantial Native American populations (see letters of support).