Australian Grasslands
VIDEO 1 – How Nature Works: Balancing the Ecosystem (5 min.)
1. The brown bandicoot is able to smell out insect prey in the grasslands. The wind disperses
the grass seeds and as the bandicoot digs for insects in the ground with his snout, places are
created for the grass seeds to settle. What would happen if the bandicoot was suddenly
removed from the grasslands?
A. There would not be a change in the balance of the grasslands.
B. The insect population would increase and the grass population would increase.
C. The grass population would decrease as the seeds would not have the ability to “dig”
into the dirt on their own
D. The insect population would decrease, as there would be an overwhelming amount
of bandicoots eating them.
2. Bettong, or Rat Kangaroo, eat roots, tubers and fungi. They scratch the soils surface and dig
up their food sources. This allows air and water to access the hard, dry soil. When bettongs
and bandicoots were removed from the Australian grasslands, it caused quite a problem with
the overall health of the ecosystem. By returning these creatures to their rightful environment
it has allowed the ecosystem to once again flourish. What do we call this action?
A. Symbiosis
B. Invasive Species
C. Commensalism
D. Equilibrium
3. Too many of these bettong and bandicoot in the Australian grasslands could cause them to
dig up large amounts of grass in the grasslands. They need a predator to help keep their
numbers in balance. The Eastern Quoll eats bettongs and bandicoots. If a disease was
introduced to this ecosystem that caused the bettongs to all become sick with bettong-flu, what
overall effect would it have on the Australian grasslands?
A. The Eastern Quoll would become sick their numbers would decrease as would the
numbers of the bettongs.
B. The Eastern Quoll would increase as there would be more bandicoots.
C. The grass on the grasslands would overpopulate and the bandicoots would die of
thirst.
D. Even with the addition of a sickness, the ecosystem would remain in balance.
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Dessert Ecosystem
VIDEO 2 - Life in the Desert System (2 min.)
4. The Cactus wren and Cactus live together. Their life together is a form of symbiosis. The
cactus wren builds nests in the cactus. Many nests are dummy nests used to confuse the
predators of the wren, but one is used as the nest for the wren. What of the examples listed
below shares the same type of symbiosis as the cactus wren?
A. The mosquitoes that feed off the blood of people.
B. The ticks that bury their heads into the skin of a deer and feed off the nutrients of the
deer.
C. The Egyptian plover bird eats the dead and decaying material out of the mouth of the
Nile crocodile.
D. Barnacles living on and moving with the fin of a whale
5. Desert flowers are dependent on hummingbirds and insects for pollination. Without the
hummingbirds and insects collecting the nectar from the flowers and transferring that nectar to
other flowers there would not be an plants reproducing. Some desert flowers have changed
shape and color over time to attract these different creatures to increase their survival rate.
This form of symbiosis is known as what?
A. Symbiotic Relationships
B. Mutualism
C. Commensalism
D. Parasitism
6. In the box below describe or draw a form of commensalism discussed in class or researched
on your own. Be sure to describe what commensalism means.
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Photosynthesis
VIDEO 3 - The Science Of Plants: Leaves and Photosynthesis (4 min.)
7. Plants need light to produce food through the process of photosynthesis. Leaves are the key
that without leaves, plants couldn’t survive. Leaves are where the sunlight enters the plant and
begin the process of photosynthesis. Plants have adapted over time to allow them to be more
creative in the collection of light energy. Some plants, like aloe, store water in the leaves
because its home is in desert. Sharp prickles on the aloe plant help keep predators away. What
do we call the organisms that eat producers?
A. Primary Consumers
B. Secondary Consumers
C. Third level (tertiary consumers)
D. Decomposers
8-11. Some plants do not receive enough nutrients by going through photosynthesis alone.
These plants also eat insects! The trumpet pitcher consumes insects by trapping insects in the
long thin leaves and stems where the insect then drowns in the sap of the plant. Venus fly traps
also eat bugs. These plants are native to North and South Carolina and respond to touch. The
plants close up and trap their meal inside. These plants are unique and unlike most other
producers who go only through the process of photosynthesis to create food. Look at the
diagram below and fill in the correct letter to match the location.
A. WATER
8.
B. LIGHT ENERGY
C. CARBON DIOXIDE
D. OXYGEN
9.
11.
10.
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Photosynthesis and Food Chains
VIDEO 4 - Importance of Plants to our World (3 min.)
12. Chlorophyll is a very important part of a plant cell that is where photosynthesis takes place.
Large leaves collect as much sunlight as they can to help make food for the plant. The plant
uses light energy, carbon dioxide and water to make its own food known as glucose. The plant
then takes the light energy and transfers it into a new kind of energy. What is this energy
known as?
