Dead Zones in Coastal Ecosystems
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Provided by: BioInteractive|Published on: December 12, 2025
Activity - ClassroomScientist Reviewed
9101112AP
Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this activity from BioInteractive, students will analyze a map that demonstrates the correlation between the intensity of the human footprint and dead zones in coastal areas.
- Students will discuss patterns, solutions, the importance of review papers in science, and the connection to climate change.
Subjects: Biology, Geography
Authors: BioInteractive
Region: Global
Languages: English, Spanish
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This activity is simple, comes with a printable student worksheet, and requires little teacher prep.
- The discussion questions do an excellent job of getting students to think about how this information fits into larger contexts, such as climate change and economic impacts.
Prerequisites
- The video under Educator Tips may not work but this should not interfere with the activity implementation.
- Students should be familiar with reading and interpreting maps.
- Teachers should note that the Spanish version of the student handout has a space for students to add their notes, observations, and questions, but the English version does not. Teachers who are using both versions in the classroom may want to write in a section like this on the English version before making additional copies.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can support students in learning new vocabulary in the background, such as hypoxic and eutrophication, by having them highlight unknown words, infer their definition, give evidence to defend their constructed definition, and find the correct definition online or in a dictionary.
- This video can help give students a deeper understanding of dead zones and eutrophication.
- Teachers can use this resource to make connections to Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water. For more resources on this and the other SDGs, teachers can check out this curriculum guide.
- After this activity, teachers can introduce students to other ways human activities are impacting ocean habitats, such as ocean warming and ocean acidification.
This resource uses a figure from a peer-reviewed source to engage students in understanding coastal hypoxic systems and their relationship to human activity. The provided materials feature clear background information, and all key terms are defined in the text. A crucial connection to climate change is included in the discussion questions. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
BioInteractive
BioInteractive brings the power of real science stories into tens of thousands of high school and undergraduate life science classrooms.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
