Science - Year 7: Biology: Designer Island...

The Scenario 

Earth, our very own miracle in the universe, appeared around 4 billion years ago and we humans only 200, 000 years ago. The very first life on Earth were tiny bacteria, so small we wouldn’t have been able to see them with the naked eye. However, evolution over billions of years has led to the abundance of life we have today.

Have you ever stopped to wonder how a land mass can develop into a fully functioning ecosystem?
What arrives first, and how does it get there?

Well..... here is your opportunity to find out and design your very own island ecosystem from scratch.

Your island will need to:

• provide a timeline showing its development, succession
  and an understanding of biodiversity and biomass
• explain the feeding relationships between all organisms,
  through at least 3 food chains and 1 food web
• create 2 dichotomous keys to help classify and identify the species on your island,
  one for the plant life and the other for animal life.
  You will need to have at least 10 animals and 10 plants
• introduce an event where human impact effects your island
  and discuss its primary and secondary consequences

Let me share a secret with you! There is in fact an island off the coast of Iceland that was formed in 1963 by a volcanic eruption. Scientists saw this as a very special opportunity to watch the development and succession of life over the years. This island is called Surtsey, and it may be worth a look at! In fact there is a section of this LibGuide with a bunch of information about it.

It would be a good idea to find out about food chains, food webs, classification, succession, energy transfer and human impact on environments. You may find it useful to explore this LibGuide created by Miss Phillips with support from your teachers that provides a range of useful resources, activities and links to help you learn about ecosystems.