Save the Seas!

Today in my environmental science class we read an article from sciencedaily.com entitled " 'Deep-sea Species' Loss Could Lead to Oceans' Collapse, Study Says." (In other words, "Save the Seas!") I chose it because it served as a good example of how the level of biodiversity in an ecosystem affects the rest of the world. In this case, the amount of species diversity on the ocean floor has a great impact on the biogeochemical cycles and the overall health of the ocean environment. A student of mine was particularly skeptical of the importance attributed to the nematode. One thing I found was that reading a few paragraphs and then "translating" some of the science-heavy terminology was helpful for them, as the writing style was somewhat advanced. In any case, I hope I made it somewhat accessible.