Florida Reef

Learning Objectives

Understand the characteristics of the Florida Reef: Students will explore the unique ecosystem of the Florida Reef, including its biodiversity, structure, and role in marine life conservation.
Examine human activities and their impacts on the Florida Reef: Students will investigate how human activities, such as tourism, fishing, and pollution, affect the health and sustainability of the reef ecosystem.
Compare and contrast the Florida Reef with the Great Barrier Reef or Ningaloo Reef: Students will begin to analyze the similarities and differences between the Florida Reef and either the Great Barrier Reef or Ningaloo Reef, focusing on size, biodiversity, conservation efforts, and the impacts of human activities.

Success Criteria

Students can identify key features of the Florida Reef by naming at least two species that live there and describing the structure of the reef.
Students can explain how human activities affect the Florida Reef by providing at least one example of a negative impact, such as pollution or overfishing.
Students can compare the Florida Reef with another reef by identifying at least two similarities or differences between the Florida Reef and the Great Barrier Reef or Ningaloo Reef.

Florida’s Coral Reef stretches almost 350 miles (563km) from the Dry Tortugas to the St. Lucie Inlet. It’s the only coral reef system in the continental United States and is home to over forty species of reef-building corals that provide shelter, food and breeding sites for millions of plants and animals.

Coral reefs in the Florida Keys have been decimated by disease, human activity and rising ocean temperatures. CBC’s international climate correspondent Susan Ormiston met the scientists engineering new coral in a lab and planting them in the wild to try to restore a critical ecosystem.

Activity 1

Student worksheet (teachers to print). Students can choose to either compare The Great Barrier Reef and Florida Reef OR Ningaloo Reef and Florida Reef.

Florida Reef Worksheet.docx

Use the following readings to help in your research and to complete activity 2.

Activity 2

Teachers to print page 4 (cartoon page) for students to complete.

Florida Reef Readings and Activities.pdf

Activity 3

Using your research and knowledge, you are to write a one-page report comparing and contrasting the two reef systems, the threats to the ecosystems and the management strategies.
In your response you should use geographical language, terms and concepts. There must be evidence and specific examples throughout.
Submit your report to the google classroom at the end of the lesson.

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