Oil spills are major ecological disasters.
An oil spill is one of the most severe ecological disasters that can happen. The reasons for this are the difficulties in cleaning oil from water and the long term domino effects it has, reaching far beyond the sea. When they occur oil spills are major headline news, which gives teachers an opportunity to show how the effects of an oil spill are not just the oil-covered birds.
Effect on Plants
The majority of fish rely on marine plant life. If the plant life does not survive then the smaller vegetarian fish will die out, leaving no fish for the carnivores to eat.
Set up two aquariums with a selection of aquatic plants in them. Cover the water's surface in one of the tanks with vegetable or sunflower oil. Over the next few weeks monitor the plants' health and growth to see how much an oil spill affects marine plants.
Climate Effects
Oil is found across the world, from the warm climates of the Middle East to the freezing Arctic. Set up two aquariums as in the previous experiment, but fill one with warm water and add ice cubes to the other. Monitor and maintain these temperatures over the course of the experiment. Over the next few weeks make observations on the plants' health in both tanks to make a determination if oil spills are worse for plant life in warm or cold waters. It is best to see if you can get suitable aquarium plants for these temperatures.
Bird Life
Along with fish, birds play a huge part in the marine ecosystem and are usually very badly affected by oil spills. This is because most fish-eating birds dive into the sea. When the sea is covered in oil this sticks to their feathers, affecting their ability to fly and maintain body temperature.
Collect a range of different feathers and household cleaning products. Cover the feathers in cooking oil and see which household cleaner is the best at removing the oil. You will need a toothbrush to clean the feathers, paper towels to mop up excess oil and water and a wide range of shampoos, liquid soaps and detergents.
Charting a Spill
Get the students to make a chart of the long-term effects of an oil spill. Get them to think in detail about the effects for fish and marine mammals, marine plant life, birds, the human food chain, fishermen and other related businesses. This will encourage them to think outside the box instead of focusing on how it directly affects the fish and birds seen on the news after an oil spill.
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