STUDY BACKGROUND AND

TASKS FOR DSG R10811

Prepared by Mar Valls, Naturkunskap handledare for
DSG R10811
Based on the task instructions
from the school Natuskunskap ledare
Octiber 2008

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO

STUDY?
RESOURCES BACKGROUND:
different environments (abiotic & biotic factors)
different resources
different adaptations
different scenarios

RESOURCES BACKGROUND
Human is 100 % dependent upon natural resources ! Where do these
resources come from?
1.
2.

WATER (SEA/CONTINENTAL WATER)

LAND

RESOURCES BACKGROUND
1. WATER (SEA/CONTINENTAL WATER): FISHING
PRODUCTION
Different scenarios for fish production depending on the sources of
nutrition for phytoplankton growth:
A. Sea
Both Morocco and Cape Verde have lot of fish, WHY AND WHERE
DOES THIS FISH COME FROM? WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES IN
THE ORIGIN OF NUTRIENTS BETWEEN BOTH PLACES?
Upwelling (deep nutrient rich waters):

Wind driven or
threshold upwelling
(Coriolis force)
Divergence upwelling

B. Continental waters
Rivers/run-off (from land): Surinam
Estuarine circulation (tidal circulation feeds surface water with
deep water): Paramaribo

RESOURCES BACKGROUND
2. LAND/SOILD: FARMING, AGRICULTURE

9Different vegetation in similar latitudes,

why?
9Different landscapes: the kind of soil and
the climatic conditions may explain these
differences. what is the soil made of?
9Is there any agriculture? Any farming?
Which kind?

HOW CAN WE ANSWER THESE

QUESTIONS?
1. SEA/CONTINENTAL WATER: FISHING PRODUCTION
Sampling macrofauna: FISH MARKETS
9 Are there a lot of species or only a few dominant? Which species?
9 Economy impact of having one more abundant species
9 What species are more bought?
Ask to the fishermen, they can tell you a lot about all this.

Sampling the sea water: PHYTOPLANCTON NET: look at the differences

of phytoplankton concentration in different places (coastal waters to oceanic
waters)
2. LAND/SOILD: FARMING, AGRICULTURE
Smell the soil
Take pictures
Observe: kind of vegetation (modified or natural?), how does the people
live, which means do they use in the agriculture
Asking the guides and the people

HOW ARE WE GOING TO

WORK?
LAND BASED RESEARCH: at port
FIELD BASED RESEARCH: at sea

LAND BASED RESEARCH: ports

of visit
RESEARCH: In each port, all students will investigate
about the nature in the area, following the instructions
given in the NATUR protokoll and trying to answer the
questions (observing, asking to the people, looking,
smelling, listening..)
RESULTS PRESENTATION: After each port, 3 students
from each watch will prepare a power point (15-20 slides)
showing their own findings and trying to answer the
questions related to the port. IN ENGLISH, BETTER WITH
PICTURES!
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: One lesson onboard
after each port of visit, with the presentation mentioned
above and discussion between all. Conclusions. INPUTS
FROM OTHER STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED!

PLANKTON AND WATER

SAMPLING
Every week, 2 students will be responsible for:
9Fishing with the plankton net once a week (day to
be decided by the officer on watch depending on
the weather and sea conditions). Maybe we
sample water
9Taking the data related to the sampling (date, time,
ships speed, start and end position, duration of the
sampling, depth calculation, water temperature,
weather conditions, etc.)
9Take a picture of the sample
9Look at the sample in the microscope and describe
it or conserve the sample for observing lateron

Calculating the real depth of sampling

X'

Z'
Y'

Z
Y

sin =Z'/Y';
=arcsin(Z'/Y')
Z=Y*sin