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Evolution of Australian Biota Study Day 2013 Taronga Zoomobile session Student Activities Yr 11 Evolution of Australian Biota Workshop Students notes Welcome to the Australian Biota Workshop!! Today’s lesson is jam packed with information about some of Australia’s most amazing animals. We will cover lots of the Australian Biota syllabus points plus lots of other information you will need to have a good understanding of biology. Some of the main points to have in mind are: A) Humans only live a short amount of time ‐ lots of the processes we are studying (ie evolution) take place over much larger timeframes B) The world is a changing place ‐ the continents move, the climate changes, the plants and animals respond to these changes continuously ‐ its not a one directional change! C) Fitness ‐ the priorities of an animal are often different to those of a human. In biology, we consider the ability of an animal to produce successful offspring as the ultimate achievement. This is known as fitness. Basic Vocabulary/Concepts: 1) Nocturnal, Diurnal, Crepuscular 2) Behavioral, Structural and physiological adaptations 3) Ectothermic, endothermic 4) Arid, temperate environments 5) Camouflage 6) Arboreal 7) Vertebrate animals ‐ Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals (Monotremes, Marsupials, Placental) And lots more… THESTORYSOFAR...65MYAthe extinctionofthedinosaursmadewayforthe ‘AgeofMammals’… Marsupials Gondwana 55 millionyearsago Syllabusref.8.5.1,EvidencefortherearrangementofcrustalplatesandǤ continentaldriftindicatesthatAustraliawasoncepartanancientsuperǤ continent.Ǥ Syllabusref.8.5.1—fossilsincommononGondwanan continents,Ǥ SeparatedContinents 20 millionyearsagotopresent ImagebyCodyPope(VirginiaOpossum) MarsupialFossilRecord SouthAmerica‐ oldest fossils70mya Antarctica ‐ someteethand bonefossilsfound Australia – oldestfossils 55mya Monotremes Evidenceforcontinentaldrift: MonotremeFossilRecord ThelocationofknownMonotremefossilsareshown: LR‐ LightningRidge R‐ Riversleigh Steropodon‐ 110myaObdurodon‐ 15‐20mya Kollikodon‐ 110mya P‐ Patagonia (verydifferentteethtolaterMonotrematum‐ 65mya platypus‐typeanimals)(moderntoothtypes) Illustration– AnneMusser,AustralianMuseum Placental FossilRecord FossilsindicatePlacentalmammalswerealsofoundinSouthern Hemisphere,thoughtheseorganismsdiedoutearlyon.Successful PlacentalmammalsareevolvinginLaurasiancontinentsatthis time. 20MYAtopresent MuskyRatKangaroosevolved20MYAbutstill liveinremnantareasofrainforestin NorthernQLD(livingfossil) KANGAROOEVOLUTION 25MYA.NorthernAustraliaisstillwarm andwetandcoveredinrainforest. Kangarooancestorsarearboreal and havepossumlikefeatures Syllabus8.5.4—gather,processand analyseinformationfromsecondary sourcesanduseavailableevidenceto proposereasonsfortheevolution,survival andextinctionofspecies,withreferenceto specificAustralianspecies Features: Features: 20‐15MYASouthernAustraliais dominatedbysavannah/openwoodland. Hugeradiationofkangaroospeciesinthis time.Thefirstmegafaunaappear Features: Start: 5‐3MYA Rainforestsreturntolarge areasofnorthernAustralia&PNG‐ some speciesofKangarooreturntoanarboreal existence—TreeKangaroos 55MillionYearsAgo Kangaroossplitfromlastcommon ancestor.Australiaiscoveredin rainforestandstillconnectedto Antarctica Features: PresentDay Therearenowover60 speciesofMacropodsin Australia.RedKangaroos areoneofthemost successfulspeciesin Australia Features: Illustrations‐ AustralianGeographic 100000—20000yearsago Thisisaperiodofrapidtemperaturechange andthereforerapidplantandanimal evolution.Evolutionandextinctionsofmany megafaunaspecies 8MYA Aridareasincreasing aspolar