Biodiversity Folio

Name: Affrika
Group Names:

Learning Studies Teacher: Feresh

Table of contents
WHAT I DID THIS MORNING FROM WHEN I WOKE UP, TO WHEN I GOT TO SCHOOL
this morning i woke up at 7:00am to my everyday alarm, and got out of bed to get ready to leave
for school.
after i woke up i fed my yabbie so i didnt have to do it after school because i have to go to work.
i then set an alarm for 1:05 so i could remember to go to work straight from school. after setting
my alarm i went to the kitchen to find something that i could take to school for recess and

packed my bag with my laptop, laptop charger, food, books and glasses case so i wasnt
missing anything necessary for my learning at school.
after doing all this i quickly got changed and took out my purse and brushed my teeth so i could
leave by 7:30 to catch my regular bus to school without any complications.
on the way to the bus stop from my house i was stopped at the pond next to my work by a
goose who decided it was lovely to attack me until i was at my bus stop. when i got to the stairs
leading up to my bus stop the goose turned around and waddled back to the pond. i waited 1015 minutes for my bus while making sure i had my metrocard and counting my money. on the
bus i scanned my metrocard and walked down the bus to the back where my friends and i
usually sit everyday. the bus trip went for 28-32 minutes and then we got off at the lights on
south road. i then continued my journey to school by waiting for the traffic lights to turn red and
the pedestrian crossing light to go green so i could cross the road and walk past the hospital,
carparks, oval and schools car parks and finally, enter the ASMS.
HOW DO PLATE TECTONICS AND OCEAN CURRENTS INFLUENCE CLIMATE CHANGE?
Climate change is a change in the pattern of weather, and related changes in oceans, land
surfaces and ice sheets, occurring over time scales of decades or longer -Australian Academy
of Science, 2016
The climate of a region or city is its typical or average weather. For example, the climate of
Hawaii is sunny and warm. But the climate of Antarctica is freezing cold. Earth's climate is the
average of all the world's regional climates.
Climate change, therefore, is a change in the typical or average weather of a region (NASA,
2011). This could be a change in a region's average of annual rainfall, or the change in a city's
average temperature for a given season or month.
Climate change is also a change in Earth's overall climate (NASA, 2011).
In the earths system a change in climate of a specific area will cause a change in climate
around the globe (Jackson and Tenenbaum , 2016). This is shown in many ways eg. melting of
ice sheets, carbon emissions, Plate tectonics and ocean circulation.
Patterns of ocean circulation have strong effect on global climate (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy
of Sciences and German Academy Leopoldina, 1997). The equator receives more solar
radiation than the Poles, however the equator is not increasing in temperature, and the poles
are not decreasing (Pidwirny, 2013). This is because ocean and wind transfers the heat is from
low latitudes to the high latitudes. one way that the ocean transfers heat is the NADW (North
Atlantic Deep Water) this works by transferring the cold and salty Northern Atlantic water that
sinks to the bottom due to high density. This is then transferred south, where at low altitudes it
rises towards the surface, being forced by the denser water of the Antarctic. Water from low
altitudes flows north to replace the dense, sinking water. As it moves north it loses heat and the
cycle repeats. This creates a transfer of heat in the ocean that is mostly even and acts similar to
a conveyor belt. This kind of heat transfer is called thermohaline circulation.
when the heat is distributed through NADW the entire global climate changes. For example,
12000 years ago glaciers were melting rapidly due to the end of glacial age (Daily News,

