Week 2
Can ecosystems adapt to saltier environments?
Embedded Files
Learning intentions
Learning intentions
To understand how organisms adapt to their environments in order to thrive and propagate successfully
To investigate the ecological consequences of salt accumulation in the Murray Darling basin.
success criteria
success criteria
I can identify structural, behavioural and functional/physiological adaptations of organisms.
I can explain why increasing salinity in inland rivers causes a problem, and explain, using osmosis, why this causes problems for organisms not adapted to salty environments.
Tasks
Tasks
Knowledge & understanding
Adaptations & Survival worksheet in Google Classrooms
Salinity in the Murray-Darling Basin in Google Classrooms
Literacy & research
Background research on seed germination
Knowledge and understanding
What is a habitat?
What is a habitat?
When we consider life on Earth we notice that different regions contain unique plants and animals that are adapted to local conditions. Scientists have attempted to group these regions into categories called habitats.
Habitats are environments that support plant and animal life. Any place that supports life can be thought of as a habitat. Scientists have attempted to create categories based on the kinds of organisms we find in areas with similar conditions like climate and availability of resources. We can identify eight major habitats: Polar, Tundra, Evergreen Forests, Seasonal Forests, Grasslands, Deserts, Rainforests, and Oceans. These are global habitats that cover vast areas of the Earth. Of course there are habitats that exist at a smaller scale, like regional, local or micro scale habitats.
How do organisms survive in such different habitats?
How do organisms survive in such different habitats?
Remember last term when we defined a food web? A food web is a detailed description of the species within a ecological community and their relationships with each other; it shows how energy is transferred up food chains that are interlinked with other food chains.
An ecological community is only populated by organisms that are adapted to survive there.
adaptations
adaptations
Adaptations are special features or behaviours that make an organism particularly suited to its environment. They are part of the evolutionary process. Adaptations increase an organism’s chance of survival and so increase its chance of reproducing.
Adaptions may enable an organisms to live in environments with extreme abiotic characteristics e.g. cold or hot, or to enable it to find food, or escape being eaten.
Below is the image of an organism that lives in an extreme environment. How do the characteristics or adaptations of this organism help it to survive?
There are three different types of adaptations:
Behavioural - responses made by an organism that help it to survive/reproduce
Physiological - a body process that helps an organism to survive/reproduce
Structural - a feature of an organism’s body that helps it to survive/reproduce
In groups of two or three, choose an animal and fill out the page below - one has been done for you as an example.
task 1
task 1
Complete the Adaptations & Survival worksheet on Google Classrooms
can an organism choose to adapt? How do adaptations occur?
can an organism choose to adapt? How do adaptations occur?
Think it through
Think it through
Do you think organisms choose to adapt?
Can an organism adapt over one lifetime?
What happens to a organism or species if it doesn't adapt?
Natural selection: The Rock Pocket Mouse
Natural selection: The Rock Pocket Mouse
An example of recent adaptations forming over a short period of time is the story of the Rock Pocket Mouse found in the American Southwest desert. This species is normally sand-coloured, camouflaging with their dry, rocky habitat. However, lava flows from a volcanic eruption changed the colour of the earth to a dark brown. In these areas, sandy coloured mice stood out, allowing predators such as owls, snakes and coyotes to find and hunt them much easier. Through genetic variation, some mice are born with darker fur. Sandy coloured mice were preyed on more than darker coloured mice who had a greater chance of survival and reproduction. This led to the population being now mostly brown, matching the volcanic dark earth.
salt as a pollutant - can organisms adapt to saltier environments?
salt as a pollutant - can organisms adapt to saltier environments?
Salinity in Australia is a major pollutant, particularly in the Murry-Darling Basin. Could the organisms simply adapt to a saltier environment?
An introduction to salinity, why it's important and how diffusion and osmosis help organisms survive in aquatic ecosystems.
Why salt is a problem in the Murray-Darling Basin
Why salt is a problem in the Murray-Darling Basin
task 2 Complete the worksheet on Salinity in Google Classrooms
task 2 Complete the worksheet on Salinity in Google Classrooms
Literacy & research
task 3 background research on seed germination
task 3 background research on seed germination
In preparation for the summative practical assessment on seed germination in salty water, describe the science behind germination, in about 250 words using the web page to the right. Ensure you answer the following questions:
What is the purpose of seed germination?
What is the process of seed germination?
What are the conditions necessary for germination?
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