Life cycles and growing up on the Reef

STEMLinc Video Conferencing: Discover the life cycles of a variety of Reef animals including marine reptiles, mammals, and fish. Some Reef animals lay eggs, whilst others give birth to live young. There are different levels of parental care, and this influences how many eggs are laid, or how many babies are born.  We discuss how some offspring look very similar to their adult form, whilst others, which start their life as planktonic larvae, look surprisingly different. These planktonic larvae may undergo several changes in shape and form as they grow up to adulthood.  We will also discuss some of the environmental factors that can affect different stages the life cycles of Reef animals. (Image: Reef HQ)

Booking Options:  There are two options for the Reef HQ suite of programs:

1. Fixed STEMLinc dates/times for booking this event will appear each term in the table below.

2. Schools with a minimum of 3 classes wishing to book alternate dates should contact Reef HQ directly (education@gbrmpa.gov.au) to negotiate a suitable date and time.  Ecolinc will cover the costs for a limited number of alternate date bookings each term.

Year Level: 3-4

Duration: 1 hour

STEM in a box: No.

The following teacher resources are available

• Challenge Activities – Frog and Turtle life cycles – Years 2 – 4
• Missing word worksheet – Seahorses Years 2 – 4
• Missing word worksheet – Leopard shark lifecycle – Years 2 – 4
• Missing word worksheet – Sea turtles – Years 2 – 4
• Reef Babies worksheet 1 – Do they have eggs or are they born live?
• Reef Babies worksheet 2 – Year 2 – 4

Please see attached flyer Life-cycles-and-growing-up-on-the-Reef-for more detail and links to additional reference materials.

Background Information: A huge variety of fascinating lifecycles can be observed on the Great Barrier Reef.  One example is the green sea turtle. When they are about 6 years old, the immature turtles return to coastal waters, where they feed and grow until they reach sexual maturity. With their low-protein diets, this can take up to 40 years. Once the green sea turtles mature, the cycle of long-distance migrations between foraging grounds and their breeding sites begins. Green sea turtles can live more than 80 years in the wild.

Prior Knowledge:  No prior knowledge required

Learning Intentions: 

In this video conference students will:

• Discover the life cycles of a variety of Reef animals
• Appreciate that Reef animals may use different habitats at different stages in their life cycle
• Understand how changes in the environment can affect an animal’s life cycle

Activities: 

In this video conference students will:

• Through an interactive activity, see how some offspring look very similar to their adult form, whilst others, look surprisingly different
• Interact with presenters and be able ask individual questions
• Have access to supporting materials for pre- and/or post-event study

Victorian Curriculum:

Science – Biological science

• Different living things have different life cycles and depend on each other and the environment to survive (VCSSU058)

IMPORTANT:  Cancellation Policy

1. When you book you will receive an automated message from Eventbrite.  Save this carefully please.
2. Any cancellations need to be received in time for STEMLinc to re-sell your tickets to other teachers.
3. Please use the Eventbrite confirmation email to facilitate any cancellation of your booking.  That will automatically release your ticket for re-sale on our system.