Background

Background

An ecosystem consists of all the organisms living in a community as well as all the abiotic factors with which they interact.

There are a diverse range of environments across Victoria. These include arid and coastal regions, grasslands and numerous types of forests. Within these regions there are a diverse range of ecosystems which are classified by a combination of the vegetation communities and landforms. Victoria’s ecosystems include rainforests, alpine, grasslands, semi-desert, marine, coastal, urban, agricultural and wetland ecosystems.

Background

Carbon is an element present in all living things. The total amount of Carbon on the earth does not change. Instead the element changes by cycling between living and non-living things.

One important nutrient essential to living things is Nitrogen. It exists in abundance in the atmosphere as Nitrogen gas. However, it needs to be fixed to be in a useable form for living things. Nitrogen cycles through an ecosystem and also moves between living and non-living things.

Background

Background

All organisms require energy to perform cellular processes. Although different organisms obtain energy in different ways, they often use it in similar ways. Plants use the pigment chlorophyll to absorb light energy in chloroplasts in their leaves and transform it into useable chemical energy via the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is an endergonic reaction, meaning it requires an input of energy to occur. The energy for photosynthesis is obtained from light.

Background

Farmers have been genetically modifying organisms for centuries to encourage specific traits in crops, such as drought resistance or high yield. This has relied on cross breeding between individual plants to obtain the desirable trait in subsequent generations. There is now the option to remove genes, alter them or place genes for selected traits directly into another organism, which is known as genetic modification (GM). These genes do not have to originate from the same plant species or even originate from plants at all.

Background

Part 1: Adaptations - Adaptations are the result of natural selection. An adaptation is an inherited characteristic that increases the likelihood of survival and reproduction of an individual organism. Adaptations may be structural, physiological or behavioural features. Organisms have a variety of adaptations that enable them to cope with varying environmental conditions.

Background

Tasmanian devils have recently been devastated by a bizarre transmissible cancer, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). Transmitted by biting, DFTD has spread over almost the whole of Tasmania, reaching the west coast in the last 2 or 3 years. Almost 100% fatal, it has led to a decline of at least 80% of the devil population. However, research using genomics shows that the rate of infection is slowing and it is possible that the tumours are beginning to regress due to mutations in the tumour genome.