Engage with this new Data Puzzle in which students predict ecosystem shifts by tracing the flow of carbon through the Arctic food web.

Join us on Thursday, March 10th from 3-4 pm PT, 4-5 pm MT, 5-6 pm CT, 6-7 pm ET as developer Jon Griffith and Ambitious Science Teaching co-author Melissa Braaten describe their newest Data Puzzle, "Tracing Carbon Through the Arctic Food Web", a 2-day MS/HS resource in which students predict how the decline in sea ice might affect the Arctic ecosystem by tracing the flow of carbon-based fats through the Arctic food web.

Arctic Ecosystem Overview

The dramatic decline in Arctic sea ice has led to an increase in ocean algae across the region and a decrease in sea ice algae in parts of the Arctic. To predict how shifts at the base of the Arctic food web may affect other organisms, scientists seek to better understand Arctic feeding relationships by studying fat molecules. Scientists have discovered that ocean and sea ice algae make different types of carbon-based fats. Why does this matter? Well, these carbon-based fats are transferred to animals when algae are eaten, all the way up to polar bears and bowhead whales. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze and interpret authentic data to trace the amount and type (ocean algae vs. sea ice algae) of carbon-based fat in Arctic animals to determine whether the animal's diet is more dependent upon ocean algae or sea ice algae and ultimately make predictions about how Arctic organisms large and small may be impacted by the decline in sea ice.

About Data Puzzles

Inspired by our friends at Data Nuggets, Data Puzzles combine classroom-friendly scientific datasets with the research-backed pedagogical practices of Ambitious Science Teaching to give your students the ultimate inquiry-based learning experience.