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Listed under:  Science  >  Life  >  Ecosystems
Video

Management of the northern savanna

Around the world, tropical savannas are in serious trouble. This clip from 2007 explores the use of Aboriginal technology for sustainable management of the environment in Australia's huge northern tropical savanna. Hear from two environmental scientists why traditional fire-management practices may reduce the incidence ...

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Ant safari

This ABC In Depth feature article includes some good advice for exploring local ant populations as well as an excellent information report on Australian ants: the different types and their roles.

Online

Cats, Dogs and Us: Lesson Plans (years 5-6)

This teacher resource is an International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) resource designed to encourage students to examine the physical characteristics and natural behaviours of cats and dogs, and discuss the various ways we live with and care for cats and dogs around the world. It consists of seven lesson plans, two worksheets, ...

Interactive

Sites2See: Forests

Online resources for Primary teachers, parents and students to celebrate and engage with the International Year of Forests 2011. Features selected links to games, information, videos and interactive resources for the study of trees and forests and broader issues of biodiversity and sustainability.

Online

Salinity and the Murray-Darling Basin

This lesson sequence examines salinity in the Murray-Darling Basin: the source of the salt, why it is a problem, how it is monitored and current management strategies. It includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes and a student worksheet. This lesson sequence is one in a series exploring aspects ...

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Simple ecosystem diagram

This is a colour graphic representing the energy and nutrient flow in a simple food chain. The Sun and organisms making up the food chain are represented in diagrammatic form. The graphic is labelled and a key to the colour-coding of energy and nutrient flows is included.

Online

Water: learn it for life! - year 7 science

This PDF unit of work is one of a series of resources accessible by searching the list in the series.It includes two teaching and learning sequences: 'Water journeys' focuses on the water cycle, and 'Pure water' focuses on the processes and people involved in creating and managing drinkable water. It provides Australian ...

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Ngan'gi seasons calendar

This is a seasonal calendar developed by the Ngan’gi people of the Northern Territory in collaboboration with CSIRO. The resource contains an introduction, a richly illustrated calendar and related links. The introduction includes information about the people’s wish to document traditional knowledge of their Daly River ...

Online

Climate education guide, activity 3: trees and carbon

This is a teaching-learning resource containing teaching strategies and a student activity about the role of forests as carbon sinks and the effect of tree size on the capacity to store carbon. The resource has six tabs, five of which are relevant. The first tab provides information about the importance of forests in storing ...

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About evapotranspiration

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page about evapotranspiration. The resource explains what evapotranspiration is and provides information about how the Bureau's evapotranspiration values have been calculated. It explains how to access the Bureau's daily evapotranspiration maps and tables, provides information ...

Video

Bryozoans' role in the ecosystem

This is a colour video clip of marine scientist Associate Professor Abby Smith discussing the role bryozoans play in marine ecosystems. The clip shows Abby Smith, a teacher and researcher at the University of Otago, New Zealand, being interviewed. The clip also shows underwater photos of bryozoans, fish and corals.

Video

What is an ecologist?

This is a colour video clip in which marine ecologist Associate Professor Stephen Wing of the University of Otago talks about the work of ecologists. He gives an overview of the types of questions that are investigated by ecologists and explains why he enjoys his work. Photographs of marine organisms and ecologists at work ...

Online

Recent evapotranspiration

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page with a map of Australia showing daily reference evapotranspiration and also tables of daily transpiration for each Australian state and the Northern Territory. Monthly data is available via the location links in the tables for each state.

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Wild backyards: digital stories transcript

This is a transcript of a series of three short digital stories produced by the Queensland Museum, entitled 'Wild backyards', in which experts explain how they attract wildlife to their backyards located in Brisbane, Roma and Innisfail. The transcript includes accompanying photographs taken from the digital stories and ...

Online

Food for thought: learn resources for science

This is a rich resource for teachers about the impact of climate change on small-scale farmers. It includes two sets of resources, one for the primary level and the other for the secondary level. Each set of resources includes: a teacher guide with learning activities; worksheets for students; crop cards; and a PowerPoint ...

Video

ABC News: Hydrogen-diesel engine

How might we reduce damaging emissions from diesel engines and increase their fuel efficiency at the same time? Watch as Dr Vishi Karri from the University of Tasmania describes the development of a new type of engine: the hybrid hydrogen-diesel engine. Dr Hafez A Hafez explains how the technology can be easily adapted ...

Online

How is a frog able to swim in trees?

This is a teaching-learning resource containing teaching strategies and student activities about the dependence of plants and animals on each other and the environment for survival. The resource has seven tabs, six of which are relevant. The first four set out the steps in the suggested pedagogical sequence and include ...

Interactive

Sites2See: Aim to sustain

A page supporting learning for sustainability, with selected links to interactive resources, including videos, games and activities for K-6 students, teachers and parents. This resource relates to the 'Aim to sustain' resources produced for Stage 3 and 4 students.

Interactive

Aim to Sustain

Students identify and explore ways in which human activity can threaten biodiversity and the health of our planet. Students are encouraged to take positive action to promote sustainability. The four resources: Get the message, Help a habitat, Alien invaders and A world of difference include videos, SMART notebooks, worksheets ...

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Low-carb cars

This ABC In Depth feature article explores the electric car as an alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles, with a brief reference to hydrogen powered cars. This article is comprehensive, but it is dated at 2008.