Impacts of Aquarium Fish Collecting on Coral Reefs

Unit 5 – Marine Management

Activity 2 – Impacts of Aquarium Fish Collecting on Coral Reefs

Materials & Setup

In Advance  Student Assignment

• As homework, assign the Student Pages “Impacts of Aquarium Fish Collectors on Coral Reef Fishes in Kona, Hawaiʻi” (pp. 34-41) and “Questions About the Reading” (pp. 42-45).

For each student
• Student Page “Impacts of Aquarium Fish Collectors on Coral Reef Fishes in Kona, Hawaiʻi”
(pp. 34-41)
• Student Page “Questions About the Reading” (pp. 42-45)

Instructions

1) Beginning with student questions and responses to the homework assignment, hold a class discussion about the study, its design, conclusions, and implications for managing coral reef fisheries.

2) For advanced classes, move from the general discussion to a more detailed discussion of experimental design. For guidance and background, use “Impacts of Aquarium Collectors on Coral Reef Fishes in Kona, Hawai‘i” (complete original report in appendix) and “Notes for Class Discussion on ‘Impacts of Aquarium Collectors on Coral Reef Fishes’” (pp. 28-29).
The class discussion should get into the details of experimental design at an appropriate depth for the level of students. Students should be prepared for this discussion based on their reading and answering the homework questions.

3) Wrap up the discussion by focusing on the final homework question, how students would go about learning whether aquarium collecting is a current problem on Maui and what they would do to prevent it from becoming a problem in the future.

Journal Ideas

• If you were in charge of regulating aquarium fish collecting, what would you do based on reading the Tissot and Hallacher study?
• Do you think that people should be allowed to collect native Hawaiian fish for the aquarium trade? Why or why not?

Assessment Tools

• Student Page “Questions About the Reading” (teacher version, pp. 30-33)
• Participation in class discussion

Media Resources

Appendix: Affects of Aquarium Fish Collectors on Coral Reef Fishes in Kona, Hawaiʻi