Strand 2 – Biology: Sustainable Ecosystems and Human Activity

Grade 9 (Applied) Overall Expectations:

1 – Analyse the impact of human activity on terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems, and assess the effectiveness of selected initiatives related to environmental sustainability.

• Analyse, on the basis of research, how a human activity (e.g., urban sprawl, use of pesticides and fertilizers, creation of pollution, human interaction with wildlife) threatens the sustainability of a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem [IP, PR, AI, C].
  • Fertilizer Runoff (SF Gate)
  • Why the Bees are Disappearing (-YouTube)
  • The Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences of Sprawl (Nature.com)
  • Sewage and Lake Erie (Canadian Freshwater Alliance)
  • The World Ocean (National Geographic)
  • Canada’s Wild Atlantic Salmon Conservation Policy (Government of Canada)
  • Invasive Species (Ontario’s Invasive Species Awareness Program)
  • Overfishing (World Wildlife Foundation)
  • What is Overhunting? (Conserve Energy Future)
  • Niagara Escarpment Use & Urban Growth (Sustainable Heritage Case Studies)

• Assess the effectiveness of a local initiative of personal interest that seeks to ensure the sustainability of a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem (e.g., greening their school grounds; conservation efforts of local Aboriginal communities; naturalizing banks of local rivers or ponds with native vegetation; adoption of an integrated pest management strategy to combat pests in a local garden), and explain why the initiative is important to the sustainability of the ecosystem [AI, C].
  • Greening Canada School Grounds (Tree Canada)
  • Backyard Composting (Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority)
  • Detroit River Canadian Clean Up (Detroitriver.ca)
  • ProQuest Digitized Windsor Star
  • Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (Government of Ontario)
  • Windsor Essex County Environment Committee (WECECE)
  • Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (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 (City of Windsor)

2 – Investigate some factors related to human activity that affect terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems, and describe the consequences that these factors have for the sustainability of these ecosystems.

• Use appropriate terminology related to sustainable ecosystems and human activity, including, but not limited to: biodiversity, biotic, ecosystem, equilibrium, species diversity, sustainability, and watershed [C].
  • Resource Library (National Geographic)
  • Nova (PBS)
  • Bite Size (BBC)
  • Grade Nine Ecology Review (Trillium Lakelands District School Board)

• Investigate the characteristics and interactions of biotic and abiotic components of a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem, and describe the importance of these components in a sustainable ecosystem [PR, AI, C].
  • The Definition of Abiotic and Biotic Factors (Sciencing)
  • Why is Biodiversity Important? (Global Issues)

• Compile and graph qualitative and quantitative data on organisms within an undisturbed or disturbed ecosystem (terrestrial or aquatic) (e.g., nematode and earthworm populations in soil or compost; bird populations during migration or winter feeding; tadpole and mosquito larvae populations in a local pond) [PR, AI, C].
  • Create a Graph (National Centre for Education Statistics)
  • Types of Graphs (Loudoun County Public Schools)
  • Biodiversity Study: Disturbed v Undisturbed (WUP Centre)

• Plan and conduct an inquiry into how a factor related to human activity affects a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem (e.g., how changes to soil composition from the use of different compostable materials or organic or inorganic fertilizers affect the types of plants that can be grown; how lower water levels resulting from water diversion affect waterfowl nesting areas and fish reproduction), and describe the consequences that this factor has for the sustainability of the ecosystem [IP, PR, AI, C].
  • How Do Fertilizers Affect the Environment (Environment)
  • What is Fertilizer and Why Do Plants Need It? (How Stuff Works)
  • Low Water Levels Threaten Fish Migration (CBC)
  • Freshwater Threats (National Geographic)
  • Soil and Pesticides (National Pesticide Information Centre)

3 – Demonstrate an understanding of characteristics of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the interdependence within and between ecosystems, and the impact humans have on the sustainability of these ecosystems..

• Identify similarities and differences between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and describe these similarities and differences using diagrams.
  • Types of Ecosystem (Eco-Globe)
  • Terrestrial Ecosystem (National Geographic)
  • What are the Major Types of Terrestrial Ecosystems? (Sciencing)
  • Aquatic Ecosystems (National Geographic)
  • Definition of an Aquatic Ecosystem (Sciencing)

• Describe the interdependence of the components within a terrestrial and an aquatic ecosystem, and explain how the components of both systems work together to ensure the sustainability of a larger ecosystem.
  • Terrestrial Ecosystem (National Geographic)
  • Aquatic Ecosystem (National Geographic)
  • Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystem (YouTube)

• Describe the complementary processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis with respect to the flow of energy and the cycling of matter within ecosystems (e.g., carbon dioxide is a by-product of cellular respiration and is used for photosynthesis, which produces oxygen needed for cellular respiration), and explain how human activities can disrupt the balance achieved by these processes (e.g., automobile use increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; planting trees reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere).
  • Cellular Respiration (YouTube)
  • What is Photosynthesis? (BBC Bitesize)
  • Flow of Matter in Ecosystems (CK-12)
  • Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis (CK-12)
  • Photosynthesis and Respiration (Photosynthesis Education)
  • Steps of Cellular Respiration (Khan Academy)
  • Cellular Respiration (YouTube)

• Identify the major limiting factors of ecosystems (e.g., nutrients, space, water, predators), and explain how these factors are related to the carrying capacity of an ecosystem (e.g., how an increase in the moose population in an ecosystem affects the wolf population in the same ecosystem).
  • Limiting Factors in the Ecosystem (Sciencing)
  • Limiting Factors (National Geographic)
  • Limiting Factors (PBS)
  • Carrying Capacity (Sciencing)

• Identify some factors related to human activity that have an impact on ecosystems (e.g., the use of fertilizers and pesticides; altered shorelines; organic and conventional farming; urban sprawl), and explain how these factors affect the equilibrium and survival of populations in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (e.g., fertilizers change the fertility of soil, affecting what types of plants can grow in it; pesticides leach into water systems, affecting water quality and aquatic life; shoreline development affects the types of aquatic life and terrestrial vegetation that can live by lake shores or river banks; urban sprawl wipes out fields and woods, destroying wildlife habitats).
  • Invasive Species (Government of Canada)
  • The Importance of Healthy Shorelines (Science Indeed)
  • Shoreline Ecosystem (Shore Friendly)
  • Acid Rain Facts and Information (National Geographic)
  • What is Acid Rain? (Environmental Protection Agency)
  • Soil and Pesticides (National Pesticide Information Centre)
  • The Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences of Sprawl (Nature.com)