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Habitats and Ecosystems
Levels 3 and 4
NZC Achievement Objectives
Te Mātauranga o Aotearoa
The Biological Environment: Recognise and explain the changes undergone by species (especially those of Aotearoa) over long periods of time.
Te Taiao: Ka āhukahuka, ka whakamārama i ngā panoni o ngā momo koiora (me ngā mea motuhake o Aotearoa), o neherā tae noa ki tēnei wā.
Learning Intentions
Integration Ideas
Learning Intentions are from the Ministry of Education
Integration ideas are from the Ministry of Education
Level 4
Students can explain the relationships between animals and plants within an ecosystem.
Social Sciences: How different groups view and use places and the environment eg. Different environments in which people live, such as the tundra, atolls, and war zones.
Social Sciences: How and why people express a sense of belonging to particular places and environments eg. The use of photos and diaries
The Arts (Drama): Develop drama for a performance in an environmental setting.
English (Writing and Presenting): Listen to waiata that describes some feature of the natural environment and retell the story in writing.
English (Oral Language): Prepare and present an oral report following a visit to a site in the local environment.
Mathematics and Statistics (Geometry and Measurement): Specify locations in the local environment, using bearings or grid references.
Mathematics and Statistics (Statistics): Collect and display time series data on an environmental phenomenon, such as river heights.
Technology: Describe and identify the positive and negative effects of some instances of technologies on people’s lives and the environment eg. the effects of fast ferries on shorelines.
Related Topics
Resources
The CARIM project, funded by MBIE is researching the decrease in pH in NZ’s coastal waters and its effect on marine life.
Level
4
Type
Poster
Acidification Studies
New Zealand Marine Studies Centre
The CARIM project, funded by MBIE is researching the decrease in pH in NZ’s coastal waters and its effect on marine life.
This game is helps people to understand the stresses on animals living on the beach. There is choice involved and a certain amount of luck too. The aim of the game is to survive through to the end without succumbing to a bad end!
Level
1-4
Type
Game
Are you a Survivor?
New Zealand Marine Studies Centre
This game is helps people to understand the stresses on animals living on the beach. There is choice involved and a certain amount of luck too. The aim of the game is to survive through to the end without succumbing to a bad end!
Join Bill Nye as he explores environments and ecosystems in a search of biodiversity.
Link for video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJw1KXAjYS4
Level
1-4
Type
Video
Biodiversity
Bill Nye The Science Guy
Join Bill Nye as he explores environments and ecosystems in a search of biodiversity.
Link for video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJw1KXAjYS4
Climate disruption (or climate change) is causing huge problems for our penguins, and the effects are set to get even worse over time. What changes are your whānau (family) or kura (school/centre) making to help?
Level
1-4
Type
Activity
Build your own Penguin Palace
Kiwi Conservation Club - Hakuturi Toa
Climate disruption (or climate change) is causing huge problems for our penguins, and the effects are set to get even worse over time. What changes are your whānau (family) or kura (school/centre) making to help?
Waterways can recover; however it takes a sustained effort over many years. Working together we can make a positive difference. Every bit helps — even small things make a difference.
Level
1-4
Type
Video
Canterbury's Stormwater Story
Environment Canterbury
Waterways can recover; however it takes a sustained effort over many years. Working together we can make a positive difference. Every bit helps — even small things make a difference.
Join Bill as he explores the fascinating, spooky, bizarre world of caves!
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXcujmx6P98
Level
1-4
Type
Video
Caves
Bill Nye The Science Guy
Join Bill as he explores the fascinating, spooky, bizarre world of caves!
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXcujmx6P98
Bill Nye’s storming in to tell you all about climates.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F2UfI0rXQE
Level
1-4
Type
Video
Climate
Bill Nye The Science Guy
Bill Nye’s storming in to tell you all about climates.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F2UfI0rXQE
This article describes an environmental decision that had terrible consequences. In the late 1800s, ferrets, stoats, and weasels were introduced into New Zealand to get rid of rabbits. However, these mustelids caused unforeseen destruction. They didn’t eat only rabbits – they discovered that New Zealand’s native animals and birds were very easy prey.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2011 Level 3: ‘It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time’
Ministry of Education NZ
This article describes an environmental decision that had terrible consequences. In the late 1800s, ferrets, stoats, and weasels were introduced into New Zealand to get rid of rabbits. However, these mustelids caused unforeseen destruction. They didn’t eat only rabbits – they discovered that New Zealand’s native animals and birds were very easy prey.
In “Skin and Bones” students are introduced to the fascinating communities that develop in the carcasses of whales on the ocean floor.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2012 Level 4: ‘Skin and Bones’
Ministry of Education NZ
In “Skin and Bones” students are introduced to the fascinating communities that develop in the carcasses of whales on the ocean floor.
