Deep Sea Urchins and Other Echinoderms

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Introduction

National Middle School Science Standards

Life Science, Earth Science

Key Terms

marine biodiversity, echinoderm, sea star, sea urchin, deep sea, ocean exploration

Key Concepts

Characteristics of echinoderms
Seafloor ecology
Biodiversity of echinoderms
History of deep ocean discovery
Technology used by marine zoologists

Resource Types

Videos and Webcasts

A Century of Discovery of Sea Urchins and Relatives with Zoologist Dave Pawson on Smithsonian Science How
Living and Fossil Sea Urchins with Marine Paleobiologist Camilla Souto
Faith, Hope, and Charity in Deep-Sea Sea Urchins -- 6 Minute Science by Dave Pawson No Bones Blog
Echinoderm larvae: Echinoids and Asteroids Smithsonian Collins Lab Panama
Oil’s Impact on Marine Invertebrates The Ocean Portal (Chris Mah)
Deep-Sea Research 100 Years Ago on the US Fisheries Steamer Albatross Ocean Portal

Printable Lessons

Why Do We Explore? NOAA Ocean Explorer
Connected Ecosystems Moorea Coral Reef
Mapping the Ocean Floor COSEE on the Ocean Portal
Deep Sea Canyons NOAA Ocean Explorer

Posters and Worksheets

Echinodermata Retouched file from 1921 Hubert Lyman Clark publication

Science Literacy Resources

Middle School Level

Beauty and the Beast – a sea cucumber improves its image by picking up some “bling” No Bones Blog
What We DON'T Know About the Deep Sea Ocean Portal
Let's Meet the Deep-sea Stars of the North Atlantic Canyons NOAA Okeanos Explorer

High School Level

A Brittle Star May Be a Coral’s Best Friend Ocean Portal
The Natural History Museum: An Overview The Echinoblog
A Plague of Sea Stars Ocean Portal
How Coastal Seagrass Feeds the Deep Ocean Portal
Research Vessel Albatross Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Advanced Readers

Why Study Invertebrates? A philosophical argument from Aristotle No Bones Blog
(in Spanish) ¿Porqué estudiar los invertebrados? Algunos argumentos de Aristóteles No Bones Blog
Knowing What You’ve Got, Before it is Gone – Documenting deep-sea echinoderms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico No Bones Blog
Art Forms in Nature: Marine Species From Ernst Haeckel Ocean Portal
On Biodiversity: Understanding its Meaning and Importance Ocean Portal

Subject Guides

Invertebrate Zoology Subject Guide

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The Deep Sea Discovery of Echinoderms resources support students in meeting the following middle school NGSS Performance Expectations.

Life Science

MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

Earth Science

MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

Resource Type

Subject Guides

Grade Level

6-8

Learning Standards

Next Generation Science Standards

Topics

Earth Science, Life Science

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