Salt Marsh Ecology

This program provides an opportunity for students in grades 4 through 12 to investigate one of the most productive natural systems on earth, the tidal salt marsh.

By participating in hands-on activities, in NJMSC/NJSG's classroom and at the marsh, students will gain an in-depth understanding of estuaries and salt marshes and the processes that influence them.

Key Concepts

Through discussion and instruction, your NJMSC/NJSG instructor will cover the following key concepts during the outdoor portion of the program:

Geographic orientation
Marsh zonation and function
Human use
The watershed concept
Salt marsh plants and animals
Food webs (producers, consumers, predator, biomagnification)
Plankton
Water quality
Tides and currents

Students will participate in the following activities while at the salt marsh:

Seining: Students use a net to collect a sample of the nearshore community.
Sieving: Students use shovels and sieves to collect benthic invertebrates.
Plankton collection: A plankton net is set out to collect a sample.
Water quality testing: A hands-on demonstration of water testing will be conducted.
Marsh Hike: Students observe salt marsh structure, plants and animals

Students will participate in the following laboratory activities inside NJMSC/NJSG Building #22 classroom:

Marsh bag (salt marsh functions)
Food webs and feeding relationships
Fish identification and using taxonomic keys
Fish morphology and fish printing
Plankton lab
Salt marsh in a pan demonstration
Water quality testing: (dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and temperature)
Shell classification and identification

This program supports NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards: 3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 4.2, 4.3, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7,5.9, 5.10, 5.12, 6.9

Program limited to thirty (30) students per class. Limit of two (2) classes per day.
Fee: $250.00 per class

Reserve your Salt Marsh Ecology field trip online or contact Cindi Valkos, Webmaster & Administrative Assistant, for the Education & NJ Sea Grant Extension Programs (732) 872-1300 ext. 13.

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