Biology - A Local Ecosystem

8.2 A Local Ecosystem

Ecosystems - Background Information Investigating Populations
Flow of Energy and Matter in an Ecosystem Relationships between Species
Trophic Interactions Species Adaptations
Human Impact on Ecosystems Virtual Field Trips and Reports as Models for Local Environment Investigations

Ecosystems - Background Information

Working Together for the Environment - from Environmental Trust and UniServe Science
http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/environet/

Preliminary course—A local ecosystem - from TAFE Learning Materials Production
http://www.lmpc.edu.au/c_linkList.php?KLA=Science&LEVEL=Stage%206%20Biology&CFRAME=A%20local%20ecosystem

Ecology Worksheets - from Queensland Science Teachers
http://qldscienceteachers.tripod.com/worksheets/biology/ecology/

Interactions in the environment - a 28 page pdf sourcebook module produced by Queensland Studies Authority
http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/syllabus/kla_sci_sbm_ll_402.pdf
Consequences of Interactions in the environment - a 42 page pdf sourcebook module produced by Queensland Studies Authority
http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/syllabus/kla_sci_sbm_ll_501.pdf
Case Studies - from Community Builders, NSW
http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/stories/

Coast and Marine Education - from Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia
http://www.denr.sa.gov.au/coasts/cmeducation.html

Coasts and Marine Schools Project - from Marine Education Society of Australasia
http://www.mesa.edu.au/cams/default.asp

Introduction to Global Change - from the University of Michigan, materials which are available from this site are available to instructors from other institutions free of charge, register and adhering to usgae guidelines is requested
Scroll down for the following topics: The Concept of an Ecosystem and The Flow of Energy: Primary Production and Higher Trophic Levels
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/

Population Growth and Balance - good background information and computer modelling application (Java)
http://arcytech.org/java/population/

Wetlands

Why Wetlands are Important - factsheet from Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority
2 page brochure

Wetlands management in NSW - from Natural Resources, NSW Government
http://www.dnr.nsw.gov.au/water/wetlands.shtml

Cook's Cove, Arncliffe - from Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority
Sydney Foreshores Page

Living Harbour - from Australian Museum
http://www.livingharbour.net/index.cfm

Sydney Park, St Peters - from City of Sydney
Sydney Park

Rivers and Wetlands - from Nature & Conservation Council of NSW
http://www.nccnsw.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=59&Itemid=556

Our Wetlands - NSW's secret nurseries - from Nature & Conservation Council of NSW
http://nccnsw.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1215&Itemid=556

Food Webs Secondary Activities - from Gould League
http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/foodwebs_s.htm

Wetlands - finally recognised as the 'good guys' but still under threat - from The National Trust
2 page pdf document

The World's Biomes - from Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/

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Investigating Populations

Population Dynamics

WebBeePop: A Honey Bee Population Dynamics Simulation Model - includes Sizing up the Population which covers Capture-tag-recapture, Quadrat method and Species area curves, from United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/beepop/

Sampling techniques to estimate the size of a population

Lecture 2. Estimation of population density and size - from Virginia Tech
http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/PopEcol/lec2/sampling.html

How many fish are in the Pond? - Classroom capture-recapture exercise in .pdf format, from Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education
http://www.rsscse.org.uk/ts/gtb/johnson3.pd

Capture-recapture lesson Plan - from NCTM, USA., includes activity Sheet
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=L721

Capture-recapture exercise - Lesson plan in in MS Word format from Minnesota State University
http://www.mnstate.edu/harms/Seeing/seeing/Capture-Recapture.doc

Intertidal Quadrat Studies - from Georgia Strait Alliance
http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/617

INVESTIGATIONS OF ECOSYSTEMS: The Transect as a Tool in Collaborative Learning - from Racerocks.com
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/transect/transect.htm

Ecological Sampling Methods from Offwell Woodland & Wildlfie Trust, UK.
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/biol_sampl_cont.htm

VEGETATION ANALYSIS FIELD LAB - from Washington University, 24 pages MS Word document
Detailed Instructions, with examples

Habitat Dynamics a class exercise from National Science Teachers Association, USA
http://www.nsta.org/publications/interactive/laptop/lessons/habitat.pdf

An On-line Rocky Intertidal Transect - from Connecticut State University
http://www.biology.ccsu.edu/penniman/Intertidal/MAIN.HTM

Transect Investigation - a practical activity from NOVA Online, PBS USA. 134 page resource book in .pdf format for marine science
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/madagascar/classroom/l3_intro.html

Simulations

Capture-Tag-Recapture - from United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/beepop/capture.html

Mark-Recapture Sampling - from Duke University
http://www.biology.duke.edu/cibl/exercises/mark_recapture.htm