2010). The melting of glaciers moved a lot of fresh water into the salty North Atlantic in a short
time, decreasing the salinity of the ocean and thus, reducing its density. This decrease caused
the NADW production to decrease. This then plunged the world back into a cooling period that
lasted another 1000 years.
plate tectonics also has a strong effect on the climate around the globe as the earths
lithospheric plates move the continents of the world move along as well. The arrangement of the
continents has a strong effect on the earths climate (Jackson, 2016). Taking continental ice
sheets as an example, the requirements are large land areas with high latitudes where snow
has the ability to form thick masses of ice (Nelson, 2015). These high latitudes are mostly
created by movement in the tectonic plates. where oceans occupy polar areas the accumulation
of snow is limited because of melting in salty ocean waters, this then brings us back to the
NADW.
Plate tectonics affects climate in other ways besides the positioning of continents. Volcanos also
have a high impact on the climate around the globe, or at least, in some areas of the world
(Cosmato, 2010).Volcanoes are created when tectonic plates split apart allowing the inner
magma to flow out of the top and over hundreds of years this creates a mountain shape with a
long tube connecting the atmosphere to the magma. Volcanoes along active plate margins have
increased volcanic activity. Volcanoes release Carbon Dioxide which is a gas that traps heat in
the atmosphere (Cosmato, 2010). In this way plate tectonics can cause global climate to warm.
However volcanic activity also emits dust to the atmosphere, which blocks out radiation. This
tends to decrease global temperature. While carbon has entered the atmosphere for millions of
years through natural events such as volcanic eruptions, the burning of fossil fuels and clearing
of land has resulted in the highest levels of greenhouse pollution in our atmosphere in the last
800,000 years (ACF, 2016).
Bibliography
http://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/WA01920133/Centricity/Domain/660/CS%2012.4.pdf
http://pik-potsdam.de/~stefan/Lectures/ocean_currents.html
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/74098.aspx
http://www.britannica.com/science/climate-change
http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/glaciers.htm
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18949-the-history-of-ice-on-earth/
http://climate.nasa.gov/resources/education/pbs_modules/lesson2Overview/
https://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/climate-change/impacts-threats
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change58.html
Reference list
Nelson, S.A. (2015). [online] Glaciers and Glaciation. Available at:
http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/glaciers.htm [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016].

Raunekk, (2010). Plate Tectonics Effects Climate Change[online] Bright Hub. Available at:
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/74098.aspx [Accessed 12
Mar. 2016].
Jackson, S.T. (2016). climate change. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Available at:
http://www.britannica.com/science/climate-change [Accessed 12 Mar. 2016].
(1997). Ocean Currents and Climate Change. [online] Ocean Currents and Climate Change.
Available at: http://pik-potsdam.de/~stefan/Lectures/ocean_currents.html [Accessed 13 Mar.
2016].
Marshall, (2010). The history of ice on Earth. [online] New Scientist. Available at:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18949-the-history-of-ice-on-earth/ [Accessed 13 Mar.
2016].
(2016). Global Climate Change: Impacts of a Warming Arctic. [online] Climate Change: Vital
Signs of the Planet. Available at:
http://climate.nasa.gov/resources/education/pbs_modules/lesson2overview/ [Accessed 20 Mar.
2016].
(2016). What is climate change? [online] Australian Conservation Foundation. Available at:
https://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/climate-change/impacts-threats [Accessed 20 Mar.
2016]
NASA, (2011). What Are Climate and Climate Change? [online] NASA. Available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change58.html [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].

Introduction to Evolution
Charles Darwin Game
1. What conclusions are you able to make about each of the factors that affect the survival of
the creatures?
colour/patterns- the colours and patterns of creatures makes a significant change to their
survival as patterns can create confusion to predators or show a species a sign of danger and
give warning not to go near this specific creature. Camouflage or colour can give a creature a
survival technique to blend in with surrounding and create a safe place whilst around predators.

Long legs- the creatures ability to move faster naturally and without as much effort, and the
creatures ability to reach higher things e.g. trees.
fur coat- the creatures ability to keep warm and create heat insulation in cold temperatures.
neck length- (tall) the creatures ability to reach tall things e.g. tree branches.
2. What happens to animals that cannot compete or survive as well with other animals in the
wild?
They will not survive.
3. Sometimes animals that are introduced into an area that they never lived in before, outcompete and endanger resident species, why do you think this happens?
Animals that are pushed into a habitat that theyve never lived in before sometimes survive
because they have no natural predators and they may be able to adapt to climate and habitat
change well.
4. If only one type is considered the "fittest", why do we still have so many variations within a
species?variations keep the species secure.
The offspring of two different genetical species will be stronger and more adapted as they take
both the genetical traits, thus becoming a half-half creation of the two and becoming adapted to
both climates and physical traits.

PhET Simulation.
1. What variables were you able to change in the simulation?
-Brown fur
-Environment
-Predators
-Food
-Long tail
-Long teeth
-Whether the genes were Dominant or Recessive
2. Define what genetic mutation is, how they happen, how often?
A genetic mutation is a permanent alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. These
changes can be caused by environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation from the sun, or
can occur if a mistake is made as DNA copies itself during cell division. Acquired mutations in
somatic cells (cells other than sperm and egg cells) cannot be passed on to the next generation.
Mutations occur frequently during DNA replication in cell division, however they mostly occur
spontaneously.

3. What do the terms fitness and adaption mean? What are their differences?
Adaption: A genetic change achieved by the process of natural selection that takes place over a
considerably long period of time and improves an organism's ability to survive.
Fitness: a measure of reproductive success specializing in how well organisms adapt to their
environment.
The difference is that fitness is the level of ability to survive in an environment and reproduce,
and adaptation is where you aren't fit for the environment and genetically change.
4. What factors might affect an animals population besides the ones in the simulation?
disease/illness, survival techniques, intelligence.

What killed Australias MEGAFAUNA? (750 words)

There are numerous theories around the extinction of Australias megafauna that have been
studied by many scientists since the 19th century. In this text i will introduce three of the most
commonly studied theorised effects on the Australian megafauna. These theories are climate
change, human interaction and illness. These theories all have one thing in common, a
geological and scientifically corrected hypothesis that the Australian Megafauna was simply
much larger relatives of currently existing species (Wroe, 2013). It has been believed that
50,000 years ago over 150 of these large to gigantic species and subspecies existed (Turney
and Cooper, 2015). Where did they go?
Climate change, whether sudden or gradual, can be a major cause of extinction in Megafauna
(New World Encyclopedia contributors, 2014). A rapidly changing climate could have easily
caused the habitat of the megafauna to shrink or disappear. 12,000 years ago, as the planet
warmed out of the last ice age, many animals would have struggled to adapt to the new
environment (Turney and Cooper, 2015). There have been other, equally as extreme and rapid
major climatic changes in Australias past. In a research paper published in the journal Science,
there have been advances in ancient DNA, carbon dating and climate reconstruction that may
finally give some answers as to what killed off the megafauna (Turney and Cooper, 2015).
Thanks to ancient DNA analysis of megafaunal bones we know that this approach has
neglected a series of events when parts of a species genetic diversity, or the whole species
itself, disappeared (Turney and Cooper, 2015). More accurate carbon dating of the fossil
remains have also shown that these extinctions did not occur at one single time, but were
overlapped throughout different periods.
In a test of a DNA-filled mammoth vertebrae preserved in ice, results have shown some of the
most profound climate changes detected in the recent geological past where interstadials, or
short and rapid warming periods where temperatures would soar from 4 to 16C within just a
few decades. As temperatures rose during the interstadials, dramatic shifts in vegetation
patterns and global rainfall placed the megafauna under immense stress. Those that could not
adapt to the rapidly changing conditions would have quickly become extinct.

