Visit the Ecolinc Lizard Lounge and discover the structural features and adaptations that help animals to survive in their environment. How are the growth and survival of living things effected by the physical conditions of their environment, and how in turn are these environments determined by the climatic factors shaping the Australian landscape? Meet some of our animal stars Rocky, Tyrant, Albert, and others during this live event.

Animals have many adaptations that help them survive in their environment. Sometimes these adaptations are such that the animal may be suited to only very specific habitats, while other animals may be more generalists and able to survive in a wide range of habitats. As such, knowledge of the types of climates and habitats found in Australia can be a good predictor of the distribution of a particular animal, or conversely, observation of an animal’s features is a good predictor of where we might find it in the wild.

There are many ways that we may categorise climate or habitat zones and sub-zones in Australia. This program uses the five simplest climate zones described by the Bureau of Meteorology, namely Tropical, Subtropical, Temperate, Grasslands, and Desert. Visit the BoM website for more detail.

A kit of resources will be sent to schools which includes an A1-sized poster and a set of animal stickers that the students attach to the poster at key points in the presentation.

It would be useful, but not essential, if the 5 basic Australian climate zones (Köppen) and some Australian geography have been covered already, as this is important context for the discussion of the live animals that are presented onscreen.

In this program students will:

• Learn about the main climate zones found in Australia, and the factors that lead to their location.
• Meet some popular Australian native pets, and find out their requirements, and how this relates to their natural habitat.
• Observe the features that help these animals survive in their native habitat.

In this video conference students will:

• Engage in class discussion about which climate zones animals are most suited to and why.
• Complete a classroom poster that shows where some well-known and some lesser-known native animals can be found in Australia.

Science: Science understanding

• Living things have characteristics that distinguish them from non-living things and things that were once living, including fossils (VC2S4U01)
• Plants and animals have different life cycles; offspring are similar, but not identical, to their parents (VC2S4U02)
• Consumers, producers and decomposers have different roles and interactions within a habitat; food chains can be used to represent feeding relationships (VC2S4U03)
• Organisms have evolved over time, as seen in fossils and scientific records; the structural features and behaviours of living organisms enable them to thrive in their environments (VC2S6U02)
• Habitats can be described by their physical conditions; changing the physical conditions of a habitat, including by human activity, may affect the growth and survival of organisms (VC2S6U01)

Geography: Geographical knowledge and understanding

• The importance of environments, including natural vegetation and water sources, to people and animals in Australia and on another continent (VC2HG4K03)
• Climate and the characteristics and location of the main climatic types in Australia and the world, such as the temperate, Mediterranean and arid climates (VC2HG4K06)
• The interconnection between the characteristics of the major types of vegetation and global climate (VC2HG4K07)