Biology (Sustainable Ecosystems)
Grade 9 (Applied) Overall Expectations:
1 – Assess the impact of human activities on the sustainability of terrestrial and/or aquatic ecosystems, and evaluate the effectiveness of courses of action intended to remedy or mitigate negative impacts.
- Assess, on the basis of research, the impact of a factor related to human activity (overhunting/overfishing) that threatens the sustainability of a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem [IP, PR, AI, C].
- Why the Bees are Disappearing (YouTube)
- The Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences of Sprawl (Nature.com)
- National Geographic: Education (National Geographic)
- The World Ocean (National Geographic)
- Nova (PBS)
- Windsor Essex County Environment Committee (WECECE)
- Invasive Species (Ontario’s Invasive Species Awareness Program)
- Invasive Species (National Wildlife Foundation)
- Introduction to Invasive Species (National Geographic)
- Effects of Overfishing (Environmental Defense Fund)
- Overfishing (World Wildlife Foundation)
- What is Overhunting? (Conserve Energy Future)
- Niagara Escarpment Use & Urban Growth (Sustainable Heritage Case Studies)
- Zebra Mussels Threaten Inland Waters (Minnesota Sea Grant)
- Forestry (Government of Ontario)
- Long-term Damage from Logging Hits Ability of Canada’s Forests to Regenerate (The Guardian)
- Evaluate the effectiveness of government initiatives in Canada (federal, provincial, municipal), and/or the efforts of societal groups or non-governmental organizations, such as Aboriginal communities, environmental groups, or student organizations, with respect to an environmental issue that affects the sustainability of terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems [AI, C].
- ProQuest Digitized Windsor Star
- Environment and Natural Resources (Government of Canada)
- Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (Government of Ontario)
- Windsor Essex County Environment Committee (WECECE)
- Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (Government of Ontario)
- Environmental Groups in Canada (Goodwork.ca)
- Ontario Nature (Ontarionature.org)
- RCEN (Canadian Environmental Network)
- Conservation and Protection of Canada’s Forests (Government of Canada)
- Policy and Legislation (Government of Canada)
- Ontario’s Parks and Protected Areas (Government of Ontario)
- Environment and Climate Change Acts (Government of Canada)
- Environmental Law (The Canadian Encyclopedia)
- Parks Canada (Government of Canada)
- National Wetland Conservation Fund (Government of Canada)
- Wetland Conservation Strategy (Government of Ontario)
- Essex Forest and Wetlands Area (Nature Conservancy Canada)
- Wetlands (Essex Region Conservation)
- Honouring Earth (Assembly of First Nations)
- Environmental Challenges (Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada)
- Recycling Council of Ontario (Recycling Council of Ontario)
- Recycling (City of Windsor)
- The Life of a Resource Steward (Ontario Parks)
- Environmental Stewardship (Government of Canada)
2 – Investigate factors related to human activity that affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and explain how they affect the sustainability of these ecosystems.
- Use appropriate terminology related to sustainable ecosystems, including, but not limited to: bioaccumulation, biosphere, diversity, ecosystem, equilibrium, sustainability, sustainable use, protection, and watershed [C].
- Resource Library (National Geographic)
- Nova (PBS)
- Bite Size (BBC)
- Balance in an Ecosystem (Siyavula)
- Interpret qualitative and quantitative data from undisturbed and disturbed ecosystems (terrestrial and/or aquatic), communicate the results graphically, and, extrapolating from the data, explain the importance of biodiversity for all sustainable ecosystems [PR, AI, C].
- Create a Graph (National Centre for Education Statistics)
- Types of Graphs (Loudoun County Public Schools)
- Why is Biodiversity Important? (Global Issues)
- Undisturbed Ecosystems Benefit Everyone (The Cornucopia Institute)
- Biodiversity Study: Disturbed v Undisturbed (WUP Centre)
- Plan and conduct an investigation, involving both inquiry and research, into how a human activity affects soil composition or soil fertility, and, extrapolating from the data and information gathered, explain the impact of this activity on the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems [IP, PR, AI, C].
