Marine Biodiversity Literature Review

It's officially my last action project at GCE! I've done over 80 action projects and here is my last. This project is for my last Senior STEAM course Frontiers. We only had 1 unit for this class. This whole class was about the frontiers of human exploration. We were originally going to look at ocean exploration, space exploration, and computers and AI. We only got to look at ocean exploration. We spent this entire term learning about the ocean and exploration. We looked at everything from early human explorers, to ocean geography to marine life. I really enjoyed learning about the ocean. I have always had an interest in marine biology. For FE's this term, we had 2 virtual guests. We had some speakers talk to us about their plan to create a nature sanctuary along the Chicago River. We also learned from a marine biologist who helped write this course. I enjoyed both of these guests and I think they both related to the class very well. For our action project, we had to write a literature review on one of the 8 marine ecosystem challenges. I chose the 1st challenge which is how climate change affects biodiversity. I have never written a literature review before so there was a bit of a learning curve but I am happy with how this turned out.

CM

6/3/2020

Frontiers

Aaron Moring D'angier 

One of the eight Grand Challenges in Marine Ecosystem Ecology is Anticipating the effect of climate change on biodiversity. This is key to understanding how to help preserve fragile marine ecosystems. Climate change is affecting the ocean in many ways including temperature change, current change, and acidification. All of these changes can be detrimental to marine life living in the areas affected by climate change. Studies have shown that the areas of most concerns in regards to climate change are some of the richest areas of biodiversity in the oceans. Also, Temperature affects marine life which will cause mass migrations before mass extinction happens. These studies show that even currently, climate change is already making a big impact on marine ecosystems today. By researching how climate change is affecting biodiversity currently, scientists can more accurately predict how global climate change will shape the future of marine biodiversity.

Climate change affects biodiversity. While the oceans continue to get warmer, the marine life that depends on the ocean to live are having to make adjustments. According to Beaugrand, “Climate change will permanently affect species loss in certain areas” (2015). In certain areas of the ocean, species loss could and will be detrimental to the entire ecosystem. If one species dies off or is no longer as populous as they once were, this can offset the entire marine ecosystem in that area. Certain species that rely on the extinct species for food will also be impacted. According to Hillebrand, “Local marine biodiversity shows what can happen in a broader community with changes in biodiversity” (2017). By studying one specific area closely, scientists can make an estimate on how climate change and other factors will affect biodiversity on a much larger level globally. “Anticipating the effect of climate change on biodiversity is crucial for adaptive management of ecosystems.” (Molinos et al, 2016). By anticipating the effects of climate change, a plan of action can be set in place to be better prepared to manage fragile ecosystems.

Warming of the planet will affect species globally. According to Beaugrand, “Minor warming is expected to have a minor influence on biodiversity. Moderate warming is the biggest concern.” (2015) While minor changes in temperature will go mostly unnoticed, sudden more extreme rates of temperature change could be detrimental to marine life globally. “More extreme warming at the poles means a probable mass migration of marine life.” (Hillebrand et al, 2016) With colder temperatures at the poles year-round, climate change has the most profound impact on these regions. With polar ice melt, not only marine life is suffering but also the animals who live on the ice. Hillebrand expects to see a mass migration of species from the poles in search of colder waters. With all of the oceans warming, he also expects to see species loss due to temperature. “These results strongly suggest that the millennial stability of current global marine diversity patterns, against which conservation plans are assessed, will change rapidly over the course of the century in response to ocean warming.” (Molinos et al, 2016) Plans have to adapt to the ever-changing climate change crisis in order to help marine life.

Marine animals are very sensitive to temperature change. Marine animals rely on consistency in their temperatures in order to live. With the changing temperatures, especially in the poles, it is becoming harder and harder for these animals to live where they do. According to Hillebrand, “These responses comprise adaptation and phenotypic plasticity as well as range shifts. The observed range shifts show more rapid shifts at the poleward range edge than at the equator-near edge, which probably reflects more rapid immigration than extinction in a warming world.” (2017). Animals will start to migrate from where they originally were to other areas of the ocean. Hillebrand thinks that this mass migration will happen before any mass extinction.