A. Heat Energy
B. Sound Energy
C. Food Energy
D. Chemical Energy
13. During the process of photosynthesis, the plan will create its own food as well as an
ingredient that plants do not need . This is a waste to the plant but is very important to people.
We have plants to thank, in part, for our daily survival, for without this we would certainly die.
What is created by the plant and later released back into the air?
A. Sunlight
B. Oxygen
C. Carbon Dioxide
D. Water
14. Energy is constantly being transferred, or moved, in an ecosystem. Energy can be shared
through a food chain. Food chains allow the transfer of energy to happen from creature to
creature. Where does all energy come from?
A. The sun
B. Producers
C. Consumers
D. Omnivores
15. In all food chains, plants are at the bottom. Next, animals eat the plants. As animals eat,
energy is being passed from one creature to another. Herbivores are often the first eaters, they
eat plants. Omnivores are eaters of both plants and animals and carnivores eat only other
animals. From the listed creatures below, which one shows an example of an herbivore,
omnivore and carnivore?
A. Grass, Rabbit, Coyote
B. Dog, Tree, Chipmunk
C. Snake, Mouse, Insect
D. Grass, Grasshopper, Frog
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Invasive Species
VIDEO 5 - Environmental Ed: Beware of Invaders (4 min.)
16. Invasive species have a natural place to live but have been brought into a new place
without any likely predators. They can be brought to a new place in many different ways, snuck
in on purpose, seeds brought over on accident, as well as other ways. These plants have gotten
so wild that they are taking away from native plants. One such example includes the Kudzu
plant, which was brought in to the United States from Japan and China about 100 years ago for
feeding cows, and keep soil from growing where it shouldn’t. At this point have completely
covered trees turning them into skeletons. It is very fast growing, up to a foot a day! It has
been known to smother trees, shrubs and even homes! If we were to leave Kudzu alone in a
forest in Ohio predict what it will do in 100 more years.
A. Completely wipe out native plants in the area
B. Be eaten by its many predators causing it to decrease in number
C. Die out because it does not have a food source
D. Remain exactly the same as it is
17. It is the natural balance in nature that keeps plants and animals in check. If and invasive
species is brought somewhere, insects, climate and diseases often have no affect on them. For
example, Bamboo was brought over from Asia. It can grow 40 feet tall and create giant forest of
grass. Nothing here in the United States eats it, it has no know predators. English Ivy was
brought over from Europe in colonial times and climbs on everything choking and pushing out
other plants. Neither of these plants is known to have a predator. If gardeners don’t protect
their property what can happen to a farm infested with these plants?
A. Animals will need to be brought over as well to to keep the plant population under
control.
B. Native animals can be taught to eat these plants, which will keep the plant population
under control
C. The ecosystem will remain in equilibrium, as the plants will be just fine living with
the new animals in the ecosystem.
D. Soon it will be completely covered with ivy or bamboo
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Food Chains and Food webs
VIDEO 5 - Science of plants: Food Chains and Food webs (2 min. 30 sec.)
18. All energy comes from the sun. When the sun strikes the leaf, plants makes food. After that
animals eat food (like other animals or plants). Energy that travels this way travels in a food
chain. Green plants are producers that take solar energy and create sugar through
photosynthesis. Herbivores come next in the chain and eat the plants. They are known as
primary consumers. Carnivores, or secondary consumers, are meat eaters who eat other
animals. Sometimes, within the chain, you can also have animals that eat both animals and
other plants. These animals are omnivores. All these animals connected together form a food
chain. Which example below is a food chain showing a producer, herbivore, omnivore and
carnivore in the correct sequence?
A. Grass -> Grasshopper -> Hawk -> Frog
B. Grass <- Hawk -> Frog -> Grasshopper
C. Hawk <- Frog <- Grasshopper <- Grass
D. Hawk <- Grasshopper <- Grass -> Frog
Use the Marian Food Web diagram below to answer questions 19-20.
19. If the killer whale were to be completely
removed from this ecosystem, what would
the overall impact be?
A. The leopard seal, penguin, elephant seal
and squid populations would increase at first
and then decrease due to lack of food.
B. The leopard seal, penguin, elephant seal
and squid populations would decrease right
away due to lack of food.
C. The cod, krill and zooplankton populations
would increase due to lack of predators.
D. The ecosystem would remain in balance.
20. If the producer in this food web were to
be removed, what overall impact would it
have on the ecosystem?
A. None, these animals live in water and
don’t need oxygen.
B. The animal populations would all
decrease.
C. The animal populations would all increase.
D. The ecosystem would remain in balance.
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