Reef Relationships

STEMLinc Video Conferencing: The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is more than just coral reefs. Join us to discover a variety of ecosystems that are found there. Develop an understanding of the inter-relationships between the organisms that can be found in different ecosystems including predator-prey interactions, and symbiotic relationships. Investigate how changes in biotic and abiotic factors arising from human activities can affect feeding relationships in these ecosystems, including how poor water quality increases algal growth, and population outbreaks of coral eating Crown-of-thorns starfish. (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: 7 – 8

Duration: 1 hour

STEM in a box: No.

The following teacher resources are available

• GBRMPA Teaching Unit – Year 7 science – Wetlands
• GBRMPA Teaching Unit – Year 9 Science – Ecosystems

Please see attached Ecosystems and Reef relationships for more details and links to additional reference materials.

Background Information:  There are 14 coastal ecosystems that are important to the function of the Reef: coral reefs, lagoon floors, islands, open water, seagrass, coastline, estuaries, freshwater wetlands, forested floodplains, health and shrublands, grass and sedge lands, woodlands, forests, and rainforests.

Prior Knowledge:  No prior knowledge required

Learning Intentions: 

In this video conference students will:

• Learn what is an ecosystem
• Appreciate the diversity of ecosystems and the importance of connectivity between them
• Examine the roles and relationships among organisms in a variety of ecosystems

Activities:

In this video conference students will:

• Examine how human activities can impact these ecosystems and the organisms within them
• 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

• Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs and can be affected by human activity VCSSU093

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.