Preliminary Biology 2012

1. Preliminary Biology 2012 Teacher: Mr Fellows Modules: Local Ecosystems (20 hours) Patterns in Nature (40 hours) Life on Earth (30 hours) Evolution of Australian Biota (30 hours)

2. Aim of Stage 6 Biology To provide learning experiences through which students will: • acquire knowledge and understanding about fundamental concepts related to living things and their environments, the historical development of these concepts and their application to personal, social, economic, technological and environmental situations

3. Aim of Stage 6 biology continued • progress from the consideration of specific data and knowledge to the understanding of models and concepts and the explanation of generalised biology terms, from the collection and organisation of information to problem-solving, and from the use of simple communication skills to those which are more sophisticated

4. Aim of Stage 6 biology continued • develop positive attitudes towards the study of living things, the environment and the opinions held by others, recognising the importance of evidence and the use of critical evaluation of different scientific opinions related to various aspects of biology.

5. more information • For more information about Biology please visit the Board of Studies website: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/biology.html

6. Populations and communitiesTopic 1: Biotic and Abiotic Features Part of the Local Ecosystems Module Spotlight Biology Preliminary Text Chapter 3 Authors: D. Heffernan, J. Bastina, B. Grieve, K. Humphreys, A. Sartor Science Press 2002

7. Outcomes: By the end of this Module you should be able to: • Describe and compare the differences between abiotic and biotic characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial environments • Explain how the distribution, diversity and numbers of plants and animals found in ecosystems are determined by biotic and abiotic factors • Explain how each local aquatic or terrestrial ecosystem is unique

8. Outcomes continued • Identify the factors determining the distribution and abundance of a species in each environment • Recall some impacts of human activities on ecosystems • Describe strategies used to conserve, maintain and protect the quality of the environment • Identify and describe in detail adaptations of a plant and an animal to the local ecosystem

9. Outcomes continued You should also be able to: • Plot a vegetation transect • Estimate the size of populations by using random quadrate and capture-recapture methods • Measure abiotic variables in an ecosystem being studied • Plot the distribution of plant and animal species whose abundance has been estimated • Undertake a field study of a local terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem

10. Biotic and Abiotic Features Understanding why certain animals like living in a particular environment is more important today than ever before. Humans are constantly interacting with the environment and causing changes to ecosystems. caravanandcampingnsw.com.au

11. Biotic and Abiotic Features We need to predict which systems will benefit from human intervention, which will tolerate our influence and which will be damaged if we disturb them. We also need to understand the links and relationships between ecosystems. illawarramercury.com.au

12. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features Biosphere is a word used to describe the regions of Earth’s surface where organisms can survive. This includes air, water and land. earth.com

13. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features Within the biosphere, a community is a group of plants, animals and microbes that live together in a given area called a habitat. animalsandhabitats.wordpress.com

14. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features The word ecosystem is short for an ‘ecological system’ and includes all the organisms within a community and their environment. The environment refers to all the conditions surrounding an organism. householdoffaith.com.au

15. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features There are two different parts to the environment: -Living: Biotic ‘biological’ -Non-living: Abiotic ‘physical’ saarc-sadkn.org

16. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features The Abiotic environment includes all of the conditions created by non-living components of an organisms surrounding. -Sunlight, heat, moisture, wind and water currents, size of rocks or sand grains. flickr.com

17. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features The Biotic environment consists of all the living organisms in a habitat. -The species that may be food, parasites, predators, competitors or any other living organism. http://babyanimalzoo.com/tag/grizzly-bears

18. Environments-Abiotic and Biotic Features We will regularly compare the biotic and abiotic characteristics of different aquatic and terrestrial environments however it’s sometimes difficult to separate the two. Consider an earthworm living in the soil… en.wikipedia.org

19. Habitat: Where an organism lives The physical location that surrounds an organism is its habitat. This is where an organism lives. Within every habitat are microhabitatsthat are not always obvious. Each microhabitat has it’s own temperature, humidity, wind speed ect. These can be referred to as a microclimate. en.wikipedia.org

20. Habitat: Where an organism lives Consider newly germinating seeds, small insects or bacteria living under the bark of a gum tree. All that matters are the amounts of light, nutrients, temperature and moisture available within a few millimetres of their location. blog.nus.edu.sg

21. Adaptations An adaptation is any internal body process of cells or tissues, physical feature or pattern of behaviour in a living thing that makes it better able to survive and reproduce in its environment. gracefreakdan.wordpress.com

22. Adaptations If you look along the rocks of our coastline, to some they may appear lifeless. However you may notice little limpets that cling tightly to the rocks and are not washed off by waves. They can also survive out of the water when it’s hot and dry. They have adapted to these conditions. theseashore.org.uk

23. Adaptations Just because a plant or animal is found in a location does not mean is has any special adaptations to that environment. If we consider saltbush, it will grow in your well watered garden at home. However it has no special adaptations to that environment. It would actually be displaced by other plants in the garden without human help. hollenback.pbworks.com

24. Adaptations It normally grows on the dry saline plains of NSW. It’s well adapted to a dry and salty environment and thrives on the western plains because it is one of the few plants that can grow there. graemechapman.com.au

25. Homework • At the conclusion of most lessons you will be given a task. This will often be a few short answer questions linking directly to the outcomes of the course. Answer these questions in your notebook and be prepared to discuss next lesson. I will be noting whether or not you have attempted these. (see example next slide)

26. Notebook scaffold Module Heading Topic Heading • Question…. • Question…. Example: Local Ecosystems Biotic and Abiotic Features • Identify the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the lives of limpets on a rock platform. -Answer………………………………………

27. Homework • Identify the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the lives of limpets on a rock platform. • Contrast an environment with a habitat • Compare the features of a habitat with a microhabitat.