In this activity, students will discover the impacts that can occur when a pet, like a rabbit, is released into the wild. Using the community science platform, iNaturalist, students will explore species observed in their environment and research a case study of invasive rabbits. Using iNaturalist, students can discover trends such as migration routes, flowering patterns, the population of a threatened species or even the spread of an invasive one. In this activity, students will discover the impacts that can occur when a pet, like a rabbit, is released into the wild. This will provoke inquiry related to invasive species and how we can track the impacts they may have on ecosystems. Students will learn how to map these changes in biodiversity in fun, visual representations known as GIFs.
The lesson has background links that the teacher can explore
The activity is interesting, and students explore authentic science platforms
This activity may be used by teachers in those units of the Science curriculum that focus on the study of ecosystems and /or biodiversity at the secondary level and in Social Studies units that have students examine the consequences of globalization.
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