A STUDYGUIDE by Andrew Fildes

A STUDYGUIDE BY ANDREW FILDES 7 www.metromagazine.com.au www.theeducationshop.com.au Overview Planet Earth is a BBC production with five episodes in the first series (episodes one through five) and six episodes in the second series (episodes six through eleven). Each episode examines a specific environment, focussing on key species or relationships in each habitat; the challenges they face; the behaviours they exhibit and the adaptations that enable them to survive. Recent advances in photography are used to achieve some spectacular ‘first sights’ – in particular, stabilised aerial photography gives us remarkable views of migrating animals and the techniques used by their predators to hunt them. As the series examines pristine environments where possible, they are often extreme. These are the parts of the world where few humans have chosen to live as the climate and landscape is too challenging, too difficult and dangerous. The plants and animals that do survive here have made some spectacular adaptations in forms and behaviour to live in these far reaches of the planet. The series is suitable for middle secondary students studying Science and SOSE, and for senior secondary students of Biology, Environmental Science and Geography. SCREEN EDUCATION 2 1 Episode Seven: Great Plains arid grassland condition once the rab- (Australian Grasslands systems) bits had been removed by introduced http://www.science.org.au/events/ Grass is the engine that powers all diseases in recent years. grasslands/pech.htm life on land and the great swathes of (Tibetan Pikas assessed as pests as grass that blanket the plains of the Web Resources they compete with cattle for feed) earth are the focus of this second epi- http://www.arazpa.org.au/Education_ sode. Nothing living on earth can exist Teacher Links Onsite_Grassland.htm without the grass, or at least some http://www.southern.cma.nsw.gov. Werribee Zoo (Melbourne) excur- similar green species. au/pdf/SRBI-Grasslands.pdf sion - Senior Biology/Environmen- tal Sci. workshop Grassland plains cover between one Episode 7: Time Log fifth and one quarter of the earth, Great Plains Student Links usually in central continental areas http://www.bellmuseum.org/ where rainfall is low or highly seasonal. Intro 00:00 - 01:50 distancelearning/prairie/build Every continent has its grasslands – the Mongolian Gazelles 01:50 - 03:45 (interactive - junior) chilled steppes of Asia that extend and Eagles http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ one third of the way around the planet; exhibits/biomes/grasslands.php the Pampas of South America and the Grassland fire and 03:45 - 06:00 (Senior – precise definitions of prairies of North America, the tropical Recovery terms like Steppe and Savannah central savannah and drier southern Savannah – Quelea 06:00 - 07:30 – and other ecosystems) veldt of Africa; the spinifex scrub of arid Flocks Central Australia. Any area of the world Species List that has some soil but insufficient rains Wildebeest Herds 07:30 - 08:25 to support forest beyond occasional • Mongolian Gazelle – Procapra gut- Arctic Grasses 08:25 - 09.50 clumps of small trees supports exten- turosa sive grassland. Even remote areas of Snow Geese 09:50 - 12:47 • Red-billed Quelea – Quelea quelea central Europe still have some rare pris- • Wildebeest – Connochaetes spp. Arctic Fox and Geese 12:47 - 14:35 tine grasslands. All are homes to herds • Snow Goose – Chen caerulescens of grazing herbivores and the predators Arctic Wolf and 14:35 - 18:05 • Arctic Fox – Alopex lagopus that stalk them, huge flocks of birds Caribou • Arctic Wolf – Canis lupus arctos that feed on their seeds and burrowing • Caribou – Rangifer tarandus Arctic Fox and Geese 18:05 - 20:52 rodents that live nervous lives, fearful of • Bison (Buffalo) – Bison bison sudden eagles in a treeless landscape. Prairies and Bison 20:52 - 23.21 • Yak – Bos grunniens • Wild Ass (Khulan) – Equus hemi- These are threatened habitats – many Grasses Flowering 23:21 - 25:30 onus hemionus have been destroyed or modified Tibetan Plateau and 25:25 - 27:09 • Plateau Pika – Ochotona curzoniae beyond recognition as they have been Yak • Golden Eagle – Aquila chrysaetos replaced with wheatlands in particular • Tibetan Snow Finch – Montifringilla and introduced grasses for grazing Wild Tibetan Asses 27:09 - 29:08 henrici huge herds of cattle and sheep. Of Pika (rodents) and 29:00 - 31:35 • Tibetan Fox – Vulpes ferrilata course, a wheatfield is technically a Foxes • Asian Elephant – Elephas maximus grassland as wheat and other cereals • Lesser Florican – Sypheotides are modified grasses, reminders of the Tropical Indian Long 31:35 - 34:50 indica times when humans collected grass Grasslands • Pygmy Hog – Sus salvanius seeds to make basic breads. Ninety- African Savannah 34:50 - 36:50 • African Bush Elephant – Loxodonta eight per cent of the North American and Elephants africana long and short grass prairies have • Lion – Panthera leo been lost and the mallee of southern Elephants and Lions 36:50 - 38:10 • African Buffalo – Syncerus caffer SCREEN EDUCATION Australia and remote Asian steppes Chacma Baboon – Papio ursinus Lion night Hunt 38:10 - 43:20 • are threatened in the same way as they are converted to food and textile Savannah Floods and 43:20 - end production. However, many of the Baboons central Australian ‘deserts’ returned to (TIMINGS ARE APPROXIMatE) 3 1 Blackline Master | Planet Earth | Episode 7: Great Plains Viewing Questions SCREEN EDUCATION 4 1a 1 What proportion of the earth’s surface is grassland? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 6 Which animal migrates in huge numbers across the African Savannah? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2 What climatic conditions are required to create a grassland? 7 Where do the snow geese spend the winter? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3 What animal grazes the Mongolian steppe? 8 How many snow geese migrate each year? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 9 What animal is the goose’s main predator in the Arctic? 4 How does grass recover from fire? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 10 What do the Arctic wolves hunt? ____________________________________________________ SCREEN EDUCATION 5 Which species of bird is the most numerous? Where ____________________________________________________ does it live? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 5 1b 11 What was the original large grazing animal of the ____________________________________________________ American prairie? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 12 What is the highest great plain in the world? 16 What is its main predator? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 13 Why is this plain such a dry place? 17 What is the advantage of long grassland for the ani- ____________________________________________________ mals? ____________________________________________________

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