The kill theory states that human interaction was the cause of Extinction (Flannery, 1994).
Evidence shows that humans have had a significant effect on climate change and illnesses in a
harmful way (Cooper, 2015) however nothing indicates they could have been a factor in
megafaunal extinction. It is now clear to scientists that the assumption of human interaction
causing this extinction in megafauna is poorly founded. Humans arrived approximately 50-45
thousand years ago. It is increasingly evident that the megafauna had disappeared before the
arrival of humans (Johnson, 2012). At most 14 and as few as 8 species of now extinct
megafauna clearly overlapped in time with humans (Wroe, 2013). Although these species
overlapped with human migration, a comparison of archaeological and fossil dates states that
humans and megafauna overlapped for only 4,000 years continent-wide, and suggests that if
hunting was the cause it would have happened in less than 1,000 years (Johnson, 2012).
In theory, 8% or perhaps as little as 2%, of the Australian archaeological record covers the
period of human to megafauna interaction, supporting the theory that human interaction had
little to no effect on the megafauna (Johnson, 2012).
Perhaps at some point it was reasonable to invoke humans as a driving force. But why would
you, given that there is no direct evidence whatsoever? (Wroe, 2013)
Illness could be another factor contributing to the extinction of megafauna (MacPhee, 2002).
Researchers believe that humans likely brought about this disease (Lyon, 2014). To kill
numerous amounts of species a pathogen must be able to sustain itself with no optimal hosts to
infect, high rate of infection, must be compatible in all genders and ages of all species, must be
highly lethal, and be able to infect multiple species without causing a decline in reservoir
species, in this case being humans (MacPhee and Marx, 1997). This brings us back to the fact
that human interaction could have only caused a maximum of 8% of megafaunal extinction.
I believe, based on the text above that climate change was the primary factor of megafaunal
extinction. Human interaction only had an effect on climate change after the mass extinction
thus, were not fully accountable for the extinction, also meaning that illness could not be a
significant factor of the extinction.
Reference List
Wroe, (2013) [online] Climate change wiped out Australias megafauna. Available at:
http://theconversation.com/climate-change-wiped-out-australias-megafauna-13966 [Accessed
1st April 2016.]
Turney and Cooper, (2015) [online] DNA evidence proves climate change killed off prehistoric
megafauna. Available at: http://theconversation.com/dna-evidence-proves-climate-changekilled-off-prehistoric-megafauna-45080 [Accessed 2nd April 2016]
New World Encyclopedia contributors, (2014) [onine] Mass Extinction. Available at:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Mass_extinction&oldid=981152
[Accessed 2nd April 2016]

Ross, (2013) [online] Climate change killed off megafauna. Available at:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/climate-change-killed-off-megafaunastudy/story-e6frgcjx-1226636215851 [accessed 2nd April 2016]
Johnson, (2012) [online] Hunting or climate change? Megafauna extinction debate narrows.
Available at: http://theconversation.com/hunting-or-climate-change-megafauna-extinctiondebate-narrows-10602 [accessed 2nd April 2016]
Lyon, (2014) [online] The hyperdisease hypothesis: did humans bring about doomsday for the
megafauna of the pleistocene? Available at:
https://paleoecology.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/the-hyper-disease-hypothesis-did-humansbring-about-doomsday-for-the-megafauna-of-the-pleistocene/ [accessed 2nd April 2016]

Book reflection
The Mill Girls, by George Larkin
This book is set in the late 1830s, where an 18 year old woman decides that she wants to be
independent and earn her own money working in americas first female textile mill in Lowell,
Massachusetts. Her father, being a strict, closed minded man argued that she not leave and that
she is to not ruin the family's reputation by working and earning her own money and
responsibility. He threatens that she will no longer be his daughter, nor a part of his family once
she decides to leave, if she decides to leave.
The first chapter begins after a small bickering between emily and her father where the above
was discussed.
The chapter begins with Frank lowell, a tall, thin, travelling man, when he was awoken by a
clang in the tiny hotel room in which he was currently and newly residing. he was awoken by the
loud noises of the world's first and largest manufacturing centre. What he then saw was a grey
army of no less than a thousand women, children and men wearing dirty, shabby clothes with
drained faces. Switching his stare from this unfamiliar sight his eye was caught on a series of
ungodly and obviously neglected and deformed children not yet in their teens, with seemingly
abused bodies. Turning his back on the window in disgust he turned to an elaborate and highly
detailed drawing that lowell himself had been working on the previous night.frustrated with the
lack of success in his drawing he shoved it deep inside of his pocket and headed to the lobby of
the hotel.