Discover some of the iconic habitats in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and identify which living things in each habitat are producers, consumers or decomposers. Learn how habitat complexity provides more places for animals to live, and examine what happens to organisms when habitats change. Make predictions about how various human activities may impact food chains and predator-prey relationships. Explore interactions between different living things and determine which interactions are competitive, and which are mutually beneficial.

Some of the many iconic habitats on the Great Barrier Reef include coral cays, ribbon, fringing and platform reefs, reef flats, seagrass beds, continental islands, mangroves, rock pools, muddy bottoms, sandy substrates, lagoons and continental shelf.

A large variety of marine animals live and rely on the reef habitats.

There are two booking options for this program:

• Fixed scheduled STEMLinc dates/times for booking this event which are listed below, or
• 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.

No, but the following teacher resources are available:

• Habitat Matchups
• Mangroves
• Where do they live page1
• Where do they live page 2

Please see attached flyer Living-things-on-the-Reef for more details and links to additional reference materials.

No prior knowledge is required

In this program students will:

• Appreciate the diversity of habitats within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
• Understand how habitat complexity provides more places for animals to live.
• Discover the roles of different living things in the Marine Park.

In this video conference students will:

• Discuss how human activities can change habitats, and the effect this has on the things that live there.
• Interact with presenters and be able ask individual questions.
• Have access to supporting materials for pre- and/or post-event study.

Science: Science Understanding

• 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)