Title
Investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision
Date version published
17 November 2011
This achievement standard involves the investigation of a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Achievement Criteria:
Achievement
· Investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Achievement with Merit
· Investigate in-depth a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Achievement with Excellence
· Comprehensively investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Explanatory Notes:
Version 1 was republished in March 2012 to correct an error in the description of investigate in depth in Explanatory Note 2.
1 This achievement standard is derived from The New Zealand Curriculum, Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2007, Level 7. It is aligned with the following achievement objective in the Living World strand:
Ecology
· Explore ecological distribution patterns and explain possible causes for these patterns
and is related to the material in the Teaching and Learning Guide for Biology, Ministry of Education, 2010 at http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz.
2 Investigate involves describing observations or findings, and using those findings to identify the pattern (or absence of a pattern) in an ecological community, relating this pattern to an environmental factor, and describing how the environmental factor might affect chosen species within the community.
Investigate in-depth involves providing a reason for how or why the biology of one of the chosen species relates to the pattern (or absence of a pattern). The biology involves structural, behavioural or physiological adaptations of the organism which are related to the environmental factor and to an interrelationship with an organism of another species (e.g. competition, predation, or mutualism).
Investigate comprehensively involves using an environmental factor and the biology of interrelated organisms of different species to explain the pattern (or absence of a pattern). The explanation may involve elaborating, applying, justifying, relating, evaluating, comparing and contrasting, and analysing.
3 Investigation involves analysing, and interpreting information about the ecosystem. The information may come from direct observations, collection of field data, tables, graphs, resource sheets, photographs, videos, websites, and/or reference texts.
4 A community pattern may include: succession, zonation, stratification, or another distribution pattern in response to an environmental factor.
5 Environmental factors likely to affect patterns in a community include abiotic and/or biotic factors.
6 Biology of the organisms refers to any adaptations of organisms that relate to the pattern being investigated and may include interrelationships such as competition, predation, or mutualism.
7 Assessment against this standard may be based on a stand-alone or an individual investigation that can contribute findings to a larger group or class investigation. In a group or class investigation, individual findings may be discussed and individual students may interpret their own findings in the light of other students’ investigations and findings. Findings from outside the group or class such as published information or historical findings relevant to the investigation may also be used.
8 It is intended that this investigation be carried out with supervision. This means that the teacher provides guidelines for the investigation such as the context for the investigation, instructions that specify the requirements for a comprehensive investigation, and broad conditions such as the availability of equipment and/or resource material. Students then develop and complete the investigation from the initial guidelines given by the teacher. Supervision may involve discussion between teachers and individual students in order to clarify the students’ ideas and may also involve teachers managing the process of sharing findings.
9 Conditions of Assessment related to this achievement standard can be found at www.tki.org.nz/e/community/ncea/conditions-assessment.php.
Key Words: These are the words that you are expected to understand when used in questions and be able to use in your answers
Core Vocabulary:
· Abiotic Factors
· Adaptation
· Biotic Factors
· Carnivore
· Community
· Competition
· Consumer
· Decomposer
· Ecosystem
· Habitat
· Herbivore
· Interspecific
· Intraspecific
· Kite Diagrams
· Limiting Factors
· Line Graphs
· Niche
· Mutualism
· Omnivore
· Parasitism
· Population
· Predation
· Producer
· Scavenger
· Species
· Statistical Resources
· Stratification
· Tolerance
· Trophic level
· Zonation
At the end of this unit of work you should be able to use the core knowledge listed in the statements below to describe, explain and discuss community patterns in ecology. Questions may be presented to you in unfamiliar situations that will require you to recognise and link these ideas together.
1. Understanding of basic definitions: organism, population, habitat, community, ecosystem.
2. Identify environmental biotic and abiotic factors which affect organisms in their communities.
3. Describe the adaptations of organisms and relate how these are specific to habitat factors to enable survival.
4. Describe an organism’s ecological niche (briefly).
5. Describe what is meant by the terms tolerance range and limiting factors. Explain how these affect individual organisms and community patterns.
6. Describe species interrelationships in communities incl. competition, predation and mutualism
7. Describe how community patterns (or absence of) arise from factors, adaptations and interrelationships e.g. zonation and stratification.
8. Analyse and Interpret information from any of : direct observations, field data, tables, graphs, resource sheets, photographs, DVD/video sources, websites and/or reference texts.
