Marine Ecosystems

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Continuing their excellent series based on the National Science Education Standards (now complete at 162 volumes in the Schlessinger Science Library), Marine Ecosystems, one of eight titles in the Biomes of the World series, introduces viewers to the oceans of the world, covering essential concepts such as salinity, currents, and life zones, as well as exploring shoreline and coral reef ecosystems. Employing beautiful film footage and video to illustrate various points, the program also incorporates a classroom experiment demonstrating how brine shrimp have adapted to changes in salt concentration, and a field trip to Chesapeake Bay to examine the life cycle of the blue crab. With the exception of hardly touching on the matter of environmental destruction (“sadly, even small changes in temperature and chemical composition of the water can create problems for these beautiful but threatened ecosystems”), this tape covers a lot of ground---um, leagues--in its classroom-friendly running time and is highly recommended. The other titles in the series are: Coniferous Forests, Deciduous Forests, Deserts, Freshwater Ecosystems, Grasslands, Rainforest Biomes and Tundra.

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Gr 5-8-These videos cover the main biomes of the world. Coniferous Forests looks at the evergreen trees, which are the dominant plants of this biome. Many other plants and animals are also shown. In Deciduous Forests, the most notable feature is the changing leaf colors. The different layers of this biome are shown, along with the reduction of the size of these forests. Deserts cover about 20% of the world's land surface. The video provides a good explanation of what constitutes a desert, and shows how plants and animals are adapted to live there. Freshwater Ecosystems features ponds, lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Grasslands explains how this biome has been reduced from 42% to 12% of the world's land surface. Most of our food and clothing is grown in this biome. The Marine Ecosystems biome accounts for 97% of Earth's water. The four types of marine environments are shown in detail, including seashores, coral reefs, open oceans, and estuaries. Rainforest Biomes features the diversity of plant and animal life found there, and shows and describes the four main layers. Tundra looks at the two main types arctic and alpine. The severe weather conditions are examined. Lichens, the dominant life form, are shown. The series presents a good geographical description of each biome and examines abiotic and biotic factors. The pace of the videos will hold student attention. Male and female narrators have clear and distinct voices. The videos show a diversity of racial and cultural backgrounds, and women are shown in non-traditional roles. The material is accurate and current, and presented in a logical manner. The visuals are excellent. Each video contains classroom experiments that can be done by students. This series could be used to introduce or wrap-up a unit on biomes. Social studies teachers will also find much of the information pertinent. This series will be a great addition to school library collections.

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal. Used with permission.

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