Invasive Species Curriculum: Activity – Ssssneaky, Pesssky, Ssspeciesss!¹

Charles Jacoby, Nanette Holland, Debbi Berger²

Full text of this Activity is available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FA/FA14200.pdf

Abstract

Invasive species represent a critical issue for society. Recent estimates show that such species cost the United States nearly $120 billion per year and put significant pressure on about 42% of threatened and endangered species (Pimentel, D., R. Zuniga, and D. Morrison. 2005. Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecological Economics 52: 273–288). The costs and problems associated with invasive species impact almost all aspects of our society, including agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, fishing, boating, diving, the environment, and natural habitats.

Management of invasive species is increasing around the world. In the United States, management falls to multiple agencies with complex, overlapping, and confusing responsibilities. However, common threads run through strategic plans at the national, regional, and state levels. Threads include:

• leadership, coordination, and cooperation

• research and information management

• prevention

• early detection and rapid response

• effective management

• education and outreach

Management agencies agree that success in dealing with invasive species relies on education and outreach. This document, an Activity in an Invasive Species Curriculum, helps fill this need by illustrating how the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) has invaded Guam. It represents one of the dozen activities for middle school use. A copy of the full curriculum is available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FA/FA13100.pdf

This Activity addresses the following Sunshine State Standards and Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) benchmarks for grades 6–8:

SC.D.1.3.3 CS

SC.D.2.3.2 AA

SC.F.2.3.4 CS

SC.G.1.3.2 CS

SC.G.2.3.3 CS

SC.H.1.3.1 AA

SC.H.2.3.1 CS

AA = annually assessed

CS = content sampled

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Footnotes

1. This document is CIR1511, an Activity in an Invasive Species Curriculum (CIR1496), and it is reprinted by permission of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and The Florida Aquarium. Original EDIS publication date: January, 2007. It was supported by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, the Florida Aquarium, the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences of the University of Florida, and the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under NOAA Grant No. NA 16RG-2195.

2. Charles Jacoby, Assistant Professor, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611; Nanette Holland, Public Outreach Coordinator, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, 100 8th Avenue S.E., MS I-1 / NEP, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; Debbi Berger, Vice President of Education, The Florida Aquarium, Inc., 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida, 33602.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.