Module 3 - Biological Diversity

Effects of Environment on Organisms

Inquiry question: How do environmental pressures promote a change in species diversity and abundance?

• Predict the effects of selection pressures on organisms in ecosystems, including:

  • Biotic factors

  • Abiotic factors

• investigate changes in a population of organisms due to selection pressures over time, for example:

  • Cane toads in Australia

  • Prickly pear distribution in Australia

Adaptations

Inquiry question: How do adaptations increase the organism's ability to survive?

• Conduct practical investigations, individually or in teams, or use secondary sources to examine the adaptations of organisms that increase their ability to survive in their environment, including:

  • Structural adaptations

  • Physiological adaptations

  • Behavioural adaptations

• Investigate, through secondary sources, the observations and collection of data that were obtained by Charles Darwin to support the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, for example:

  • Finches of the Galapagos Islands

  • Australian flora and fauna

Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Inquiry question: What is the relationship between evolution and biodiversity?

• Explain biological diversity in terms of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by examining the changes in and diversification of life since it first appeared on the Earth

• Analyse how an accumulation of microevolutionary changes can drive evolutionary changes and speciation over time, for example:

  • Evolution of the horse

  • Evolution of the platypus

• Explain, using examples, how Darwin and Wallace's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection accounts for:

  • Convergent evolution

  • Divergent evolution

• Explain how punctuated equilibrium is different from the gradual process of natural selection

Evolution - the Evidence

Inquiry question: What is the evidence that supports the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

• Investigate, using secondary sources, evidence in support of Darwin and Wallace's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, including but not limited to:

  • Biochemical evidence, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and biogeography

  • Techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced

• Explain modern-day examples that demonstrate evolutionary change, for example:

  • The Cane toad

  • Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria