Activity 1: reconstructing the past VCE key Interdependencies between species as represented by food webs, including knowledge impact of changes to keystone species VCE key Access secondary data, including data sourced through the internet that would science otherwise be difficult to source as raw or primary data skills Learning Construct food webs and food pyramids as ways to represent relationships in an outcomes ecosystem Describe how energy flows through an ecosystem and is represented by trophic levels Identify and describe a range symbiotic and predatory relationships between species Duration 90-120 minutes Students are introduced to the arid zone by constructing a food web and pyramid to represent the pre-European ecosystem. Students learn that ecosystems can be represented in different ways, and that there are different kinds of relationships between species, including a variety of symbiotic relationships and predation. Using a food pyramid model as well as a food web model illustrates the approximate ratios of species in different trophic levels. A lot of the key content is covered in this lesson, and the amount of time needed will depend on student prior familiarity with these concepts. Students will encounter a lot of key terms in this activity and should ensure they have clear definitions written in their notes. These terms are highlighted in bold where they are introduced in the activity and should be defined at that point. Although there are a lot in this activity, many will probably be familiar to students. Ecosystem: a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting in a system Arid: a region that is characterized by a severe lack of water, hindering the growth of plant and animal life Biotic: a living component of an ecosystem Abiotic: a non-living component of an ecosystem (such as water, air, minerals, temperature, sunlight) Food web: a representation of feeding relationships within a community Producers: species that make their own food and do not depend on another organism for nutrition (like most plants) Consumers: species that consume other organisms for nutrition and energy needs. There are usually several levels of consumers from primary consumers that eat producers (herbivores), through to predators that eat other animals (carnivores) Decomposers: species of fungi and bacteria that turn organic waste like dead plants into nutrients in the soil that can be used again by producers Trophic levels: a series of levels in food web where each member of the same level has a similar function and the same food relationships to other trophic levels
Activity 1: reconstructing the past VCE key knowledge Interdependencies between species as represented by food webs, including impact of changes to keystone species VCE key science skills Access secondary data, including data sourced through the internet that would otherwise be difficult to source as raw or primary data Learning outcomes Construct food webs and food pyramids as ways to represent relationships in an ecosystem Describe how energy flows through an ecosystem and is represented by trophic levels Identify and describe a range symbiotic and predatory relationships between species Duration 90-120 minutes Students are introduced to the arid zone by constructing a food web and pyramid to represent the pre-European ecosystem. Students learn that ecosystems can be represented in different ways, and that there are different kinds of relationships between species, including a variety of symbiotic relationships and predation. Using a food pyramid model as well as a food web model illustrates the approximate ratios of species in different trophic levels. A lot of the key content is covered in this lesson, and the amount of time needed will depend on student prior familiarity with these concepts. Students will encounter a lot of key terms in this activity and should ensure they have clear definitions written in their notes. These terms are highlighted in bold where they are introduced in the activity and should be defined at that point. Although there are a lot in this activity, many will probably be familiar to students. Ecosystem: a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting in a system Arid: a region that is characterized by a severe lack of water, hindering the growth of plant and animal life Biotic: a living component of an ecosystem Abiotic: a non-living component of an ecosystem (such as water, air, minerals, temperature, sunlight) Food web: a representation of feeding relationships within a community Producers: species that make their own food and do not depend on another organism for nutrition (like most plants) Consumers: species that consume other organisms for nutrition and energy needs. There are usually several levels of consumers from primary consumers that eat producers (herbivores), through to predators that eat other animals (carnivores) Decomposers: species of fungi and bacteria that turn organic waste like dead plants into nutrients in the soil that can be used again by producers Trophic levels: a series of levels in food web where each member of the same level has a similar function and the same food relationships to other trophic levels
Activity-1-teacher-notes-v2.docx