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This page contains the following sections
 
Understanding Ecosystems
• Resources
• Activities

Key Message 1 - Water is Essential for Life
Understanding Ecosystems
Resources
Topic of Study - Inland Fresh Water Ecosystems
 
  • What are the different types of inland freshwater ecosystems? Including wetlands, creeks, rivers and ponds.
  • What role do these ecosystems play in the environment? What is the importance of maintaining biodiversity and water quality?
  • What ecosystem services, such as nurseries for aquatic life and water quality maintenance, do they provide?
  • How are inland freshwater ecosystems connected from the top of catchments to the sea?
  
Type
Description
Resources Covering the Topic

Easy

 - Freshwater ecology in an Australian
  catchment.
- Freshwater fact file.
- Easy to read summary of a couple of
  freshwater issues in Australia.
- Wetlands and nature.
- Brief summary of the role of wetlands.
- The riparian zone.
- Ecological processes in the riparian zone.
- Brief overview of issues.
- How do wetlands work?
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section5/5-02.htm
- Wetland poster.
- With brief information about the different
  types of wetlands, including sketches.

More Comprehensive

- Freshwater ecology.
- Thorough site with much information on the
  biology of freshwater ecosystems.

Biology Online
http://www.biology-online.org/6/
1_producers_consumers.htm

- Water backgrounder.
- Surface waters, rivers (and floodplains),
  lakes, riparian zones and wetlands.
- Comprehensive look at the different
  environments.

NSW EPA
http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/soe/soe2000/bw/
bw_1.htm#bw_1_h010

- Wetlands depend on us.
- Downloadable PDF. Thoroughly covers
  issues.
- What is a wetland?
- Wetlands as important places for animals,
  plants and other organisms.
- Wetlands are a wasted resource.
- Diagrams on how wetlands work.
- Artificial wetlands and how they work.

Murray Users
http://www.murrayusers.sa.gov.au/pdfs/
MIssues2wetlands.pdf

- Fish need trees.
- Explaining the benefits of riparian zones.

Qld Government Forestry
http://www.forests.qld.gov.au/educat/btl/
fish.htm#Riparianvegetation

- Vegetation, trees on the riverbank.
- PDFdownload.

Murray Issues
http://www.murrayusers.sa.gov.au/pdfs/
MIssues4vegetation.pdf

- River Ecosystems.
- The role of native vegetation in maintaining
  river ecosystems.

Land and Water Australia
http://www.rivers.gov.au/manage/is4rivereco.htm

- River Ramblers.
- Experiments to demonstrate the role of
  native vegetation in riparian ecosystems.

Land and Water Australia
http://www.rivers.gov.au/training/ramblers/
activities/rivram_activities.htm

- Thorough and easy to understand
  summary of wetlands and their importance.

Wetlands and Rainforests
http://www.env.qld.gov.au/environment/school/wetlands/
More Complex
- An introduction to wetlands.
- PDF download. Comprehensive overview
  with diagrams, life cycles, human use and
  much more.
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Understanding Ecosystems
Activities
Topic of Study - Inland Fresh Water Ecosystems

Band Activity Contact

Early Years
- ‘A Bug’s Life’.
- Learn how aquatic invertebrates are used as
  indicators of water health.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- ‘It’s a Frog's Life’.
- We bring the frogs to you. Learn about the 7
  different frogs of the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.onkaparinga.net/caring/
waterwatch.shtml#aquatic
- ‘Something Fishy’.
- Find out why native fish populations are
  threatened. Understanding the importance of
  habitat, pollution and exotic animals.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- ‘A Frog's Life’
- Learn about biological monitoring and why frogs
  are used as indicators of water health.
- Participate in an activity to investigate the
  mating calls of frogs.
- Information about the EPA’s frog census.
- Offered in Upper and Lower Murray.
- What is a macroinvertebrate?
- Discover why macroinvertebrates are
  bioindicators of water health.
Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.onkaparinga.net/caring/
waterwatch.shtml#aquatic

Primary Years
- Macroinvertebrate monitoring.
- Outdoor sampling and indoor lessons involving
  video microscopes.
- Look at bioindicators and water quality.
North Adelaide and Barossa Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.nab.waterwatch.org.au/
- Clever wetland interactive that shows the
  different parts of a wetland and explains its
  function.
- Gutter Guardians.
- Concepts of water pollution.
- Gutter Guardians.
- Sweep your street and examine the types of
  pollutants that can enter the waterways.
North Adelaide and Barossa Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.nab.waterwatch.org.au/
- Gutter Guardians.
- Sweep your street and examine the types of
  pollutants that can enter the waterways.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- Gutter Guardians.
- Sweep your street and examine the types of
  pollutants that can enter the waterways.
Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.onkaparinga.net/caring/
waterwatch.shtml#aquatic
- Habitat assessment.
- Assessing the habitat value of a waterway.
North Adelaide and Barossa Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.nab.waterwatch.org.au/
- River habitats.
- Classroom and outdoor activity session that
  focuses on what a habitat is, why they are
  important, different types and conducting habitat
  surveys.
- Lower Murray region only.
- ‘Funky Fish’.
- Look at native and introduced fish and talk
  through the issues involved in exotic species.
North Adelaide and Barossa Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.nab.waterwatch.org.au/
- ‘A Frog's Life’.
- Learn about biological monitoring and why frogs
  are used as indicators of water health.
- Participate in an activity to investigate the
  mating calls of frogs and information about the
  EPA’s frog census.
- Offered in Upper and Lower Murray.
- ‘A Bug’s Life’.
- Learn about biological monitoring and how
  aquatic invertebrates are used as indicators of
  water health.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- ‘A Frog’s Life’.
- Learn about biological monitoring and why frogs
  are used as indicators of water health.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- Explore your wetland.
- Organise a trip to your local wetland and we will
  assist you in learning about how they work.
Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.onkaparinga.net/caring/
waterwatch.shtml#aquatic
- Why wetlands?
- The role of wetlands in improving water quality
  and provision of habitat.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- ‘Something Fishy’.
- Find out why native fish populations are
  threatened.
- Provides an understanding of the importance of
  habitat, pollution and exotic animals.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- Coastal environments.
- How do our actions in the catchment impact on
  the coast?
- Discover why mangroves and seagrasses are in
  trouble.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-21.htm
- What is a macroinvertebrate?
- Discover why macroinvertebrates are
  bioindicators of water health.
Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.onkaparinga.net/caring/
waterwatch.shtml#aquatic

Middle Years
- ‘A Bug’s Life’.
- Learn about biological monitoring and how
  aquatic invertebrates are used as indicators of
  water health.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- ‘A Frog's Life’.
- Learn about biological monitoring and why frogs
  are used as indicators of water health.
- Participate in an activity to investigate the
  mating calls of frogs and obtain information
  about the EPA’s frog census.
- Offered in Upper and Lower Murray.
- Why wetlands?
- The role of wetlands in improving water quality
  and provision of habitats.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- ‘A Frog’s Life’.
- Learn about biological monitoring and why frogs
  are used as indicators of water health.
KESAB Patawalonga and Torrens Waterwatch
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/kwc/section1/1-11.htm
- What is a macroinvertebrate?
- Discover why macroinvertebrates are
  bioindicators of water health.
Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Board
http://www.onkaparinga.net/caring/
waterwatch.shtml#aquatic
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