Inquiry question:How do environmental pressures promote a change in species diversity and abundance?
predict the effects of selection pressures on organisms in ecosystems, including:
biotic factors
abiotic factors
investigate changes in a population of organisms due to selection pressures over time, for example:
cane toads in Australia
prickly pear distribution in Australia
Adaptations
Inquiry question:How do adaptations increase the organism’s ability to survive?
conduct practical investigations, individually or in teams, or use secondary sources to examine the adaptations of organisms that increase their ability to survive in their environment, including:
structural adaptations
physiological adaptations
behavioural adaptations
investigate, through secondary sources, the observations and collection of data that were obtained by Charles Darwin to support the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, for example:
finches of the Galapagos Islands
Australian flora and fauna
Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
Inquiry question:What is the relationship between evolution and biodiversity?
explain biological diversity in terms of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by examining the changes in and diversification of life since it first appeared on the Earth
analyse how an accumulation of microevolutionary changes can drive evolutionary changes and speciation over time, for example:
evolution of the horse
evolution of the platypus
explain, using examples, how Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection accounts for:
convergent evolution
divergent evolution
explain how punctuated equilibrium is different from the gradual process of natural selection
Evolution – the Evidence
Inquiry question: What is the evidence that supports the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
investigate, using secondary sources, evidence in support of Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, including but not limited to:
biochemical evidence, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and biogeography
techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced
explain modern-day examples that demonstrate evolutionary change, for example: