Biodiversity & Engineering Solutions

Estimated Time

60 - 90 minutes

Materials

Access to the Human Impact & Biodiversity Solutions Simulation
Computer or tablet with internet access
Student data table (provided below)

Overview

In this task, you will explore how human activities (urbanization, agricultural runoff, and the introduction of invasive species) impact a local ecosystem’s biodiversity. You will act as city planners, using a computational model to design, evaluate, and refine engineering solutions to mitigate these impacts. Your goal is to maximize biodiversity while staying within a strict budget of $10.0M.

1. Engage: The Problem of Human Impact

As human populations grow, local ecosystems often suffer. In our simulation, the ecosystem begins as a “Pristine Wilderness” with a Biodiversity Index of 100/100.

Open the simulation and locate the Human Activities panel on the left.
Slowly increase the Urbanization & Deforestation slider to 80%. Observe the changes on the ecosystem canvas.
What happens to the native trees (dark green) and the land color? _____
Click Reset Scenario. Now increase the Agricultural Runoff (Pollution) slider to 90%. How does the river change? _____
Click Reset Scenario. Finally, increase the Invasive Species Intro slider to 70%. What new elements appear on the canvas? _____

2. Explore: Testing Engineering Solutions

You have a city budget of $10.0M to implement engineering solutions to protect the ecosystem.

Click Reset Scenario and then click the Simulate 50 Years Growth button. This sets your human impacts to severe levels (Urbanization 80%, Pollution 90%, Invasive 70%).
Notice your Biodiversity Index has crashed and the status is “Low Biodiversity (Collapsing)”.
Let’s test the solutions. You have three options:
- Wildlife Corridors / Protected Parks (Mitigates Urbanization; Cost: $2M per level)
- Water Treatment Facilities (Mitigates Pollution; Cost: $1.5M per level)
- Invasive Eradication Program (Mitigates Invasives; Cost: $1M per level)

Test each solution individually (make sure to reset the others to Level 0) to determine which one improves the Biodiversity Index the most when human impacts are maximized.

Solution Tested (Level 3)	Total Cost	Biodiversity Index Score	Ecosystem Status
Wildlife Corridors	$6.0M
Water Treatment	$4.5M
Invasive Eradication	$3.0M

Which single solution had the biggest positive impact on biodiversity? Why do you think that is based on the simulation’s visual model? _____

3. Explain: Tradeoffs and Constraints

Engineering solutions are rarely perfect; they require tradeoffs.

Try to set all three solutions to their maximum level (Level 5). What happens to your remaining budget? _____
Can you afford to maximize all protections? Why must cities prioritize certain environmental solutions over others? _____

4. Elaborate: Design Your City’s Action Plan

Your task is to design an optimized action plan. With the Human Activities set to their maximum (Urbanization 80%, Pollution 90%, Invasive 70%), find the combination of solutions that provides the highest possible Biodiversity Index without exceeding your $10.0M budget.

Record your best three attempts in the table below:

Attempt	Parks Level ($2M/Lvl)	Water Level ($1.5M/Lvl)	Eradication Level ($1M/Lvl)	Total Cost	Final Biodiversity Index
1
2
3 (Best)

5. Evaluate: Final Proposal Deliverable

Based on your Best Attempt above, write a formal proposal to the City Council. Your proposal must include:

Your Final Design: The levels you chose for Parks, Water Treatment, and Eradication, and the total cost.
Evidence of Success: The final Biodiversity Index score achieved by your plan.
Tradeoffs: Explain what negative impacts you had to accept because you could not afford to fix everything.
Conclusion: Why is this specific combination the most reliable and effective solution for the city?

Extension Options

Local Research: Identify one major source of agricultural runoff or urbanization in your local county. What engineering solutions are currently being used or proposed to mitigate it?
Budget Cuts: Imagine the city faces an economic downturn and your budget is cut to $6.0M. Recalculate your optimal strategy. How drastically does the Biodiversity Index drop?

Teacher Notes & NGSS Alignment

### NGSS Performance Expectation **HS-LS2-7:** Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity. ### Alignment to Dimensions * **Science and Engineering Practice (SEP): Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions.** Students use the simulation as a computational model to test and iteratively refine an engineering solution to a complex, real-world problem (biodiversity loss). * **Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI): LS2.C & LS4.D & ETS1.B.** Students witness how anthropogenic changes (urbanization, pollution, invasives) disrupt an ecosystem. They evaluate solutions by taking into account constraints (cost) and environmental impacts. * **Crosscutting Concept (CCC): Stability and Change.** Students analyze how their engineered interventions can return a collapsing ecosystem to a state of relative stability. ### Evidence Statements Addressed 1. **Using scientific knowledge to generate the design solution:** Students design a solution involving reducing negative effects of urbanization, pollution, and invasive species using scientific variables. 2. **Describing criteria and constraints:** Students quantify their constraints by working within the strict \$10.0M budget. 3. **Evaluating potential solutions:** Students test individual solutions and evaluate their comparative cost and environmental impact (Section 2 & 3). 4. **Refining and/or optimizing the design solution:** Students iteratively test combinations of solutions to find the optimal balance of biodiversity preservation and cost efficiency (Section 4 & 5).