icecapsincrease.Hopping Kangaroospeciesdominatethe forestfloor Features: 4‐2MYA SouthernAustraliaexperienceslarger aridareasthanpresentdueto glaciations.Thebeginningofmodern kangarooevolution.Redsappearat2 mya Features: Features: The Evolution of Kangaroos of Australia Musky rat kangaroo – a living fossil Can’t hop Live in ancient rainforests Semi-opposable toe Semi-prehensile tail The BIG Evidence Musky rat kangaroo – a living fossil Tree Kangaroos Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo KANGAROOEVOLUTION RedKangaroosareanextraordinarilysuccessfulspecies.Givesome reasonsfortheirsuccess,anddescribesomeoftheiradaptations. Syllabus8.5.4‐ Gather,processandanalyse informationfromsecondarysourcesanduse availableevidencetoproposereasonsforthe evolution,survivalandextinctionofspecies,with referencetospecificAustralianspecies RedKangaroosarearelativelynewspecies,buthavehadalongevolutionarypath. Usingyourknowledgeoftheancestralbodytype,providereasonsforthechangeswecanseeto theirbodyshapeanddentition. Itisestimatedthatthereare10‐100millionspeciesoflivingthingsonEarth,butthatbillionsofspecieshave alreadybecomeextinct.Proposereasonswhysomespeciessurvivelongerthanothers,andwhysomespecies goextinct.(LiketheearlyplacentalmammalinAustralia!) Illustrations‐ AustralianGeographic FERTILISATIONANDSURVIVALOFYOUNGINAUSTRALIANFAUNA AustralianPythons Syllabusref.8.5.3.Describesome mechanismsfoundinAustralianfaunato ensurefertilisationandsurvivalofthe embryoandoftheyoungafterbirth Notes ‐ Reptiles have colonised land successfully by adapting to a dry environment. They have done this by carrying out internal fertilisation, and allowing their young to develop inside a waterproof egg to avoid desiccation or predation. (Sexual reproduction also produces offspring that are genetically different and possibly better adapted to new and changing environmental conditions than their parents. This gives the species a better chance at surviving in ever‐changing environments). WhatfeaturesorbehavioursdoPythonshavethathelpensurefertilizationoftheireggs? WhatfeaturesorbehavioursdoPythonshavethathelpensuretheiryoungsurvive? ANIMALSEVOLVEINRESPONSETOCHANGINGCLIMATE Syllabusref.8.5.2.Identifytherelationshipbetweenvariationwithin aspeciesandthechancesofsurvivalofspecieswhenenvironmental changeoccurs Shinglebacklizardsareabletoliveinbothtemperateandaridenvironments.Tobeabletodothistheyhaveadaptations suitedtoboth. Canyouworkoutwhichfeaturesenablethemtosurviveinatemperateenvironment,andwhichareforsurvivalinanaridregion? TemperateAdaptations AridAdaptations Australiaalreadyhasoneofthehighestextinctionratesoffloraandfaunaintheworld,andGlobalWarmingissettopushevenmore speciestoextinction.Doyouthinkshinglebacksswillbecomeextinctsoon?Why/whynot?Brieflyexplainwhysomespeciesare more likelythanothers.tobecomeextinctduetoclimatechange. ANIMALSEVOLVEINRESPONSETOCHANGINGCLIMATE Syllabusref.8.5.2.Identifytherelationshipbetweenvariationwithin aspeciesandthechancesofsurvivalofspecieswhenenvironmental changeoccurs Source– M.McKelvey/P.Rismiller Source– Prof.GordonGrigg Echidnasshowenormousvariationwithintheirspecies.Asconditionschangeacrosstheirrange,individualsdisplaydifferent variations. Canyouworkoutwhichoneoftheseismorelikelytobefoundinatemperateenvironment,andwhichonewouldbemorelikelytobe foundinanaridregion?Whatfeatures/adaptationsindicatedthistoyou? TemperateAdaptations: AridAdaptations: Australiaalreadyhasoneofthehighestextinctionratesoffloraandfaunaintheworld,andGlobalWarmingissettopushevenmore speciestoextinction.Doyouthinkechidnaswillbecomeextinctsoon?Why/whynot?Brieflyexplainwhysomespeciesaremore likely thanothers.tobecomeextinctduetoclimatechange.