Wildlife biologists are keeping an eye on the interactions between alligators and people who live around Lake Waccamaw, near Wilmington.
habitat
New Hope for Hemlocks: Lesson Plan
Learn about various ways organisms interact with each other (including predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism) and with their environments resulting in stability within ecosystems. Then, watch the NC Science Now video New Hope For Hemlocks to learn how organisms interact in real-life ecosystems.
Multi-functional Seagrass Beds are Disappearing from the Coast
You could say the best thing about seagrass is that you don’t have to mow it.
Okay, that may be a stretch.
But in truth, seagrass is beneficial in its role as an important coastal habitat. That’s because young ocean-going fish can grow and develop in seagrass beds before setting out on their journey of life.
Seagrass Science
Scientists discover and analyze the important function of seagrass beds as not only habitats, but as buffer zones and water purifiers.
Fish Tagging: Lesson Plan
Ecosystems have limits to the numbers of organisms and population sizes they can support. These limits are set by predation, competition, disease and the physical habitat (reefs, artificial reefs, mud flats, sea grass and marsh). Learn how fish biologists are using two types of tagging to understand how the physical environment constrains the population dynamics of Red Drum, North Carolina’s state fish.
Resting Point: Lesson Plan
Conservationists are working to protect all essential habitats along the piping plover’s flight path, including its resting point in North Carolina.
Saving Black Sea Bass: Lesson Plan
Researchers at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences track the migration patterns of black sea bass through various ocean habitats.
Sittin' at the Bottom of the Bay: Lesson Plan
Explore the ecosystems of Pamlico Sound, which scientists are aiming to protect through improved dredging activity and other environmental measures.
Bays of Mystery
Carolina Bays provide one of the most intriguing geologic mysteries around.
Think about it. Not only are scientists still trying to determine how Carolina Bays were created, the exact number of Carolina Bays is also unknown.
Jerry Reynolds, the Carolina Bay expert with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, tells me he’s seen estimates ranging from 400,000 to 2.5 million bays in the Southeast United States. Bays can be found from Maryland to Georgia, but the majority of Bays are found in North and South Carolina.
Carolina Bays
Nobody knows how Carolina Bays were formed. They look like swamps and wetlands from the ground, but from the air they take on a mysterious uniform shape and directional alignment.