Home > Subjects > Biology > Level 1 > 1.4 Ecology > Subject content
- Subject: Biology
- AS: AS90164
- Level: 1
- Credits: 3
- Internal
Biology 1.4 Describe ecological characteristics found in two biological communities
Subject content
- Your teacher will guide you in choosing two contrasting biological communities. These may include:
- pasture/roadside grass communities
- exposed rocky shore/sheltered rocky shore
- stream in an industrial area/stream in a rural area
- pine forest/native bush
- mud flats/sandy beach.
- Ecological characteristics of your communities may include:
- food chains/webs
- trophic levels
- variety of organisms (diversity)
- interrelationships (parasitism, mutualism)
- density
- distribution
- distribution pattern
- species dominance.
- Similarities or differences of your two chosen communities must be related to environmental factors such as:
- moisture
- light
- food availability
- competition
- examples of human intervention (mowing, trampling
- shelter
- wave action
- predation
- grazing.
- Information about the two communities could come from many sources, for example, direct observations, collection of field data, tables, graphs, resource sheets, photos, videos, websites, reference texts.
- You might find online information about the environment of your region if you go to the web site of your Regional Council. Check out:
- Northland Regional Council
- Auckland Regional Council
- Environment Bay of Plenty
- Environment Waikato
- Horizons Regional Council
- Greater Wellington Regional Council
- Hawke's Bay Regional Council
- Taranaki Regional Council
- Environment Canterbury
- Environment Southland
- Otago Regional Council
- West Coast Regional Council