Comparing climate change throughout history will give a clearer view of biodiversity in the future. According to Descombes, “We found that under the RCP 8.5 climate change scenario, the global suitability for coral reefs may increase up to 16% by 2100, mostly due to improved suitability of higher latitudes. In contrast, in its current range, coral reef suitability may decrease up to 46% by 2100” (2015). By studying what is happening in marine biodiversity now, a more accurate idea of what the future of marine biodiversity can be created. “Sea surface temperatures during the Eocene epoch were warmer than forecasted changes for the coming century, and distributions of corals during the Eocene may help to inform models forecasting the future of coral reefs” (Descombes et al, 2015). Current models are showing the effect of climate change on marine life currently. By doing this research, the future is better understood. “Overall, these hot spots of marine biodiversity coincide with areas most severely affected by global warming. In particular, these marine biodiversity hot spots have undergone local to regional increasing water temperatures, slowing current circulation, and decreasing primary productivity” (Ramirez et al, 2015).

Biodiversity is essential for a healthy ecosystem. According to Beaugrand, “Our results indicate that local species loss will be a prominent phenomenon of climate warming in permanently stratified regions and that local species invasion will prevail in temperate and polar biomes under all climate change scenarios” (2015). These are examples of how biodiversity will be impacted by global climate change. According to Descombes, “Coral bleaching events threaten coral reef habitats globally and cause severe declines of local biodiversity and productivity. Related to high sea surface temperatures (SST), bleaching events are expected to increase as a consequence of future global warming.” (2015) With a lack of biodiversity, the ecosystems will suffer. “High extirpation rates are expected regionally (for example, Indo-Pacific), particularly under RCP8.5, leading to strong decreases in richness and the anticipated formation of no-analogue communities where invasions are common. The spatial congruence of these patterns with contemporary human impacts 7,8 highlights potential areas of future conservation concern. These results strongly suggest that the millennial stability of current global marine diversity patterns, against which conservation plans are assessed, will change rapidly over the course of the century in response to ocean warming.” (Molinos et al, 2016). Species invasion is a threat to marine ecosystems. With migration, more species will migrate and interact with other species. This could have a negative impact on marine life in the area. According to Ramirez, “Concerningly, some of the richest areas of biodiversity overlap with the locations most impacted by climate change.”(2017). Action needs to be taken soon in order to prevent catastrophic damage to marine ecosystems.

"Climate Effects On Marine Biodiversity." ECHO Action. (2017)

Works Cited:

Beaugrand, Gregory et al. “Future vulnerability of marine biodiversity compared with contemporary and past changes.” Nature.com. Springer Research. 1, June 2015. Web. 3, June 2020.

Descombes, Patrice et al.“Forecasted coral reef decline in marine biodiversity hotspots under climate change.” Wiley Online Library. Wiley & Sons. 21, January 2015. Web. 4, June 2020.

Hillebrand, Helmut et al. “Climate Change: Warming Impacts on Marine Biodiversity.” Springer Link. Springer Research. 16, August 2017. Web. 4, June 2020.

Molinos, Jose Garcia et al. “Climate velocity and the future global redistribution of marine biodiversity” Nature.com. Springer Research. 31, August 2015. Web. 3, June 2020.

Ramirez, Francisco et al. “Climate impacts on global hot spots of marine biodiversity.” Science Advances. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 22, February 2017. Web. 4, June 2020.
In conclusion, I am happy with how this project and class turned out. I enjoyed this class more than I have any class in a while. It's refreshing to learn about something that I am interested in. I found it a bit difficult to get started on this project, but once I got started it was pretty easy. I struggled with motivation to complete this project. Mostly because it's the very end of the term and I just wanted to be done. I'm proud of myself for completing my last action project at GCE. Now time for graduation!

Surgeon Survival Guide

This is the last Action Project of my last Senior humanities class "Endurance." In the third unit, Apotheosis, we mostly focused on this action project. We didn't have a lot of time and some of the activities we had planned we couldn't do. We refreshed our memories on Malala and re-read her story. We focused on what we can learn from survivors like Malala. We planned on doing taste tests and participate in a physical endurance field experience but we couldn't. For this action project, we had to create a survival manual for our careers. I want to be a surgeon so I created a survival manual that I can look back on to motivate myself when times get tough. I have always known I wanted to be a surgeon so this project was easy to start for me. This wasn't my favorite class I've ever taken, but I still enjoyed learning about other people's survival stories and thinking about my future as a surgeon. I hope you like my survival manual!

In conclusion, This wasn't my favorite project or class. I enjoyed the process though! I liked thinking about my future and planning for the next part of my life. I struggled with motivation for this project because it is one of my last APs and I was really not feeling up to still working this late in the year. In the end, I am happy with how this project came out. 

