Dynamic Ecosystems Student Workbook

VCE Environmental Science Unit 1: How are Earth’s systems connected? Area of Study 2: How is Earth a dynamic system?

Pre-excursion Activities

Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plains – An overview.

 The Natural Temperate Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP) are endemic to south- western Victoria, primarily west of Melbourne.

 Trees are naturally sparse to absent in the grassland which primarily supports grass and herb (including wild flower) ground vegetation. Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plains  Grasslands were formerly extensive across the plain covering more than one-third of Victoria.

 Half of 1% per cent now remains, mostly as small and highly fragmented remnants.

 Many patches are found on private land with some patches on public sites such as roadsides, rail reserves and cemeteries.

 The grasslands provide vital support to a diverse range of native plants and animals, such as the Eastern Barred Bandicoot (EBB). Such species are important for maintaining regional, state and national biodiversity.

 The mainland species of EBB, Perameles gunnii, is now considered extinct in Source:the wild. www.environment.gov.au They are listed as Endangered federally (EPBC Act 1999).

 Putting in place favourable land use and management practices is essential at sites containing grasslands and grassy woodlands.

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Please read and view the below references prior to the excursion

a) EEV; 2016; Monitoring Environmental Systems. ‘Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plains’. Pg: 118-119.

b) For more information go to Australian Government. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Nationally Threatened Ecological Communities of the Victorian Volcanic Plain: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/e97c2d51-08f2-45e0-9d2f- f0d277c836fa/files/grasslands-victoria.pdf

c) For more information go to ‘Great Grasslands’ – A guide to education resources by Environmental Education Victoria at: http://eev.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/G-GL-E-R-Final-Nov-2014.pdf

d) The Australian Trail precinct at Werribee Open Range Zoo is a 3.7ha enclosure (i.e. a large protected, predator proof enclosure containing natural habitat) that enables Zoo visitors to connect with Eastern Barred Bandicoots and their basalt plains environment. To find out more go to www.zoo.org.au/werribee/animals/eastern-barred-bandicoot

e) Watch the videos – ‘Act Wild for Bandicoots’ and ‘Eastern Barred Bandicoots choosing their mates. https://vimeo.com/152242225

Questions 1 to 5 could be completed as a pre-visit activity.

1. Describe the environmental processes that contributed to the evolution of the Volcanic Plains over an extended scale of time.

2. How did the use and management style of Aboriginal Australians differ to that of early settlers and in more recent years?

3. The Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plain represent one of Australia’s most threatened and fragmented ecosystems. What are the challenges in encouraging people to protect it?

4. How does fragmentation impact on this ecosystem?

5. Many faunal species of the grasslands have already been lost. What happened to the Eastern Barred Bandicoot and what is now being done to fight its extinction?

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At the Zoo – collecting data Education workshop – Australian Trail

Threatened Grassland Species – Eastern Barred Bandicoot Perameles gunnii

Zoos Victoria’s Fighting Extinction pledge states that no terrestrial vertebrate will go extinct on our watch.

The mainland subspecies of Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Perameles gunnii, is now considered extinct in the wild. They are listed as Endangered federally (EPBC Act 1999).

Bandicoots were once widespread across grasslands and grassy woodlands of western Victoria and South Australia. By 1991, the subspecies was on the brink of extinction, primarily due to habitat loss and predation by introduced foxes and cats.

A captive breeding program was established sourcing Eastern Barred Bandicoots from the last known population at Hamilton. Since then, a coordinated Recovery program has focused on captive breeding, habitat management and predator control. There are currently reintroduced populations of Eastern Barred Bandicoots at Woodlands Historic Park, Hamilton Community Parklands, Mt Rothwell, Churchill Island and Phillip Island. Zoos Victoria coordinates the captive breeding program and so plays a key role in the recovery of this species through:

 Supplementing reintroduced wild populations through captive breeding.  Maintaining an insurance population in captivity  Conducting research to improve breeding and reintroduction success  Increasing community awareness and support for the Eastern Barred Bandicoot

Werribee Open Range Zoo has committed to restoring a viable population in the wild through captive breeding and reintroduction.

Eastern Barred Bandicoots have one of the shortest gestation periods of any mammal, at just 12-13 days. Females give birth to 2-4 young who remain in the pouch for approximately 60 days. At just 75 days old the young are independent, and at 90 days they are sexually mature and can begin breeding. Their life span is 2-3 years in the wild. This short life cycle makes them a good recovery species to be bred in captivity.

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6. Complete the information about this species below:

Species name:

Conservation status:

Threats:

Details of conservation measures in place:

Limiting factors that determine the carrying capacity for Eastern Barred Bandicoots in the Australian Journey release site.

What can you do to help the species?

Grasslands are considered one of the most threatened ecosystems in Australia. Less than 0.5% of the original Western Volcanic Plains grasslands remain. This ecosystem is listed as Threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and as a Critically Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999.

7. Why do we need to preserve ecosystems such as grasslands?

______

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Grassland ecosystem

8. As you move through the Australian Journey observe the biotic and abiotic components of the grassland ecosystem. In the table below record any evidence of two biotic components (plant & animal) that may interact within the grassland ecosystem. Record the details in the table below:

Organism Evidence e.g. Trophic level Inputs, i.e. what Outputs, i.e. what scats, sighting, (circle) does the does the organism feather, call, etc. organism take in release into its to survive? environment?

