Axolotl Waddle

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s), Parent, Adult Learners, Homeschool/Family, Learning Pod; Public Library: Library Patrons, Library Staff

 🐾 Topics

Career & Technical Education (CTE), Economics/Business, Health & Physical Education, Industrial Technology, Professional Development, Science, STEM, Technology/Information Science

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge: Introduction to axolotls and amphibians, inviting participants to share any prior knowledge or fun facts they researched beforehand.

• Segment 1 - Meet Our Axolotls: Meet our ambassador axolotls, learn about their unique characteristics and behavior.

• Video 1 - Behind the Scenes: Short behind-the-scenes video giving a glimpse into how axolotls are cared for at the aquarium.

• Segment 2 - Amphibian Life Cycles: Discussion of the life cycles of amphibians, highlighting the unique aspects of axolotl development.

• Video 2 - Amphibian Conservation: Video explores the conservation status of axolotls and other amphibians, focusing on threats such as habitat loss and pollution.

• Segment 3 - Questions and Answers: Interactive Q&A segment about axolotls and amphibians.

• Segments may vary due to weather and veterinary priorities. We will make every effort to deliver the segments as described but may use a combination of live and recorded video when necessary.

🎯 Objectives

1. Identify and describe the unique characteristics of axolotls and other amphibians.

2. Analyze the different stages of amphibian life cycles and compare them to the life cycle of axolotls.

3. Explore the regenerative abilities of axolotls and discuss their significance in scientific research.

4. Engage in a Q&A session to clarify any questions and deepen their understanding of axolotls and amphibians.

5. Reflect on the conservation challenges faced by axolotls and propose ways to support their preservation.

✏️ Standards this program supports

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

• ESS3C 3–5 –– Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners explore how pollution, habitat loss, and urban development affect freshwater ecosystems and contribute to the axolotl’s endangered status.

• ESS3C 6–8 –– Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners analyze how land use, pollution, and invasive species impact biodiversity in freshwater systems and evaluate strategies for protecting species like the axolotl.

• ESS3C 9–12 –– Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners evaluate how large-scale human activities influence Earth’s ecosystems and apply that understanding to the conservation of critically endangered species such as the axolotl.

• LS1A 3–5 –– Structure and function. Learners investigate how axolotl features, like external gills, regenerative limbs, and a flattened tail, help them survive and function in aquatic habitats.

• LS1A 6–8 –– Structure and function. Learners examine how internal and external structures in axolotls support key life functions, including how specialized adaptations like regeneration and neoteny affect survival.

• LS1A 9–12 –– Structure and function. Learners analyze the relationship between structure and function in axolotls at the cellular and system level, including their use in biomedical research on regeneration and gene expression using green fluorescent protein (GFP).

• LS1B 3–5 –– Growth and development of organisms. Learners examine the axolotl lifecycle, from egg to aquatic adult, and compare it to other amphibians, recognizing that axolotls exhibit neoteny and remain in their larval form while reaching maturity.

• LS1B 6–8 –– Growth and development of organisms. Learners explore amphibian developmental patterns, comparing the metamorphic lifecycle of typical amphibians to the paedomorphic development of axolotls, and classify them as anamniotes dependent on aquatic environments.

• LS1B 9–12 –– Growth and development of organisms. Learners investigate how gene expression and endocrine regulation affect development in amphibians, and evaluate the axolotl’s potential for scientific study due to its regenerative abilities and paedomorphic lifecycle.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 1. • 14 - Life Below Water

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.3.L.15.1 – Classify animals into major groups based on physical characteristics and behaviors. Application: Students learn about axolotls as vertebrates, their classification as amphibians, and how they differ from other animals.

• SC.4.L.17.4 – Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Application: The program discusses how axolotls and organisms interact with their environment and the effects of human activities on them.

• SC.5.L.15.1 – Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations. Application: Students learn about axolotl adaptations and vulnerabilities in changing environments.

• SC.6.L.15.1 – Analyze how organisms are classified based on shared characteristics. Application: Students examine axolotls within the Linnaean classification system and their distinguishing biological traits.

• SC.7.L.17.3 – Describe limiting factors in an ecosystem and their impact on populations. Application: The program investigates factors affecting turtle populations, such as water quality, habitat availability, and disease.

• SC.8.L.18.4 – Cite evidence that living systems follow the Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy. Application: Students examine how we feed our axolotls and how energy is transferred through their aquatic ecosystems.

• SC.912.L.17.8 – Recognize the consequences of the losses of biodiversity due to catastrophic events, climate changes, human activity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native species. Application: Students explore the loss of habitat for axolotl populations and conservation measures to restore them.

