Review of the Blue Mud Shrimp Mystery

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1 Review of the Blue Mud Shrimp Mystery
Melissa Kilgore Lane Community College Eugene, Oregon

2 Overview Authors: Ashley McCulloch and Misty Scevola from EARTH 2008
A lesson about zombie shrimp and invasive species Lesson Location: Newport, Oregon, but any location can be used Included Lesson Resources: Lesson plan, Letter from a fisherman describing the decline of blue mud shrimp, PowerPoint presentation, Notebook entry worksheet, Rubric, Blank “Wanted Poster,” web articles and resources

3 Non-native, parasitic, Asian isopod (Orthione griffenis)
Introduced to North America in the 1980s Believed to have entered the Pacific Northwest through ballast water Attaches to the gills of the native, blue mud shrimp, feeding on its blood, leaving it in a zombie state and unable to reproduce Blue Mud Shrimp (Upogebia pugettensis) Native to the estuaries of the west coast of North America from Alaska to California Now extinct in most of California and parts of Washington Pest to oyster farmers (used pesticides to kill them) Used for bait Mud Shrimp Clam (Pseudopythina rugifera) Commensal clam Very little information

4 Class usage of this lesson:
Non-majors marine biology course with 25 college students Read the fisherman’s letter to the class. Brainstormed ideas for the decline of shrimp populations. Showed the PowerPoint but did not include the ESP system/technology (at the end of the PowerPoint). Had students work in groups to develop “Wanted Posters” on white boards. Had students share their “Wanted Posters” with the class.

5 Lesson Modifications Brainstormed reasons for decline of shrimp populations….eventually someone suggested invasive species which had been discussed the previous week in an arthropod lecture. Gave the PowerPoint after the brainstorming list to reveal the cause of the shrimp population decline. Surveyed the mudflats at Yaquina Bay during the class field trip the next weekend and located blue mud shrimp with and without isopods. Added information about the commensal clam after the field trip. Brought the blue mud shrimp with the isopod and clam back to our wet lab for students who were not able to attend the field trip.

6 Lesson Modifications Dropped the Environmental Sample Processor and Bio-assays from the lecture/PowerPoint. Animation was missing and could not be located using multiple searches. No experience with the ESA system or bio-assays No access to scientists with experience that could explain the system

7 Future Modifications Always include the mud flat survey at Hatfield in my marine biology field trips. Learn about the ESP and bio-assay process? Stipulate that students do their “Wanted Posters” on marine non-native species of Oregon. All groups picked plants and animals that were land-based. Add the commensal clam information to the lecture. Speak to Oregon State University researcher John Chapman to learn more about the blue mud shrimp, isopod, and shrimp clam.


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