- Human and Soil Interactions (Soil Science Society of America)
- Soil Fertility (Soils4Teachers)
- Soil: The Foundation of Agriculture (The Nature Education)
- Global Warming is Changing Organic Matter in Soil (Science Daily)
- How Do Fertilizers Affect the Environment (Environment)
- Fertilizers’ Impact on Soil Health Compared (Phys)
- The Effects of Chemical Fertilizers on Soil (Hunker)
- How Pesticides Affect Soil Microbes (EMNZ)
- Soil and Pesticides (National Pesticide Information Centre)
- Plan and conduct an investigation, involving both inquiry and research, into how a human activity affects water quality, and, extrapolating from the data and information gathered, explain the impact of this activity on the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems [IP, PR, AI, C].
- Permeation of Leeching (Environmental Protection Agency)
- Pesticides and Water Pollution (SafeWater.org)
- Watershed Management (Conservation Ontario)
- Deforested Watershed (Oregon State University)
- How Watersheds Work (HowStuffWorks)
- Potential Threats to Groundwater (Groundwater.org)
- Groundwater Decline and Depletion (U.S. Geological Survey)
- Analyse the effect of human activity on the populations of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by interpreting data and generating graphs (e.g., data from Statistics Canada, Parks Canada, and other websites).
- Human Activity and the Environment (Statistics Canada)
- Parks Canada (Government of Canada)
- Environment Fact Sheets (Statistics Canada)
- Create a Graph (National Centre for Education Statistics)
- Types of Graphs (Loudoun County Public Schools)
- What is Nutrient Pollution? (National Oceanic Service)
- Fertilizer Runoff Overwhelms Streams and Rivers (Scientific American)
- Trampling Impacts on Vegetation and Soil (Barcelona Field Studies Centre)
- Effects of Land Clearing (Sciencing)
- 5 Human Impacts on the Environment (Khan Academy)
- Habitat Loss (World Wildlife Foundation)
- The Effect of Habitat Destruction of the Environment (Sciencing)
- Habitat Loss & Degradation (Capital Regional District)
- Wildlife Collision: The Facts (Wildlife Collision Prevention Program)
- The Environmental Impact of Roads (Environmental Science)
- The Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences of Sprawling Development (Nature.com)
- Urbanization (PRB)
- Wildlife Habitats and Development (Notice Nature)
3 – Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic nature of ecosystems, particularly in terms of ecological balance and the impact of human activity on the sustainability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
- Compare and contrast biotic and abiotic characteristics of sustainable and unsustainable terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
- The Definition of Biotic and Abiotic Factors (Sciencing)
- Difference Between Abiotic and Biotic Factors (BioDifferences)
- Terrestrial Ecosystem (National Geographic)
- What are the Major Types of Terrestrial Ecosystems? (Sciencing)
- Aquatic Ecosystems (National Geographic)
- Definition of an Aquatic Ecosystem (Sciencing)
- What is a Sustainable Ecosystem? (Classroom)
- Describe the complementary processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis with respect to the flow of energy and the cycling of matter within ecosystems and explain how human activities can disrupt the balance achieved by these processes.
- Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis (CK-12)
- Photosynthesis and Respiration (Photosynthesis Education)
- What is Photosynthesis? (BBC Bite Size)
- Steps of Cellular Respiration (Khan Academy)
- Cellular Respiration (YouTube)
- Describe the limiting factors of ecosystems and explain how these factors affect the carrying capacity of an ecosystem.
- Limiting Factors in the Ecosystem (Sciencing)
- Limiting Factors (National Geographic)
- Limiting Factors (PBS)
- Limiting Factors in Ecosystems (Globe.gov)
- Identify the earth’s four spheres and describe the relationship that must exist between these spheres if diversity and sustainability are to be maintained.
- Earth’s Spheres (Earth System Research Laboratories)
- Exploring the Earth’s Four Spheres (Thought Co.)
- Learn About Earth’s Spheres (Generation Genius)
- Identify various factors related to human activity that have an impact on ecosystems and explain how these factors affect the equilibrium and survival of ecosystems.
- Invasive Species (The National Wildlife Federation)
- Invasive Species (National Geographic)
- What is an Invasive Species? (National Ocean Service)
- 10 Invasive Species Threatening Canadian Habitats (CBC)
- Invasive Species (Government of Canada)
- The Importance of Healthy Shorelines (Science Indeed)
- Scientists Assess Shoreline Development Impact (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- Shoreline Ecosystem (Shore Friendly)
- Acid Rain Facts and Information (National Geographic)
- Acid Rain (Adirondack Council)
- What is Acid Rain? (Environmental Protection Agency)