In addition the following knowledge will contribute to your understanding of the core knowledge:
1. Understanding Biodiversity and Biospheres.
2. Understanding of Taxonomy.
Investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision
Date version published
17 November 2011
This achievement standard involves the investigation of a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Achievement Criteria:
Achievement
· Investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Achievement with Merit
· Investigate in-depth a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Achievement with Excellence
· Comprehensively investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision.
Explanatory Notes:
Version 1 was republished in March 2012 to correct an error in the description of investigate in depth in Explanatory Note 2.
1 This achievement standard is derived from The New Zealand Curriculum, Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2007, Level 7. It is aligned with the following achievement objective in the Living World strand:
Ecology
· Explore ecological distribution patterns and explain possible causes for these patterns
and is related to the material in the Teaching and Learning Guide for Biology, Ministry of Education, 2010 at http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz.
2 Investigate involves describing observations or findings, and using those findings to identify the pattern (or absence of a pattern) in an ecological community, relating this pattern to an environmental factor, and describing how the environmental factor might affect chosen species within the community.
Investigate in-depth involves providing a reason for how or why the biology of one of the chosen species relates to the pattern (or absence of a pattern). The biology involves structural, behavioural or physiological adaptations of the organism which are related to the environmental factor and to an interrelationship with an organism of another species (e.g. competition, predation, or mutualism).
Investigate comprehensively involves using an environmental factor and the biology of interrelated organisms of different species to explain the pattern (or absence of a pattern). The explanation may involve elaborating, applying, justifying, relating, evaluating, comparing and contrasting, and analysing.
3 Investigation involves analysing, and interpreting information about the ecosystem. The information may come from direct observations, collection of field data, tables, graphs, resource sheets, photographs, videos, websites, and/or reference texts.
4 A community pattern may include: succession, zonation, stratification, or another distribution pattern in response to an environmental factor.
5 Environmental factors likely to affect patterns in a community include abiotic and/or biotic factors.
6 Biology of the organisms refers to any adaptations of organisms that relate to the pattern being investigated and may include interrelationships such as competition, predation, or mutualism.
7 Assessment against this standard may be based on a stand-alone or an individual investigation that can contribute findings to a larger group or class investigation. In a group or class investigation, individual findings may be discussed and individual students may interpret their own findings in the light of other students’ investigations and findings. Findings from outside the group or class such as published information or historical findings relevant to the investigation may also be used.
8 It is intended that this investigation be carried out with supervision. This means that the teacher provides guidelines for the investigation such as the context for the investigation, instructions that specify the requirements for a comprehensive investigation, and broad conditions such as the availability of equipment and/or resource material. Students then develop and complete the investigation from the initial guidelines given by the teacher. Supervision may involve discussion between teachers and individual students in order to clarify the students’ ideas and may also involve teachers managing the process of sharing findings.
9 Conditions of Assessment related to this achievement standard can be found at www.tki.org.nz/e/community/ncea/conditions-assessment.php.
Key Words: These are the words that you are expected to understand when used in questions and be able to use in your answers
Core Vocabulary:
· Abiotic Factors
· Adaptation
· Biotic Factors
· Carnivore
· Community
· Competition
· Consumer
· Decomposer
· Ecosystem
· Habitat
· Herbivore
· Interspecific
· Intraspecific
· Kite Diagrams
· Limiting Factors
· Line Graphs
· Niche
· Mutualism
· Omnivore
· Parasitism
· Population
· Predation
· Producer
· Scavenger
· Species
· Statistical Resources
· Stratification
· Tolerance
· Trophic level
· Zonation
At the end of this unit of work you should be able to use the core knowledge listed in the statements below to describe, explain and discuss community patterns in ecology. Questions may be presented to you in unfamiliar situations that will require you to recognise and link these ideas together.
1. Understanding of basic definitions: organism, population, habitat, community, ecosystem.
2. Identify environmental biotic and abiotic factors which affect organisms in their communities.
3. Describe the adaptations of organisms and relate how these are specific to habitat factors to enable survival.
4. Describe an organism’s ecological niche (briefly).
5. Describe what is meant by the terms tolerance range and limiting factors. Explain how these affect individual organisms and community patterns.
6. Describe species interrelationships in communities incl. competition, predation and mutualism
7. Describe how community patterns (or absence of) arise from factors, adaptations and interrelationships e.g. zonation and stratification.
8. Analyse and Interpret information from any of : direct observations, field data, tables, graphs, resource sheets, photographs, DVD/video sources, websites and/or reference texts.
In addition the following knowledge will contribute to your understanding of the core knowledge:
1. Understanding Biodiversity and Biospheres.
2. Understanding of Taxonomy.