• Adaptation: The process by which organisms evolve traits that help them survive and reproduce in their specific environments.

• Albino: An organism with a genetic condition resulting in a lack of pigmentation, leading to white or pale skin and eyes. Albino axolotls have this characteristic.

• Ambassador Species: Species used in educational and conservation programs to represent and raise awareness about their habitat and conservation needs.

• Amphibian: A class of cold-blooded vertebrates that includes frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts, characterized by their life cycle which typically involves both aquatic and terrestrial stages.

• Aquatic: Describes organisms that live in or are associated with water environments, like axolotls and other amphibians.

• Axolotl: A critically endangered amphibian species known for its ability to regenerate lost body parts and retain larval features throughout its life.

• Conservation: The protection and preservation of natural environments and wildlife, aimed at preventing species extinction and maintaining biodiversity.

• Ecology: The branch of biology that studies the interactions between organisms and their environment, including the relationships and impacts between species.

• Ectothermic: Describes animals, like axolotls, that rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature.

• Eft: The juvenile, terrestrial stage of some salamanders, before they return to the water as adults.

• Endangered Species: A status indicating that a species is at risk of extinction due to factors such as habitat loss, pollution, or over-exploitation.

• Extinction: The state or process of a species ceasing to exist; axolotls are critically endangered and face the threat of extinction in the wild.

• Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP): A protein used in scientific research that causes axolotls and other organisms to glow green under certain light, used to study cellular processes.

• Habitat: The natural environment where an organism lives, including factors such as food, water, shelter, and mates necessary for survival and reproduction.

• Husbandry: The care, breeding, and management of animals in captivity, such as the practices used to keep axolotls healthy at the aquarium.

• Leucism: Refers to an organism with a genetic condition that results in reduced pigmentation, leading to pale skin but with normal-colored eyes. Some axolotls are leucistic.

• Life Cycle: The series of changes in the life of an organism, including reproduction and development, from birth to death.

• Metamorphosis: The biological process in which an organism undergoes significant physical changes during its development, such as a tadpole turning into a frog. Axolotls are unique in that they typically do not undergo complete metamorphosis.

• Neoteny: The retention of juvenile features into adulthood, as seen in axolotls, which remain in a larval stage throughout their life.

• Paedomorphic: Describes an organism, like the axolotl, that retains larval or juvenile characteristics even after reaching sexual maturity.

• Regeneration: The process by which organisms regrow or repair damaged or lost tissues, such as the axolotl's ability to regenerate limbs and organs.

• Tilapia: An exotic invasive fish species that preys on axolotl eggs and larvae, contributing to the decline of wild axolotl populations.

• Xolotl: The Aztec god of fire and lightning, often associated with the axolotl, which is named after this deity.

Play Axolotl Bingo:

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to reinforce key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• Maryland Biological Laboratory. “Axolotl.” Research Organisms, Maryland Biological Laboratory https://www.mbl.edu/research/research-organisms/axolotl

• Riverview High School Aquascience. “That’s a Lotl: Axolotls.” RHS Aquascience rhsaquascience.com/2023/09/30/thats-a-lotl-axolotls

📚 Books

Elementary

• Amphibians and Reptiles: A Compare and Contrast Book by Katharine Hall (Arbordale Publishing) – A beginner-friendly nonfiction book that helps young learners distinguish between amphibians and reptiles through side-by-side comparisons. https://www.arbordalepublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=AmphbnReptile

  • 📑 Activity Guide

• Salamander Season by Jennifer Keats Curtis (Arbordale Publishing) – A narrative nonfiction story following a scientist and his daughter through a season of observing, protecting, and studying salamanders. https://www.arbordalepublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=Salamanders

  • 📑 Activity Guide

• Not A Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez; illustrated by Laura Gonzalez (Charlesbridge, 2023) – A bilingual picture book introducing axolotls through the lens of cultural pride and ecological awareness, helping children understand they are not monsters but endangered Mexican amphibians. https://www.charlesbridge.com/products/not-a-monster

  • 📑 Activity Guide

Middle

• Blowholes, Book Gills, and Butt-Breathers: How Animals Get Their Oxygen by Doug Wechsler (Tilbury House Publishers) – A humorous and fact-packed exploration of respiratory adaptations across species, including amphibians like the axolotl. https://dougwechsler.com/pages/blowholes.php

📰 Mote News

• Animal Encyclopedia: Axolotls

🖥️ Videos

• 60 Seconds with Mote Axolotls by Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium

• The Axolotl Salamander Doesn’t Wanna Grow Up by Deep Look