Earthwatch Brazil Expedition

Enduring Understanding: Conservation is a complex issue challenging the balance between protecting natural resources and human progress.

General Information

Essential Questions

The Pantanal, Brazil

• A diversity of habitats: Savannah, forests, lakes, and rivers.

• Fewer than 300,000 humans, representing a diverse array of cultures, inhabiting an area roughly the size of Kansas

• Valued by environmentalists for the volume of wildlife it holds and as a genetic reservoir for smaller, isolated populations of animals

• Unmanaged and unsustainable exploitation of resources:

• Mercury contamination in the water from mining industry

• Overgrazing by cattle

• Damming, diking, and channelization

• Poaching and over fishing

• Burning and deforestation

• Road construction

The Task

• Work with scientists who are doing studies on critical species and habitats.

• Observe conservation in action

• Biodiversity inventories and monitoring each day:

• Tracking jaguars

• Trapping peccaries

• Observing giant river otters

• Mist-netting birds

• Share experiences through discussions led by scientists.

(Data collected is used by Conservation International to manage the corridor.)

Typical Daily Schedules

Wetlands (late type) Daily Schedule

6:00-6:30	Wake-up and breakfast
6:30-7:00	Transportation to field site
7:00-11:00	Physico-chemical measurements of aquatic habitats, invertebrate and fish sampling
11:00-13:30	Return for lunch and short rest OR lunch in field if site is distant
13:30-17:30	Physico-chemical measurements of aquatic habitats, invertebrate and fish sampling
17:30-20:00	Return from field, shower, dinner
20:00-21:30	Sort, label, and preserve aquatic samples, data entry OR Night fishing or light trapping of aquatic insects OR Leisure time
21:00	Suggested bedtime

Bird (early type) Daily Schedule

5:00-5:30	Wake-up and breakfast
5:30-6:00	Transportation to field site
6:00-11:00	Surveys and/or banding techniques depending on group; direct observations and recordings
11:00-15:00	Lunch, rest , and return to field work
15:00-18:00	Surveys and/or banding techniques depending on group; direct observations and recordings
18:00-20:00	Return from field, shower, dinner
20:00-21:00	Informal talks and reports of field observations, data entry, or leisure time
21:00	Suggested bedtime

Enduring understanding

Conservation is a complex issue challenging the balance between protecting natural resources and human progress.

Overarching Essential Questions

• What is a balanced ecosystem?

• Why is it important to conserve an ecosystem?

• What is man's role in conserving an ecosystem?

• Why is conserving natural and cultural resources important?

• How does society's use of natural resources affect the life and health of an ecosystem?

• How can people change their behavior to improve their environment?

• How does one's environment change as one makes a home?

• What “needs” does one have in adapting to an environment?

• What influences the choices people make when they interact with the environment? (needs and wants)

• What determines if a species thrives or becomes extinct?

• Who defines what is essential?

• How are scientific investigations conducted?

• To what extent does data collection assist scientists in protecting an endangered ecosystem?

• What tools, techniques, and materials are used to collect information about a threatened natural resource?

Topical Questions

How does the Pantanal region compare to the region in which you live?
How has the physical environment impacted human activity?
How has human activity impacted the physical environment?
How have people adapted to the Pantanal?
How do the natural resources of Brazil's Pantanal influence its economy?
How have technological advances impacted the Pantanal? Other regions?
What have been the effects of contact between native and non-native peoples in the Pantanal?
How do the transportation methods of the Pantanal compare to ours? Why?
How has the economy of Brazil changed the physical features of the country?
How do environmental issues/attitudes of Brazil compare to those that exist in the United States?
What processes are at work in the Pantanal that are changing landforms and features?
What processes are at work in your own community?
How can a balanced ecosystem in the Pantanal be sustained?
How have life forms in the Pantanal adapted to the environment?
How can scientific investigations in the Pantanal influence the future of that region?

Washington State EALRs

Science:

1.1 use properties to identify, describe, and categorize substances, materials, and objects, and use characteristics to categorize living things

1.2 recognize the components, structure, and organization of systems and the interconnections within and among them

3.1 understand the nature of scientific inquiry

Social Studies:

• Use and construct maps, charts, and other resources to gather and interpret geographic information

2.1 Describe the natural characteristics of places and regions and explain the causes of their characteristics

2.1.2 Use observation, maps, and other tools to identify, compare, and contrast the physical characteristics of places and regions (Location, Region, Place)

3.1 Identify and examine people's interaction with and impact on the environment

3.2 Analyze how the environment and environmental changes affect people

Math:

3. The student uses mathematical reasoning

3.1 analyze information from a variety of sources; use models, known facts, patterns and relationships to validate thinking

3.2 predict results and make inferences and make conjectures based on analysis of problem situations

3.3 draw conclusions and verify results
support mathematical arguments, justify results, and check for reasonableness of solutions

Communication:

The student uses listening and observation skills to gain understanding.

Reading:

3: The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes.

3.1 Read to learn new information.

3.2 Read to perform a task.

Writing:

2. The student writes in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes.