Instructions

1) Tell students that they will be investigating where invasive species originally come from and what habitats they can invade once they get to Maui. Students can work individually or in groups.

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2) Assign students one or more of the species listed in Teacher Background “Exercise 1: Where Did They Come From?” Allow them access to library materials, the Internet, and flyers circulated by various natural resource agencies, such as the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, and Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Note: If you want to simplify this activity, assign only the seven species highlighted on “Exercise 1: Where Did They Come From?” Flyers describing these species are included in the student pages.

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3) Tell students to find the natural ranges of the assigned species, based on elevation and rainfall. Have them illustrate each species on a card, list its scientific and common names, where it came from, its preferred climate, and elevation. (These cards are used to play a game: Invasive Species Module Unit 1 Act #5 “Invasive Species Jeopardy.”)

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4) Assign Student Page “Exercise 1: Where Did They Come From?” Discuss the answers in class.

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5) Assign Student Pages “Exercise 2: Where Can They Invade?”

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6) Allow students time to complete their cards. Project Acetate Masters “Maui Hillshade” “Maui Elevation” and “Maui Rainfall” on a chalk or dry erase board. Indicate which side of each island is leeward and which is windward. Have students read the descriptions of each ecosystem aloud.

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7) When students have completed their cards, let them present their species to the class, and then affix the cards to the appropriate place on the map of Maui.

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8) Discuss how Maui might change if these species were to dominate the ecosystems they are capable of invading. Remind students that what happens at the top of the mountain continues all the way down, affecting each of the lower ecosystems. For instance, a miconia invasion in the rain forest increases erosion, which could smother coral reefs in sediment.

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9) To expand this lesson, you can discuss the origin of native Hawaiian species. See Teacher Background “What About the Natives?”