Grade 7: Science – Interactions and Ecosystems (Social and Environmental Emphasis)

1: Investigate and describe relationships between humans and their environments, and identify related issues and scientific questions

• illustrate how life-supporting environments meet the needs of living things for nutrients, energy sources, moisture, suitable habitat, and exchange of gases

• describe examples of interaction and interdependency within an ecosystem (e.g., identify examples of dependency between species, and describe adaptations involved; identify changing relationships between humans and their environments, over time and in different cultures - as, for example, in aboriginal cultures)

• identify examples of human impacts on ecosystems, and investigate and analyze the link between these impacts and the human wants and needs that give rise to them (e.g., identify impacts of the use of plants and animals as sources of food, fibre and other materials; identify potential impacts of waste products on environments)

• analyze personal and public decisions that involve consideration of environmental impacts, and identify needs for scientific knowledge that can inform those decisions

2: Trace and interpret the flow of energy and materials within an ecosystem

• analyze an ecosystem to identify biotic and abiotic components, and describe interactions among these components

• analyze ecosystems to identify producers, consumers and decomposers; and describe how energy is supplied to and flows through a food web, by:

• describing and giving examples of energy and nutrient storage in plants and animals

• describing how matter is recycled in an ecosystem through interactions among plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms

• interpreting food webs, and predicting the effects of changes to any part of a web

• describe the process of cycling carbon and water through an ecosystem

• identify mechanisms by which pollutants enter and move through the environment, and can become concentrated in some organisms (e.g., acid rain, mercury, PCBs, DDT)

3: Monitor a local environment, and assess the impacts of environmental factors on the growth, health and reproduction of organisms in that environment

• investigate a variety of habitats, and describe and interpret distribution patterns of living things found in those habitats (e.g., describe and compare two areas within the school grounds - a relatively undisturbed site and a site that has been affected by heavy use; describe and compare a wetland and a dryland area in a local parkland)

• investigate and interpret evidence of interaction and change (e.g., population fluctuations, changes in weather, availability of food or introduction of new species into an ecosystem)

• identify signs of ecological succession in local ecosystems (e.g., emergence of fireweed in recently cut forest areas, replacement of poplar by spruce in maturing forests, reestablishment of native plants on unused farmland)

4: Describe the relationships among knowledge, decisions and actions in maintaining life-supporting environments

• identify intended and unintended consequences of human activities within local and global environments (e.g., changes resulting from habitat loss, pest control or from introduction of new species; changes leading to species extinction)

• describe and interpret examples of scientific investigations that serve to inform environmental decision making

• illustrate, through examples, the limits of scientific and technological knowledge in making decisions about life-supporting environments (e.g., identify limits in scientific knowledge of the impact of changing land use on individual species; describe examples in which aboriginal knowledge - based on long-term observation - provides an alternative source of understanding)

• analyze a local environmental issue or problem based on evidence from a variety of sources, and identify possible actions and consequences (e.g., analyze a local issue on the control of the beaver population in a nearby wetland, and identify possible consequences)

Grade 7: Science – Plants for Food and Fibre (Science and Technology Emphasis)

1: Investigate plant uses; and identify links among needs, technologies, products and impacts

• investigate trends in land use from natural environments (e.g., forests, grasslands) to managed environments (e.g., farms, gardens, greenhouses) and describe changes

4: Identify and interpret relationships among human needs, technologies, environments, and the culture and use of living things as sources of food and fibre

• investigate and identify intended and unintended consequences of environmental management practices (e.g., identify problems arising from monocultural land use in agricultural and forestry practices, such as susceptibility to insect infestation or loss of diversity)

• identify the effects of different practices on the sustainability of agriculture and environmental resources (e.g., identify positive and negative effects of using chemical fertilizers and pesticides and of using organic farming practices)

Grade 7: Social Science – Following Confederation: Canadian Expansions

7.2 demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how the political, demographic, economic and social changes that have occurred since Confederation have presented challenges and opportunities for individuals and communities.

7.2.2 Using a grizzly bear lens, recognize the positive and negative consequences of political decisions

7.2.5 Using a grizzly bear lens, evaluate the impact of Confederation and of subsequent immigration on Canada from 1867 to the First World War by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:

• In what ways did the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway affect the growth of Canada?

• What impact did immigration have on Indigenous peoples and on communities in Canada?

• To what extent was agricultural activity a key factor in the population growth of western Canada?

Grade 9: Science – Biological Diversity (Social and Environmental Emphasis)

1: Investigate and interpret diversity among species and within species, and describe how diversity contributes to species survival

• observe variation in living things, and describe examples of variation among species and within species (e.g., observe and describe characteristics that distinguish two closely related species)

• identify examples of niches, and describe the role of variation in enabling closely related living things to survive in the same ecosystem (e.g., investigate different bird species found in a local park ecosystem, and infer how each is adapted to life within that ecosystem)

• investigate and interpret dependencies among species that link the survival of one species to the survival of others

• identify examples of symbiotic relationships (e.g., organisms that benefit other organisms by providing habitat, food, means of fertilization, or a source of oxygen)

• classify symbiotic relationships as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

• identify the role of variation in species survival under changing environmental conditions (e.g., resistance to disease, ability to survive in severe environments)

2: Investigate the nature of reproductive processes and their role in transmitting species characteristics

• distinguish between sexual and asexual reproduction, and identify and interpret examples of asexual and sexual reproduction in different species, by:

• describing mechanisms of asexual reproduction including binary fission, budding and the production of spores

• describing mechanisms of sexual reproduction (e.g., cross-fertilization in seed plants, sexual reproduction in mammals)

• describing examples of organisms that show both sexual and asexual reproduction (e.g., yeasts that reproduce both by budding and sexual reproduction; plants that reproduce through suckering, runners or bulbs, as well as by seed production)

• describe examples of variation of characteristics within a species, and identify examples of both discrete and continuous variation (e.g., hand clasping preference is an example of a discrete variation, the length of human hands varies on a continuum)

• investigate the transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring, and identify examples of characteristics in offspring that are:

• the same as the characteristics of both parents

• the same as the characteristics of one parent

• intermediate between parent characteristics

• different from both parents

• distinguish those characteristics that are heritable from those that are not heritable, and identify characteristics for which heredity and environment may both play a role (e.g., recognize that eye colour is heritable but that scars are not; recognize that a person's height and weight may be largely determined by heredity but that diet may also play a role)

• identify examples of dominant and recessive characteristics and recognize that dominance and recessiveness provide only a partial explanation for the variation of characteristics in offspring

3: Describe, in general terms, the role of genetic materials in the continuity and variation of species characteristics; and investigate and interpret related technologies

• describe, in general terms, the relationship of chromosomes, genes and DNA; and interpret their role as repositories of genetic information

• distinguish between cell division that leads to identical daughter cells, as in binary fission and mitosis, and cell division that leads to formation of sex cells, as in meiosis; and describe, in general terms, the synthesis of genetic materials that takes place during fertilization [Note: At this level, students should understand that the formation of sex cells involves the halving of the parent cell's genetic materials and that this process leads to zygote formation. Opportunity for further study of the specific mechanisms of cell division - mitosis and meiosis - will be provided in senior high school courses.]

• compare sexual and asexual reproduction, in terms of the advantages and disadvantages (e.g., recognize that asexual reproduction provides an efficient means of transmitting characteristics and that sexual reproduction provides an opportunity for recombination of characteristics)

• distinguish between, and identify examples of, natural and artificial selection (e.g., evolution of beak shapes in birds, development of high milk production in dairy cows)

• describe, in simple terms, some of the newly emerging technologies for recombining genetic material; and identify questions and issues related to their application

4: Identify impacts of human action on species survival and variation within species, and analyze related issues for personal and public decision making

• describe the relative abundance of species on Earth and in different environments (e.g., note the overall abundance of insect species; note that in harsh environments there are relatively fewer species found than in temperate and tropical environments)

• describe ongoing changes in biological diversity through extinction and extirpation of native species, and investigate the role of environmental factors in causing these changes (e.g., investigate the effect of changing river characteristics on the variety of species living in the river; investigate the effect of changing land use on the survival of wolf or grizzly bear populations)

• evaluate the success and limitations of various local and global strategies for minimizing loss of species diversity (e.g., breeding of endangered populations in zoos, development of seed banks, designating protected areas, development of international treaties regulating trade of protected species and animal parts)




• investigate and describe the use of biotechnology in environmental, agricultural or forest management; and identify potential impacts and issues (e.g., investigate issues related to the development of patented crop varieties and varieties that require extensive chemical treatments; identify issues related to selective breeding in game farming and in the rearing of fish stocks)

Grade 11: Biology 20 – Ecosystems & Population Change

1: Explain that the biosphere is composed of ecosystems, each with distinctive biotic and abiotic characteristics.

• Define species, population, community and ecosystem, and explain the interrelationships among them.

• Explain how terrestrial ecosystems support a diversity of organisms through a variety of habitats and niches.

• Identify biotic and abiotic characteristics and explain their influence in a terrestrial ecosystem in the local region.

• Explain how limiting factors influence organism distribution and range.

• Explain the fundamental principles of taxonomy and binomial nomenclature, using modes of nutrition at the kingdom level and morphological characteristics at the genus/species level.

• Evaluate the impact that human activity has had, or could have, on the biodiversity in an ecosystem.

• Hypothesize the role of biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems.

• Analyze the interrelationship of biotic and abiotic characteristics that make up the ecosystem studied.

• Compile and organize evidence from a variety of sources, for or against human activity being responsible for ecosystem change, and analyze the relationship between human activity and changing ecosystems.

2: Explain the mechanisms involved in the change of populations over time.

• Explain that variability in a species results from heritable mutations and that some mutations have a selective advantage.

• Discuss the significance of sexual reproduction to individual variation in populations and to the process of evolution.

• Explain speciation and the conditions required for this process.

Grade 12: Biology 30 – Population and Community Dynamics

1: Describe a community as a composite of populations in which individuals contribute to a gene pool that can change over time.

• Describe the factors that cause the diversity in the gene pool to change (i.e., natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, nonrandom mating, bottleneck effect, founder effect, migration, mutation).

• Describe the molecular basis of gene-pool change and the significance of these changes over time (i.e., mutations and natural selection (e.g., drugresistant bacteria, herbicide resistant plants).

• Explain that science and technology have both intended and unintended consequences for humans and the environment.

• Discuss the introduction of exotic species into new ecosystems.

• Discuss the development of ecological reserves to preserve gene-pool diversity.

• Assess the bottleneck effect characteristic of small populations, such as in whooping crane and swift fox populations, and suggest strategies to counteract it.

• Assess habitat loss and the responsibility of society to protect the environment for future generations.

2: Explain the interaction of individuals in a population with one another and with members of other populations.

• Describe the basis of species interactions and symbiotic relationships and describe the influence of these interactions on population changes; i.e.,

• predator-prey and producer-consumer relationships,

• symbiotic relationships: commensalism, mutualism and parasitism

• interspecific and intraspecific competition

• Explain how mixtures of populations that define communities may change over time or remain as a climax community (i.e., primary succession, secondary succession).

• Explain why Canadian society supports scientific research and technological development to facilitate a sustainable society, economy and environment.

• Discuss public support for scientific work done on predator-prey relationships as part of wildlife management in national and provincial parks, such as the introduction of wolves.

• 3: Explain, in quantitative terms, the changes in populations over time.