What Happens After a Dam is Removed?

NGSS Phenomena: A time-lapse of a dam removal. In the first image, there is very little vegetation and we see most of the image as full of water. In the second image and the rest that follow the water is mostly gone and more and more grass and trees start to grow until the area is overgrown with plants in the last image.
In the above gif, we see a time lapse (over 5 years) after the removal of the Glines Canyon Dam. The dam was built in 1927 and blocked 70 miles of river that salmon used for reproducing. In 2011, they started removing the dam and the ecosystem around it started to change.



References:



“Elwha River Restoration Research.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/olym/learn/nature/elwha-research-efforts.htm.

1. The dam removal is a change.

Drag the answers below into the grey placeholders above

biological
physical

2. Construct a written argument to support and/or refute the following statement: the removal of the dam is a physical change that led to shifts in populations, such as: salmon and vegetation. Include evidence to support your response.

3. One of your classmates makes the following claim:

"The changes in this ecosystem are mostly physical. We're seeing some plants moving in, but that doesn't mean there are animals moving into the ecosystem too."

Which of the following statements best supports their explanation?

4. What other evidence would be necessary to be able to make the following claim:

"Both animal and plant populations have not changed much in the surrounding area over the past 10 years."

5. The connection between the salmon populations and the change in the numbers of plants is most likely .

Drag the answers below into the grey placeholders above

causation
correlation

6. What evidence is there that there have been physical changes to this ecosystem?

7. What evidence is there that there were biological changes in this ecosystem after the dam removal?

8. Write a claim to answer the following question:

Is there a causal or correlational link between the change in this ecosystem and the dam removal?

9. Provide evidence to support your claim that answers this question:

Is there a causal or correlational link between the change in this ecosystem and the dam removal?

10. What reasoning can connect your claim and evidence?

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This matching question aligns to the following standards

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • Stability and Change

  • MS-LS2-4

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • Stability and Change

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

This multiple choice question aligns to the following standards

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • MS-LS2-4

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

This multiple choice question aligns to the following standards

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • MS-LS2-4

  • Stability and Change

This matching question aligns to the following standards

  • MS-LS2-4

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • MS-LS2-4

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

  • Stability and Change

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

  • MS-LS2-4

  • Stability and Change

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

  • MS-LS2-4

  • Stability and Change

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

  • Stability and Change

  • MS-LS2-4

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • MS-LS2-4

  • Stability and Change

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

  • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

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