Purpose and rationale of the programme
The purpose of the programme is to provide the grade 11 learners with a basic knowledge of insect and other invertebrate biodiversity, and the roles they perform in ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, the learners will acquire skills in insect identification, collecting and preservation, and the application of theoretical knowledge on the conservation of invertebrates.
Exit level outcomes
- Learners must have a holistic understanding of the following concepts:
Biodiversity, ecosystem, habitat, niche, food webs, symbiotic interactions (parasitism, mutualism), mimicry, sociality
- Effects of global decreases in biodiversity and the contributing factors
- Basic knowledge of insect systematics (know certain important orders, families and species)
- Basic knowledge and application of the scientific method
- The value and functions of museums and other research institutions
- Master basic skills of collecting and preserving insects
- Acquire basic skills in poster design and presentation
- Working with peers in a group
Project
Through practical exercises and experiments the grade 11 learners will be introduced to various biological concepts. Learners must select one ecosystem on the main campus of the University (e.g. fish pond at old Botany building, or the monocot garden) and one ecosystem on the experimental farm (e.g. an orchid) and do a comprehensive study on the insect biodiversity in those chosen localities. They will have to study the interactions between different insects in the ecosystems (e.g. parasite-host, predator-prey, pollinators), their roles in maintaining the integrity of such a system (e.g. insects that provide ecosystem services, such as, ants and termites), and in the functioning thereof.
Furthermore, these learners must collect and preserve specimens of the insects they observe in their chosen study sites for a reference collection. They will use various collecting methods (e.g. pitfall traps, fruit-baited traps, and sweep netting), and will conduct a survey on nocturnal insects using light traps.
Specific objectives of the project:
- Compare insect biodiversity and ecosystem health between the ecosystems chosen on the main campus and experimental farm, and how this changes over different seasons.
- Produce reference collections from their study sites
- Design a poster which will outline the ecological interactions of a specific ecosystem they have studied on campus (with real examples, e.g. interactions between fig wasps and the fig trees they pollinate)
- Produce a short scientific report (will include e.g. the importance of their study, the materials and methods used, their results, and how this knowledge can be applied for conservation)
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