The relationship between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem has direct and indirect impacts on that very ecosystem. The way that these factors interact is critical in an ecosystem.

This dot point is asking you to learn the following:

• DEFINE and IDENTIFY biotic and abiotic factors 

• DEFINE and IDENTIFY types of ecosystems

• DESCRIBE food webs and food chains

• DEFINE and IDENTIFY ecological niches

• MEASURE populations of organisms using sampling techniques (such as: transects, quadrats, mark-capture-recapture)

• PREDICT what would happen to populations of organisms if there were changes to abiotic and biotic factors within their ecosystems. Ultimately, this is the skill that this dot point is asking you to develop and questions may be asked where you may be given a stimulus of a type of ecosystem and then asked to make predictions on what would happen to that ecosystem if conditions were to change within it.

ACTIVITIES: 

1. Watch the videos attached below this text box.

2. There are a number of websites and information to the left and below this textbox - use the information to develop your study notes.

3. Complete the worksheets on 'ecosystem dynamics', 'Abiotic and biotic features of an ecosystem', 'Symbiotic Interactions', 'Ecosystems and Causes', 'ECOLOGICAL NICHE: DEFINITION & IMPORTANCE', 'Capture-Mark-Recapture technique for estimating populations' Experiment. 

4. Read and complete questions on pages 493-534 of the Pearson Yr 11 Biology textbook.

When a species disappears, biologists say that the species has become extinct. By making room for new species, extinction helps drive the evolution of life. Over long periods of time, the number of species becoming extinct can remain fairly constant, meaning that an average number of species go extinct each year, century, or millennium. However, during the history of life on Earth, there have been periods of mass extinction, when large percentages of the planet’s species became extinct in a relatively short amount of time. These extinctions have had widely different causes. 

Reference: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/extinction  

It is important to note that, the Biology syllabus asks you to 'Explain a recent extinction event'. Do not confuse this with 'mass extinction'.

You have been given a number of resources that will give you an understanding of what a 'mass extinction' is, however, this is not what the syllabus requires you to focus on. 

An example of a recent extinction event, in Australia, is the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger. We will focus on this organism as the example of a recent extinction event.

ACTIVITIES: 

1. Watch the videos attached below this text box.

2. There are a number of websites and information to the left and below this textbox - use the information to develop your study notes.

3. Complete the worksheet on 'Explain a recent extinction event'.

4. Read and complete questions on pages 535-538 of the Pearson Yr 11 Biology textbook.