Capture-Recapture teaching Unit - from Minnesota USA
http://www.mnstate.edu/harms/Seeing/seeing/Capture-Recapture.doc

Population Growth and Balance - good background information and computer modelling application (Java), from Arcytech
http://arcytech.org/java/population/

Examples

Amphibian Monitoring - from Cape Cod National Seashore
http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/monitor/protocols/caco_amphibians.pdf

The Great Australian Marsupial Nightstalk - an initiative of the Marsupial Cooperative Research Centre, Perth Zoo
http://www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/staticpages/nightstalk/index.html

Mangrove Ecosystem - from World Resources Institute, download pdf file of useful data from Hong Kong
Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

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Flow of Energy and Matter in an Ecosystem

Ecosystem Function; Organic Matter and Energy Flow - from Michigan Tech
http://forest.mtu.edu/classes/fw3020/ecofunct.htm

Carbon cycling and energy flow in ecosystems - good summary diagrams from Colorado State University
Energy flow

Ecosystem Productivity - from J Kimball's Biology Pages
http://www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/BiologyPages/N/NetProductivity.html

Trophic levels - from BioEd Online
Slide

Trophic Levels Image - from University of Michigan
Trophic levels in Arctic food web

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Relationships between Species

Interactions - including mututalism, allelopathy, mutualism and commensalism, from the Mangrove Virtual Field Trip developed by Jan West, OTEN
Interactions

Abiotic and Biotic factors - includes mututalism, allelopathy, mutualism and commensalism, from Eastern Connecticut State University
http://www.biology-online.org/6/3_abiotic_factors.htm

Biotic Interactions and the Distribution of Species - from Physical Geography Net
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9f.html

Symbiosis - Wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis

Symbiosis - from from J Kimball's Biology Pages
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/S/Symbiosis.html

Allelopathy

Back Off! How Plants Guard Their "Personal Space" with Poisons - plants practice Allelopathy, from Dragonfly at Miami University
http://www.muohio.edu/Dragonfly/itc/index.htmlx

Allelopathy in Trees - from The University of Georgia
http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/service/library/index.php3?docID=274
Allelopathy Research at the University of Savoie - including What is Allelopathy?
http://www.leca.univ-savoie.fr/tmp/Rech/Allelo/1st_en.html

Allelopathy - from Cornell University, includes theoretical introduction and laboratory work
http://csip.cornell.edu/Projects/CEIRP/AR/Allelopathy.htm

Parasitism

Insect Parasitic Nematodes - from Cooperative Extension, Colorado State University
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05573.html

Hydatids - when a dog is not man's best friend - NOVA, The Australian Academy of Science
http://www.science.org.au/nova/056/056key.htm

Commensalism

Commensalism - Good photographs and examples from Nearctica website
http://www.nearctica.com/ecology/pops/commens.htm

Predator/Prey populations
Natural Selection: Predator-Prey Interaction - a simulation from Fullerton College, California, download in pdf
http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/tmorris/Lab/lab_manual/predator_prey.pdf
Mathematical Modelling of Predator Prey Interactions - from Montana University
http://www.math.montana.edu/frankw/ccp/modeling/continuous/springmass/learn.htm

Introduction to the Predator Prey Problem - from Messiah College
http://home.messiah.edu/~deroos/CSC171/PredPrey/PPIntro.htm

Predator prey Simulation - classroom simulation which does not require a computer, from Access Excellence
http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEPC/WWC/1991/predator.html

WATOR - a simulation (Java Applet) of the predator-prey interaction between sharks and fish, scroll down for text material
http://www.mcrit.com/Complexity/applets/classes/Wator/wator.htm

Predator - Prey Applet - from Montana State University
http://www.math.montana.edu/frankw/ccp/modeling/continuous/springmass/appletonly.htm

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Trophic Interactions

Food Web in Caves - including a food web for a cave ecosystem. Print preview recommended
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rawhyte/schools/foodweb.html

Food Chains and Food Webs - from Queensland Science Teachers' Association
http://qldscienceteachers.tripod.com/junior/biology/foodchains.html

Creating a Visual Relationship of Organisms: Food Webs and Trophic Levels - from Access Excellence's Activities Exchange
http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/ATG/data/released/0313-GreenspanBradley/

ATLSS Across Trophic Level System Simulation - from University of Tennessee
http://atlss.org/

Insect Travel Brochure - from Insects in the Classroom: Bugs as teaching tools for all ages, Texas A&M University
http://iitc.tamu.edu/1998and2000/lessons/lesson18.html

The Wolf, the Moose, and the Fir Tree: Who Controls Whom on Isle Royal? A case study of trophic interactions - from Case Studies in Science, State University of New York at Buffalo together with Case Teaching Notes
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/Isle.html

Trophic Interactions in Estuarine Systems (TIES) - Scientists studying Chesapeake Bay, USA
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Task_rpts/1998/edybrandt09-2.html

Energy Flow in Ecosystems: Energy capture and use - from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/biogeography/biogeography_eco_energy.html

The Flow of Energy in Ecosystems - from University of Hamburg
http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e54/54c.htm

The Food Chain Game - for a wetland environment, from Why Wetlands, KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section5/5-06.htm

Mangroves - more than mud and mozzies! - from Environment Protection Agency, Queensland, explore other ecosystems
Mangroves and Wetlands

Fire Ecology of Australian Eucalypts - paper from Iowa State University
Article

Fire ecology in Tasmania
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/fire/fire_ecology_management/index.html

Life and Adaptations to Water - from South Australian Museum
http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/water/riteframe.htm

VEGETATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS - from the Australian Alps Liaison Committee
http://www.australianalps.deh.gov.au/publications/edukit/veg.html

FAUNA OF THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS - from the Australian Alps Liaison Committee
http://www.australianalps.deh.gov.au/publications/edukit/fauna.html

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Human Impact on Ecosystems

Human Impact on Ecosystems - a suggested investigation available in pdf from Black Gold Schools, Canada
http://www.blackgold.ab.ca/microtest/Science20Labs/human_impact2.pdf

Population and environment - from NOVA, Australian Academy of Science
http://www.science.org.au/nova/087/087key.htm

Interrelationships - covers human impact on environment, from Oswego School District
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/biology/units/humanimpact/interrelationships.cfm

HUMAN IMPACT ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT - from Regents Prep. A small web site summarising the topic.
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/biology/units/humanimpact/index.cfm

Biodiversity Management Issues Brochures - 10 pdf brochures which address issues related to major biodiversity management issues for rivers and streams, from Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria
http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dse/nrenpa.nsf/FID/-042AB8B88FC3FE6F4A256AB90008AAAA?OpenDocument

REIMBURSING THE FUTURE: An evaluation of motivational, voluntary, price-based, property-right, and regulatory incentives for the conservation of biodiversity - from Department of the Environment and Heritage
http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/series/paper9/

Wingecarribee: the Collapse of the Wingecarribee Wetlands - from Robertson Environment Protection Society
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/wingecarribee/
also at
http://homepage.mac.com/herinst/wingecarribee/home.html

Wingecarribee Swamp Coordinates for use in Google Earth: Latitude 34�33'23.02"S, longitude 150�30'13.17"E

Wetlands publications - from Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, newsletter, interactives, brochures and case studies
http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/environmental/wetlands/
Exploring Our Wetlands - from Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/environmental/wetlands/explore/index.html

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Virtual field trips as models for local environment investigations

Two Queensland Sites for Collaborative Field trips for Schools
Virtual Field Trips Website - from Oz teacher-Net Projects
Virtual Field trips

Virtual Field Trips - from The Learning Place, Education Queensland
Virtual Fields Trips

Current VFT's
Current pages

Ready-to-use Field trips
Australian Alps Education Kit - produced by the Australian Alps Liaison Committee as part of its program to increase awareness of the Alps. Topics include Geology and Geomorphology, Soils, Vegetation and Fauna of the Australian Alps
http://www.australianalps.deh.gov.au/publications/edukit/

Towra Point Mangrove Excursion - from the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney
http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/Mangroves/

Ecosystem at Risk Virtual Fieldtrip - Minnamurra Rainforest, from HSC Online, Charles Sturt University
http://hsc.csu.edu.au/geography/ecosystems/case_studies/mmfweb/

Vegetation of Mt Field National Park and the South-West Tasmania Wilderness Area- from University of Tasmania
http://www.utas.edu.au/docs/plant_science/field_botany/index.html

Virtual Mangrove Field Trip - created by Jane West (OTEN) and available from the LMP Science Online web site
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~janewest000/Mangrove/
Additional Mangrove Information
Mangroves in India - from Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre, Mumbai
http://www.mangroves.godrej.com/

Plant Collecting in Western New South Wales - a virtual field trip from the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research
http://www.anbg.gov.au/projects/field-trips/western-NSW/western-NSW.html

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For further information contact
Kaye Placing

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Page Maintained By: BioSciCH@mail.usyd.edu.au
Last Update: Friday, 06-Jun-2008 16:37:29 EST
URL: http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/curric/stage6/biol/localbio.html

Ecosystems - Background Information	Investigating Populations
Flow of Energy and Matter in an Ecosystem	Relationships between Species
Trophic Interactions	Species Adaptations
Human Impact on Ecosystems	Virtual Field Trips and Reports as Models for Local Environment Investigations