Posts Tagged ‘Ecosystem’

Restoring San Francisco Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Agencies and organizations are currently working to restore tidal marsh around San Francisco Bay. View these segments to learn

  • how historical ecologists use a variety of historical documents to piece together how an ecosystem used to function for restoration purposes.
  • how dredge material is moved to the Hamilton Field Restoration Project to fill in subsided lands and restore tidal marsh.
  • about the restoration of the South Bay salt ponds.
  • about the importance of San Francisco Bay to migrating birds.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

The Aftermath of the Gold Rush: Mining and Mercury in the Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Mercury-laden sediments from mining operations in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges still enter the vast network of streams and rivers that feed into San Francisco Bay. The mining activity dates as far back as California’s Gold Rush era. View this segment to learn

  • how hydraulic mining techniques caused massive amounts of sediment to enter the San Francisco Bay watershed.
  • where mercury (which was needed to separate gold from ore) was mined in the Bay Area.
  • about the mercury that persists in area rivers and its toxic effects in the food chain.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

The Oaks of Oakland

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Oak trees are an integral part of the ecology of California. At one point, Oakland and Alameda were home to an impressive stand of live oak trees. View this segment to learn about the incredible oak woodland that was once in Oakland and Alameda.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Fish Tales: Salmon and Herring Fisheries of San Francisco Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Fisheries in the San Francisco Bay have ranged from successful bonanza to complete collapse. View this segment to learn about

  • past fisheries in San Francisco Bay that were hugely successful.
  • why the salmon fishery in the San Francisco Bay–Delta region collapsed in 1884.
  • the only surviving commercial fishery in San Francisco Bay waters.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Cultivating an Abundant Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

The early human inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Ohlone and the Coast Miwok, cultivated an abundant environment. View this segment to learn

  • about shellmounds and other ways in which California Indians affected the landscape.
  • how the native people actually cultivated the land.
  • ways in which tribal members are currently working to restore their lost culture.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

A Unique Estuary

Monday, March 8th, 2010

The San Francisco Bay is a unique and biologically productive estuary. View this segment to learn

  • about the size and scope of the estuary.
  • about the Mediterranean climate of the Bay Area.
  • that the estuary is a biologically productive region.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

A Parade of Grasses

Monday, March 8th, 2010

The early visitors and settlers of the San Francisco Bay Area greatly impacted the flora and fauna of the region. View this segment to learn

  • about the impact Spanish, Russian, and American fur traders had on the sea otter population.
  • how native perennial grasses were replaced by exotic annual grasses.
  • about the role livestock played in changing the native landscape.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

A Healthier Bay

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

San Francisco Bay is healthier now than it once was.

In this segment you’ll learn:

  • what the U.S. Geological Survey has found out about the health of the Bay after monitoring it for four decades.
  • about the largest local freshwater input into the South Bay—the San Jose / Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant.
  • how wastewater treatment plants have limited the amount of pollutants that get into the Bay.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

An Invaded Estuary

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

San Francisco Bay has the designation of being the most heavily invaded estuary in the world.
View this segment to learn

  • how the Transcontinental Railroad had an effect on the ecology of the Bay.
  • ways in which exotic species enter the Bay.
  • the prevalence of exotic species in the Bay.
  • how often a new species arrives in the Bay.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.