12 Hour Challenge: Building Stamina

This is the second unit of my Senior Humanities course Endurance. In this unit, Katabasis, we learned how to dive into our missions and plan them out. The word Katabasis means diving into the underworld. You have to learn how to persevere and adapt to a new and strange place. This is one of the fundamentals of Endurance. We did various activities and watched the documentary Maiden Trip. This documentary was about a 13-year-old Dutch girl who wanted to become the youngest person to sail around the world. The documentary follows her journey across the ocean in a series of video journals. Much like we had to do for this project. This second action project we had to devote 12 hours to something. I had a few ideas, but since we are all in quarantine and I can't skate and get my usual exercise, I decided to devote my time to fitness and more specifically, walking. I like walking and I do it with my parents a lot especially lately. I also wanted to connect it with my future in surgery where I will need to be able to stand and focus for long periods of time. I wanted to increase my walking stamina and I think I was successful! I totaled 8 entries with a total of 12 hours. I spent this entire time walking. Some days were better than others.  The weather cooperated for the most part except for one day when it was too warm for me. Other than that, I was able to avoid rain the entire time and didn't have to do any indoor exercising which was my back up plan. I still do exercise indoors, but not as a part of this project. For this project, I made vlogs before and after my walks talking about them and some connections. I also included my digital log where I kept track of my hours. Enjoy!

In conclusion, I think this was an interesting project. I would say that during this time of quarantine and COVID-19, I think we could have approached this project in a much different way. Instead of having students come up with their own 12-hour challenges, I think it would have been better for students to record and write about how they are enduring life right now. This whole situation is one big test of endurance for everyone. I think there was a missed opportunity during this time. I am happy with how my project came out. It was pretty straight forward and I enjoyed the process.

Enduring The Journey

It's officially the last term of my Senior year. In this final Humanities class called "Endurance," we've learned about examples of endurance and self-reflection. We explored the difference between physical and mental endurance. We also looked at different survival situations like Ernest Shackelton's journey to the Antarctic. We've also reflected on ourselves as individuals. We described ourselves and interviewed other people about us. The final part of our internal investigation was setting goals and aspirations for ourselves. This is what the action project was based on. For this action project, we had to imagine ourselves after we've achieved our goals and write the first chapter of our autobiography. For me, this was easier to imagine my goals because I know exactly what I want to do. It was harder to describe my start and what inspired me to want to be a surgeon. I made up some of the parts from the past because I genuinely never had a defining moment where I knew what I wanted to do. I just always knew. I also had to imagine what I thought my life would look like. This was kind of hard for me to describe. I have always known what I wanted but I had never actually played it out like this. I hope you enjoy my project.

In conclusion, I am happy with how this project turned out. It was hard to make the connections between the beginning and the end of my career. I had to take some creative liberties in describing those connections. It was especially hard making up my moment of inspiration or my call to adventure. I've known all my life what I want to do and I don't know why exactly. I am proud of my writing and I think I made good connections.

Lakeshore Lacquers Business Plan: Behind The Scenes

Our winter term Final Presentation plans are a little different this time. Usually, we conduct Final Presentations at the school as an open house where guests come and see our work from the term. Due to this unprecedented situation with the Corona Virus, we had to conduct our Final Presentations virtually. This presented some challenges, but we were able to come together to make a final presentation virtually. The theme of this Final Presentation was guiding questions. We use guiding questions to drive the work in a certain unit or class. We had to pick a guiding question and present how we either answered it or what it means to us. I chose the question "how do you make a business plan?" This was the guiding question for the second action project for my STEAM class Social Entrepreneurship & You. I chose this question because this was the work I was most proud of and enjoyed doing the most over this term. I walked through how I created my idea, business plan, elevator pitch, and business pitch. Enjoy my Final Presentation. 

 

In conclusion, I enjoyed making this project. I did not enjoy the format of doing this from afar. I liked talking more about my project and getting to describe my process. I would have liked to present this project in real life, but this is the next best thing. I would have liked to work more independently, but we had to work together to keep a sense of community during this time. In the end, I am happy that I was able to continue my work on this action project. 

Where is Equality Going?

This is the last unit of our winter senior humanities course Equality. In this unit, Herstory, we looked at what equality could be in the future. By investigating the history of equality, we were able to make assumptions on what equality would look like in the future. We read various articles about how inequality affects people today to get a better understanding of where we are coming from and where we need to go. We had a guest speaker from UIC come in and talk to us about how we see inequality in our lives. He talked to us about how our society still treats people like the school to prison pipeline, police brutality, and more. It was very interesting to hear about all of his experiences in life and what advice he gave us as young adults to navigate a world that looks down on young people and treats them like they are less. I really enjoyed listening to him. For our final Action Project, we had to imagine what equality would look like in the future. Our job was to think of an event that could happen in 100 years from now that would represent society moving forward. We had to write a newspaper article about it and then open a time capsule-like we were living 50 years after our fictional event happened. I chose the election of a physically disabled president. I hope you enjoy my project.