An interview with ecologist Phil Lyver about Adelie penguin population dynamics and the marine ecosystem in the Ross Sea.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2013 Level 4: ‘An Ecologist on Ice’
Ministry of Education NZ
An interview with ecologist Phil Lyver about Adelie penguin population dynamics and the marine ecosystem in the Ross Sea.
In the past, ecologists wished there was an easy way to record data in difficult alpine environments. Now ecologists use data loggers.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2013 Level 4: ‘Gather Your Data’
Ministry of Education NZ
In the past, ecologists wished there was an easy way to record data in difficult alpine environments. Now ecologists use data loggers.
Some animals migrate thousands of kilometres every year - so how do scientists keep track of them? Take a look at the different technologies scientists use to study migration patterns, and discover what they have learnt about great migrations.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2016 Level 3: ‘On The Move’
Ministry of Education NZ
Some animals migrate thousands of kilometres every year - so how do scientists keep track of them? Take a look at the different technologies scientists use to study migration patterns, and discover what they have learnt about great migrations.
In 2011, the MV Rena struck Astolabe Reef and caused an environmental disaster. Since then, the clean-up operation has seen lots of debris removed from the wreck – but large parts of the Rena still remained on the ocean floor. What factors were considered when making the decision on the future of the Rena wreck?
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2016 Level 4: ‘What Now for the Rena?’
Ministry of Education NZ
In 2011, the MV Rena struck Astolabe Reef and caused an environmental disaster. Since then, the clean-up operation has seen lots of debris removed from the wreck – but large parts of the Rena still remained on the ocean floor. What factors were considered when making the decision on the future of the Rena wreck?
How clean is the water in your river? Scientists are testing the health of the Maitai River. Find out what data they collect and what can be done to make our rivers cleaner and healthier for everyone.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2017 Level 3: ‘Testing the Waters’
Ministry of Education NZ
How clean is the water in your river? Scientists are testing the health of the Maitai River. Find out what data they collect and what can be done to make our rivers cleaner and healthier for everyone.
The future of our kauri forests is at risk from a disease called kauri dieback. Combating the spread of this threat requires expertise from both Western science and mātauranga Māori and calls on everyone to get involved.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2017 Level 4: ‘Kauri Dieback’
Ministry of Education NZ
The future of our kauri forests is at risk from a disease called kauri dieback. Combating the spread of this threat requires expertise from both Western science and mātauranga Māori and calls on everyone to get involved.
Pauline Harris, a scientist of Rongomaiwahine and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, is working with a team of researchers to collect and record mātauranga from iwi and hapū about plants and animals in Aotearoa. The team is using a computer program to record the mātauranga and connect it to particular times and places in history. They hope that this information will help us understand how climate change is affecting Aotearoa’s wildlife and ecosystems, knowledge that we can then use to plan for the change.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2018 Level 3: ‘Listening to the Land’
Ministry of Education NZ
Pauline Harris, a scientist of Rongomaiwahine and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, is working with a team of researchers to collect and record mātauranga from iwi and hapū about plants and animals in Aotearoa. The team is using a computer program to record the mātauranga and connect it to particular times and places in history. They hope that this information will help us understand how climate change is affecting Aotearoa’s wildlife and ecosystems, knowledge that we can then use to plan for the change.
This article reports on a survey of a 100-metre long rocky reef located 11 kilometres off the Taranaki coast. Students from local high schools are partnering with divers, biologists, engineers, fishers, and local iwi to discover and record the plants and animals that make the reef their home. The article focuses on the survey methods being used and the different technologies involved in each method.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2018 Level 4: ‘Under the Sea’
Ministry of Education NZ
This article reports on a survey of a 100-metre long rocky reef located 11 kilometres off the Taranaki coast. Students from local high schools are partnering with divers, biologists, engineers, fishers, and local iwi to discover and record the plants and animals that make the reef their home. The article focuses on the survey methods being used and the different technologies involved in each method.
This comic biography tells the story of Betty Batham, a pioneering marine biologist. Born in an era when a woman’s place in society was largely limited to home and family, Betty rose to become a noted scientist whose legacy in the sciences lives on.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2019 Level 3: ‘Betty Batham: Biologist’
Ministry of Education NZ
This comic biography tells the story of Betty Batham, a pioneering marine biologist. Born in an era when a woman’s place in society was largely limited to home and family, Betty rose to become a noted scientist whose legacy in the sciences lives on.
This article explores a scientific issue from a Pacific worldview. It describes how the people of the Cook Islands have attempted to manage and protect their marine resources with the tradition of ra‘ui. The article highlights the very real issues that make success difficult and the diversity and validity of different people’s perspectives on ra‘ui.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2020 Level 3: ‘Ra’ui: Giving It Back to the Gods’
Ministry of Education NZ
This article explores a scientific issue from a Pacific worldview. It describes how the people of the Cook Islands have attempted to manage and protect their marine resources with the tradition of ra‘ui. The article highlights the very real issues that make success difficult and the diversity and validity of different people’s perspectives on ra‘ui.
