MARE's Build a Fish

In this interactive activity, you must build a fish whose adaptations make it suited to its ocean environment. First choose from a selection of six ocean habitats, then select body parts and coloration that you think are suited to that environment. You should continue to check your selections to see how well you did; if your selections are too incompatible with the habitat, your fish will not survive. After this, you can change some of your selections to try to improve the survival of your fish.

For Educators

This resource can be used to complement instruction on ocean habitats as well as a general lesson on adaptations. Make sure that students see that there are a variety of fish that can survive in each habitat, but that some combinations (of body parts, coloration, etc.) are better than others. This interactive is most appropriate for grade levels 3-5 and 6-8. Younger students may wish to take advantage of the “Who Lives Here?” link that provides an example of an actual fish that lives in a particular habitat.

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MARE's Build a Fish

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