Royal National Park Environmental Education Centre
St6 Biology Modules 3 & 4
Rock Platform
Welcome
This site contains learning from home tasks for Year 11 Biology. There are activities for Module 3 - Biological Diversity and Module 4 - Ecosystem Dynamics. It combines activities that would usually be completed pre-excursion, on excursion and post-excursion.
The resources have been prepared by Department of Education teachers at the Royal National Park Environmental Education Centre.
This virtual experience can never replace real, hands-on fieldwork. We hope you can join us for fieldwork.
Introduction to rock platforms
Activity 1 - Rock platforms in Australia
Intertidal rocky shores are located all around Australia’s vast coastline and contain interesting areas for exploration and education. They provide habitat for a huge variety of plants and animals that are uniquely adapted to a harsh physical environment that includes strong wave action, fluctuating weather conditions and changes in the tide.
Each tiny crack or crevice can contain its own microhabitat. The full extent of the relationships that exist between all these organisms is still being explored.
Some of the main animal species include limpets, barnacles, periwinkles, cunjevoi and sea stars. Interesting plants include coralline algae, Neptune’s necklace, kelp, and sea lettuce.
Watch the video for an introduction to the rocky shores (rock platforms) of Australia.
Explore the 360 images to view the rock platform at Shelly Beach, Cronulla.
Examine the map of the study site at Shelly Beach rock platform, Cronulla.
Research and record features of rock platforms on the Eastern coast of Australia. A good place to start is the Department of Education's Intertidal rocky shores resource.
Write a report, make a slideshow or create a Google Site about rock platforms on the Eastern coast of Australia. Include:
a definition of a rock platform or rocky shore
a description of rock platforms on the Eastern coast of Australia
predictions about abiotic features, e.g. what do you expect the temperature, light and humidity to be like
a photo, diagram or satellite image of the rock platform at Shelly Beach, Cronulla
Activity 2 - Identifying species
Our excursions begin with time to explore the rock platform. Students look for interesting species, identify them and mark them off on the Rock Platform Guide.
Species of the rock platform
Explore the images of species at the rock platform. Match and tick off species on the Rock Platform Guide.
Rock Platform Guide 2023.pdf
Take the quiz. How many species can you identify correctly?