In conclusion, I didn't really like this project. I thought the newspaper part was interesting, but I think the rest was completely unnecessary. It felt forced and a little childish. I like the concept of the project, but I think it would be better suited as just a newspaper article or maybe an essay. Nevertheless, I am happy with how my project came out. I am proud of the visuals I did and the content.

Lakeshore Lacquers Business Plan

This is the second unit of our Senior STEAM class Social Entrepreneurship and You. In this unit, we learned all about businesses. In the first unit, we examined ourselves and others' behavior. In this unit, we looked at how to actually run a business. We looked at different legal structures, mission and vision statements, demographics and physiographic, and marketing. We also looked at business concepts like the Triple Bottom Line and the Hedgehog Concept. We examined different companies and how they use these tools in their businesses. We had a couple guests come in and speak to us about starting their own businesses. We had one man come in and talk to us about his small construction and handyman business. We also listened to a man who started a non-for-profit called Greenwood to help underprivileged students get internships and jobs in finance. We were able to learn about how businesses work and how they got started. For this action project, we had to create our own business plans. This rubric was a bit different as we were able to choose how many points we want. We had to create a product that helped a social cause and create a business plan. I decided to create a nail polish brand and donate a portion of the proceeds to help the Great Lakes. Enjoy my project.

In conclusion, I really liked this project. I have always wanted to create and design a nail polish line. I love how this turned out. I feel confident about all of my decisions and my marketing. I also love the logo I made. I did this project in a very busy time and I think I managed my time well. Maybe one day I will actually create my own nail polish brand.

9/11: An Educational Perspective

This is the first unit of Equality, our second Senior Humanities class. In this first unit called "History," we learned about inequality in history. Our main reading of the unit was Ta Nehisi Coates Case for Reparations. We explored different events in American history and looked at them from the perspective of race, gender, and class. Events like slavery, the civil rights movement, the suffragette movement were all key to look at in this unit. For a Field Experience this Unit, we went to the Gene Siskel Film Center to see the film, Harriet. We talked a lot about slavery in class and this movie directly related to what we were talking about. As a school, we went to the Goodman Theatre to see the play, Roe. This is about the Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade. This also tied into our studies of women's rights in class. For this action project, we had to look at a historical event from a marginalized perspective. I am interested in 9/11 so that is what I chose. I looked at 9/11 from the perspective of a Muslim American. We had to write a textbook article and include the perspective of a marginalized person. Enjoy my project.

In the end, I am proud of how this project came out. I really enjoyed the format and didn't find it too challenging. I am proud that I was able to get this done all out of class and mostly on my own. I liked making the educational devices and formatting the project. I would have liked to go into more detail on the people who actually experienced 9/11. Overall, I am very happy with how this project came out.

How Can We Be More Prepared?

This is the first unit of the second senior STEAM course, Social Entrepreneurship. In this class, we have talked about how people's minds and personalities affect businesses. We covered some psychological topics and took multiple personality tests to see who we are as people. We looked at different types of relationships and business culture. We learned how to set SMART goals and use a SWOT chart to think about a situation. We also learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. We explored how that relates to personality and businesses. We did complex number review for the math portion of this unit. For this project, we had to look at a certain aspect of the school and analyze it. I chose college prep as it is something that I feel needs to be changed at GCE. I hope that my ideas and opinions are considered because even if I don't benefit from it, I want future GCE students to have a better time than I did.

At GCE, the goal is to place students in college. GCE has a college counselor that guides students through the college application process. While students' goals are different, the common goal of the school is to place students into college. Not every student goes to college, but 100% of students are accepted into college.

I am a senior. I have been at GCE since I was a freshman. Currently, I am committed to Northern Michigan University. As a part of the school, I have been guided through the college process. According to the Meyers-Briggs test, I am an ISTJ. Throughout the college prep process, I have had strengths and weaknesses. One of my strengths was my logical thoughts and analysis. This was an advantage for me because I was able to see what I was being taught and what I wasn’t. This allowed me to advocate for myself, and also reach out to cover things that were not being covered in class. According to the DISC personality test, I am the most dominant and the least compliant. This was one of my weaknesses because I would get frustrated if I thought I was not learning or being taught everything I could be.

