HOLIDAY HOMEWORK – MODULE 3 BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

The load of information still to cover in the syllabus (across all the Science courses) will mean that you will have to
complete some work during the holidays. Most involves refreshing your knowledge from the depth study and simple
research to make viable notes (some of this will be revision of course work from year 10). The numbered points are
the actual syllabus outcomes.

The following work in green and ITALICS you should HAVE COMPLETED AS PART OF THE DEPTH STUDY but you do
need to refresh your understanding.

Students should be able to

1. predict the effects of selection pressures on organisms in ecosystems, including biotic and abiotic factors

This should have been completed as part of your ecosystem depth study. Read pages 203 -220 Biology in Focus,
completing the Check Your Understanding questions as you go p207, 216, 220 to refresh your knowledge.

2. examine the adaptations of organisms that increase their ability to survive in their environment, including:
structural adaptations, physiological adaptations, behavioural adaptations

Again, this should have been completed as part of the depth study. Read pages 229 – 241 in Biology in Focus and
complete the Check Your Understanding questionp230, 225, 239, 240 to ensure you refresh your understanding.

This next section in red all contains NEW WORK that needs to be COMPLETED BEFORE NEXT TERM. The KISS resource
loaded on our CANVAS page (under Extra Resources at the top of the home page) and your textbook will help with
much of this work.

3. investigate changes in a population of organisms due to selection pressures over time, for example: cane
toad and prickly pear distribution in Australia

Read pages 220-223 Biology in Focus. Although an outcome on introduced species was covered in the depth study,
you need to complete research on the cane toad and prickly pear as they are stated as examples in the syllabus. So
for each one research
* Description (size, etc)
* Introduced species origin
* Its requirements (food, climate etc)
* Purpose introduced – purpose fulfilled? – reasons;
*Final impact on populations of cane toad/prickly pear – positive selection pressures and reasons for their
success/increase in number plus their impact on environment and local species.
The KISS resource on your class CANVAS page may also help you.

Read the chapter summary of the textbook pages 224-225 and then complete the chapter review questions on
p226-227 and upload to the Holiday Homework Submission 1 Assignment

4. 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 and Australian flora and fauna

Research that information and data collected by (a) Charles Darwin in his observations about the finches in the
Galapagos Islands and finches on the mainland. Compare some similar features and dissimilar features and use these
comparisons to explain the existence of different types of finches found on different islands of the Galapagos.
(b) As above with reference to Australian flora and fauna, by using
pages 241 – 247 in Biology in Focus and research from other sources.
Resource information to get your research started about Charles Darwin and his observations in Australia.
Darwin’s observations of plant life in Australia were that ‘The extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most
remarkable feature in the landscape of the greater part of New South Wales. Everywhere we have an open
woodland, the ground being partially covered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of verdure. The trees
nearly all belong to one family and mostly have their leaves placed in a vertical, instead of as in Europe, in a nearly
horizontal position: the foliage is scanty, and of peculiar pale green tint, without any gloss.’ ‘The leaves are not shed
periodically: this character appears common to the entire southern hemisphere, namely, South America, Australia
and the Cape of Good Hope.’
‘The inhabitants of this hemisphere, and of the intertropical regions, thus lose perhaps one of the most glorious,
though to our eyes common, spectacles in the world – the fir bursting into full foliage of the leafless tree. They may,
however, say that we pay dearly for this by having the land covered by mere naked skeletons for so many months.
This is true but our senses thus acquire a keen relish for the exquisite green of the spring, which the eyes of those
living within the tropics, sated during the long year with the gorgeous productions of those glowing climates, can
never experience. The greater number of the trees, with the exception of some of the Blue-gums, do not attain a
large size; but they grow tall and tolerably straight and stand well apart. The bark of some of the Eucalypti falls
annually, or hangs dead in long shreds which swing about with the wind, and give to the woods a desolate untidy
appearance. I cannot imagine a more complete contrast, in every respect, than between the forests of Valdivia or
Chiloe, and the woods of Australia.’
Darwin’s book The Voyage of the Beagle is available online (use the search terms “Voyage of the Beagle pdf” to find
it). Darwin describes his visit to Australia in Chapter 19 and the journal format makes for interesting reading. He also
briefly outlines his travel route through familiar areas such as Bathurst, Parramatta and the Blue Mountains,
mentioning inns he stopped at and other fascinating information

Read the chapter summary of the textbook pages 248 - 249 and then complete the chapter review questions on
p250 and upload to the Holiday Homework Submission 2 Assignment.

5. 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, biogeography, techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced

Read pages 280 – 298. Create a table to summarise the evidence that supports the theory of evolution using the
following format and upload to Holiday Homework Submission 3 Assignment.

Evidence Exampl Description of how it support evolution via natural selection

e
Biochemical
Comparative anatomy
Comparative embryology
Biogeography
Palaeontology