Producer

Primary consumer

Secondary consumer

Tertiary consumer

Producer

Primary consumer

Secondary consumer

Tertiary consumer

9. List the human induced factors that are responsible for the loss of grasslands over a short timescale

______

10. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the grasslands of the Victorian volcanic plains functioned as an ecosystem where many different organisms interacted and depended upon each other including the abiotic factors that affected them.

a) Show the correct sequence of energy transfer between an Eastern Barred Bandicoot, grass, cricket, wedge-tailed eagle.

b) How did this food web change with the introduction of livestock (sheep)?

______

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Data collection sites in the Australian Trail at Werribee Open Range Zoo

2 11 10 3 0 9 8 4 7

5 6

Page 6 of 9 Eastern Barred Bandicoot Habitat Preference Aim: To determine if the ecological requirements for Eastern Barred Bandicoots are currently exist within the Australian Trail Exhibit.

11. Each school participating in this program will collect field data. Quadrats are set at particular sites indicated on the map and will be allocated to ensure an even distribution of data. The accumulated data will be collected using EpiCollect and made available to view online. The factors below are considered important for Bandicoot interaction with a site. These factors will be measured in 1m2 quadrats adjacent to the trapping sites to determine the characteristics of sites that the Bandicoots interact with.

Quadrat number: Quadrat number: Air Temperature (oC) Air Temperature (oC) Percentage Plant cover <15cm Percentage Plant cover <15cm % % Percentage Plant cover > 15cm Percentage Plant cover > 15cm % % Woody debris cover (eg. branches, bark, etc.) Woody debris cover(eg. branches, bark, etc) % % Plant litter cover (eg. dead leaves, stems, Plant litter cover (eg. dead leaves, stems, flowers) % f lowers) % Artificial cover (cement, bricks, fence palings) Artificial cover (cement, bricks, fence palings) % % Bare ground cover (including rocks) % Bare ground cover % Distance to the nearest cover that would Distance to the nearest cover that would conceal an EBB , ie clusters of plants >15cm m conceal an EBB , ie clusters of plants >15cm m in height in height Number of species of plants Number of species of plants

Number of surface invertebrates Number of surface invertebrates

Number of different type/ species of Number of different type/species of invertebrates invertebrates

Rabbit abundance (circle) 0 1 2 3 Rabbit abundance (circle) 0 1 2 3

Not Recent activity Not Recent activity present (fresh scats, present (fresh scats, diggings) diggings) Soil moisture content (circle) Dry Moist Wet Soil moisture content (circle) Dry Moist Wet

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Post-excursion activity

AT SCHOOL – Putting it all together

Consider using some or all of the questions below as a basis for establishing a report on the fieldwork activity. These questions rely on observations, information and data collected during the field trip.

Quadrat Survey analysis

12. Compile your class results into the table below. Calculate the density and abundance of 3 selected species within the grassland area that was studied. Refer to the formulas below:

Species density = no. of plants of the same species Species abundance = no. of plants of the same species Total area studied (m2) Total no. of plants x 100

Species No. of individuals Species density Species abundance (%) (/m2)

Total no. =

a). Based on the collated class data, which plant species appears to be the dominant species within the Zoo’s grassland ecosystem?

b). Comment on the effectiveness of using quadrat survey techniques to determine the abundance and density of plants within an area.

THE GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM

13. Draw two concept diagrams. The first showing an EBBs place within its environment before European settlement. The second, after European settlement. Include the following facets in each: species, population, community and ecosystem. Include definitions, explanations, biotic and abiotic features in each diagram.

14. Explain how EBBs are dependent on the grasses of the Victorian Volcanic Plains.

15. Give one example each of a natural and human made change over a designated time scale that has effected the survival of biotic components of the grassland ecosystem.

16. In terms of plant succession, suggest why the grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plains have not been succeeded by woodlands.

17. Draw a food web and use the first and second laws of thermodynamics to explain how inputs and outputs are continually reused throughout the trophic levels of a grassland ecosystem.

Page 8 of 9 a) What changes in the trophic levels above and below the EBB led to its decline?

b) Why was the EBB unable to adapt to the abrupt environmental changes to the grassland ecosystem? Consider the processes and the time scale involved.

18. Historically, the site of the now Australian Trail exhibit, was an intact grassland ecosystem. How can the analysis of primary and secondary data help us understand environmental changes to the ecosystem over time?

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND THE RETURN OF THE EASTERN BARRED BANDICOOT

19. Refer to the data your class (and others) collected at the zoo to determine if the ecological requirements for EBBs are present within the Australian Trail.

20. Suggest what issues may arise in a population of Eastern Barred Bandicoots that grows exponentially in a small enclosed site with no predators present and supplementary feeding

21. If you were to take a ‘systems’ approach when considering the management of the grassland ecosystem, what factors would you need to take into account?

22. Weeds are a constant issue within at Werribee Open Range Zoo. The horticulture team manages weeds through the use of biodegradable herbicides. Explain why it is important that we only use biodegradable herbicides.

23. Consider the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the EBBs interaction with the grassland ecosystem. What management practices could you recommend be put into place to ensure the successful establishment of an EBB population within the Australian Journey exhibit.

24. Discuss how the Maremma Guardian Dog trial is being used as a management tool to improve the recovery success of EBBs released back into the wild.

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