In my opinion, I think the college prep at GCE is lacking. According to the GCE website: “At GCE Lab School, we provide personalized, one-on-one support and counseling to build your post-secondary plans. Our graduates have 100% college acceptance and 80% of our graduates receive merit-based financial aid.” I am genuinely concerned that students are not learning at grade level, and that there is not enough rigor in the curriculum. As far as specific college prep, I think it is even more lacking. There is no standardized test prep and the curriculum does not reinforce many of the concepts covered on standardized tests. The average ACT score of GCE shows. I asked some seniors what they thought about the college prep. “I don’t feel prepared at all,” said one senior. “Academically college will be a lot harder than GCE and I know that for a fact. There will be labs and I have never taken a lab class.” When I was talking to this senior about standardized test prep, I told her that the average ACT score of GCE is a 22. “I am not surprised,” she said. “There is no test prep and you are on your own. I think if the school wants to improve that score, they need to incorporate a lot more standardized testing which I know is not the focus at a progressive school like this. At the end of the day, yes standardized tests don’t determine how smart you are but it’s a part of the college process. I wish I had known this before.” I have also experienced a lack of support in actually applying and choosing schools. I did everything alone. From looking at schools to applying, to deciding. When I did choose a school, I felt completely unsupported. Other students have also had this experience. “I have not gotten much support in terms of where I choose to go.” said another senior. Multiple students have felt pressure and judgment about their choice. I believe that if the school wants to be selective about what schools students enroll in, the college prep has to improve dramatically. This way there will be more options for students, especially more selective options.

I do think there are positive aspects of college prep at GCE. I asked one STEAM teacher about college prep. “Our focus is on 21st-century skills. How to research and how to tell if something is a good resource. We have been looking at presentations and technological integration.” The GCE curriculum does make students think more broadly about why they are learning something. “The grade shouldn’t matter,” said another teacher. The goal of GCE teaching is to prepare students for college in a different way. This is why in some areas, GCE prepares kids for college very well.

The commons is a common resource that is shared among the people of the community. The commons in college prep at GCE is our college counselor. We only have one counselor, and she has to be responsible for the entire student body’s college journey. Some students require more attention than others or want more guidance. Other students may want to do the process more independently. This means that there are limited resources from the counselor, but there are other staff and faculty that can support students.

I analyzed college prep at GCE using a SWOT chart. This chart measures strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

CM SWOT Chart. (2020)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a theory that tiers the 5 needs of a person. If one cannot be obtained, it is extremely difficult to achieve the one above it. I applied college prep at GCE to Maslow's Hierarchy. The bottom levels of Maslow’s hierarchy do not apply to college prep as nothing college prep related is a threat to your safety, nor will you die without them.  

CM "Maslow's Hierarchy" (2020)

I propose that GCE should institute mandatory test prep for all students. This would begin sophomore year, and continue throughout junior and part of senior year. This will bring up test scores overall and will allow students to apply and enroll in higher tiered schools. This will look very good for GCE and entice more students to enroll. The general content of the test prep classes also provides additional rigor and knowledge for students. There are no additional staff required and could be implemented as a period class, or a workshop.

I created a SMART goal for my proposal. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.

CM "SMART Goal" (2020)

My role is limited in this goal. I will graduate in 4 months and won’t be able to take advantage of the test prep. I can be an advocate for this class and I can try to lobby for staff to make this happen next school year. My goal is for future students of GCE to have a better and less stressful college prep experience than I did. I also want GCE to succeed. I think in order for GCE to grow, many steps need to be taken, only one of which is college prep. I hope that GCE can make a comfortable yet challenging college prep experience for all students in the future.

Works Cited:

“AMD Interview.” CM. Chicago. January 30, 2020.

“Anonymous Interview.” CM. Chicago. January 30, 2020.

“Anonymous Interview.” CM. Chicago. January 30, 2020

“DISC Personality Test.” 123 Test.com. December 14, 2018. Web. January 10, 2020

“DS Interview.” CM. Chicago. January 30, 2020.

“Our Approach” GCE Lab School.org. Web. February 1, 2020.

“Your Test Results.” 16 Personalities.com NERIS Analytics Limited. Web. January 8, 2020.

Images:

“College-Ready, Community-Minded.” GCE Lab School. GCE Lab School.org Web. February 1, 2020.

“Portrait of a Graduate” GCE Lab School. GCE Lab School.org. Web. February 1, 2020.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this project. I have a lot of strong feelings about GCE and I am happy I was able to make those feelings and ideas heard for an Action Project. I wish I had more time to do a bit more, but this is something I will be advocating for until I leave. I think GCE can do better and I would like to see that happen.