Yr 5

-6 excursionactivity pack

Year 5 to Year 6

1great southern coastleafy seadragons

pineapplefish

old wivesshark egg, jaws, teeth & models

Region quiz: read these questions before you enter the region and keep them in mind. As you explore, you’ll find the answers on our signs and displays.

1. Cartilage and a large oily _________________ help a shark to float.

2. What is the role of a shark’s dorsal fin?

3. What are dermal denticles?

4. How many teeth can a shark lose in its lifetime?

5. What helps pineapplefish catch their food?

6. Where in the world can leafy seadragons be found?

7. What is a seadragons camouflage?

8. How is seaweed such as kelp different to other plants?

9. What did Albany’s local Aboriginal people use to catch fish instead of hooks?

Ocean eggs: many sea creatures have eggs that they lay or carry until hatching.

Find the Port Jackson shark egg and then the leafy seadragon sign that shows its eggs:

10. Describe how the eggs are cared for differently:

Port Jackson egg:______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Seadragon eggs:______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1great southern coastleafy seadragons

pineapplefish

old wives

Draw the teeth of the grey nurse shark and the tiger shark:

Grey nurse shark Tiger shark

11. What are the main differences? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

12. How do these differences relate to how and what they can eat?__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

shark egg, jaws, teeth & models

Observe the leafy seadragons. 13. How do they move? Is it the same as most fish?__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

14. What is the benefit of moving in this way?__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2shipwreck coast

stingraysturtlesharks

open-ocean fish

Region quiz: read these questions before you enter the region and keep them in mind. As you explore, you’ll find the answers on our signs and displays.

1. How many litres of water are in the Shipwreck Coast exhibit?

2. How much smaller does the curve of the glass make everything look?

3. How many nostrils do fish have?

4. Can sharks breathe through their nose?

5. How do sharks feel movement in the water?

Long curved tail to strike and stun your prey.

Flattened tail to hide easily in the sand

tail

Powerful tail to swim fast and far.

teethJagged triangular teeth for ripping and tearing.

Thin pointy teeth for grabbing slippery food and swallowing it whole.

Jagged curved teeth for piercing then tearing.

body

Torpedo shaped body to glide quickly through the water.

Flat body to rest and hide on the bottom

Rounded body to float easily and hover motionless, using less energy.

Shark designer: there are hundreds of different species of sharks and they live in different areas of the ocean. Their bodies are designed to help them hide and catch the food available in their environment.

Read the descriptions below and choose the features that would make YOUR ultimate shark:

6. Based on what you chose, where would your shark live and what would it eat?

______________________________________________________________________

2shipwreck coast

stingraysturtlesharks

open-ocean fish

In our Shipwreck Coast, we have 6 different kinds of sharks: Grey Nurse, Sandbar Whaler, Nervous Whaler, Port Jackson, Bamboo and Wobbegong.

Data collection: on your underwater journey through the Shipwreck Coast look around you for sharks. Every time you see a shark, keep a tally of what it is doing in the chart:

Behaviour: Number of times observed:

Swimming near surface

Swimming in the middle

Hovering in one place

Gulping air at the surface

Eating fish

Sitting on the bottom

Hiding in a cave

Getting cleaned by a fish

Other:

7. What was the most common behaviour you observed?

_______________________________________________________________________________

8. What did you think the most common behaviour would have been?

_______________________________________________________________________________

9. For shark species that swim near the top or in the middle, name something they have in common:

_______________________________________________________________________________

10. For shark species that sit on the bottom or hide in caves, name something they have in common:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Example:Swimming near surface I I I I I I I I

lobstersjellyfish

octopus3Perth coast

footballer sweeps

seahorsesstripeys

Region quiz: read these questions before you enter the region and keep them in mind. As you explore, you’ll find the answers on our signs and displays.

1. What does a tube anemone use to make its hiding tube?

2. How many hearts does an octopus have?

3. Do jellyfish have brains?

4. How do jellyfish catch their food?

5. What is an indigenous word for dolphin?

6. What is a baby fish called?________________________________________________

Circle of sealife: sea creatures have young in many different ways and their young can grow in many different phases. The way an animal is born and grows is called its “life cycle”.When you think about a sea creatures life cycle, these 3 things are important:• Some sea creatures protect their eggs until they hatch or are born, others simply release

their eggs into the water and hope for the best!• Some young hatch or are born and look like tiny versions of their parents and simply

grow bigger. Others can go through one or many transformations! At first, they might be something called a larva, polyp and look totally different to their parents, then slowly they change into adults.

• Once the young arrive, there’s a decision to be made: do they travel, or stay put?

7. What is it called when an animal travels based on the season? M___________________

8. Complete the table opposite by filling in the blanks. For each animal decide:- Are the eggs protected by a parent?- Are the young exactly like their parents, or do they transform?- Do they stay where they are born, or travel somewhere else?

lobstersjellyfish

octopus3Perth coast

footballer sweeps

seahorsesstripeys

Young vs. Adult Are the eggs protected by a parent?

Yes or No

Compare the picture to the animal in our exhibit.Do the young transform?Yes or No

Do they travel after being born?

Yes or No

Sea Squirt - Swan RiverYoung looks like: NO YES

(they swim for a few days to find the perfect spot, then settle into the sand to grow up)

Gobbleguts - ScarboroughYoung looks like: NO

(these fish are born in coastal reefs and sandy flats which remains as their habitat)

Lobster - AlkimosYoung looks like: yes

(the mum holds her eggs under her tail! If you’re visiting in sum-mer, see if our females have any eggs!)

Mullet - Cockburn SoundAdult looks like: NO

(but they are protected by the shallow water and their school!)

Some boxes we have filled in for you. You will have to find the remaining answers on our signs or by observing the animals. The first column tells you the animal and where to find it:

clownfish (Nemo)tropical fish & corals

baby crocodiles4far north coast

blue tang (Dory)Creatures Up Close exhibit

Hot in here: The water in the far north region is much warmer than the previous areas you have explored. Lets look at how temperature affects the kinds of animals living here:

Fish and reptiles (like crocodiles) are cold blooded. That means they can’t keep their bodies warm like we do. Instead, their body temperature matches their environment.

7. Where in WA are crocodiles found? __________________________________________

8. How do crocodiles get warm?______________________________________________

9. Why would crocodiles want to get warm?______________________________________

10. How does temperature affect baby crocodiles?_________________________________

11. What is one way a fish could get warmer if it needed to?_________________________

Warm water helps more corals to grow and reefs to form.

12. Describe the kinds of fish that live in these coral reefs:

_____________________________________________________________________

13. Why are they different from other fish you have seen today?

_____________________________________________________________________

Region Quiz: read these questions before you enter the region and keep them in mind. As you explore, you’ll find the answers on our signs and displays.

1. How long can a crocodile hold it’s breath for?

2. Do crocodiles need to eat often?

3. Name an “apartment shape” that corals can grow:

4. Why don’t anemonefish get stung by their anemone?

5. Who has the babies - male or female seahorses?

6. How many species of coral are found in the Rowley Shoals?

clownfish (Nemo)tropical fish & corals

baby crocodiles4far north coast

blue tang (Dory)Creatures Up Close exhibit

Body:-Flat-Boxy or Round-Long and thin

Mouth:-Front of face-Under body-Like a straw

Colour/Pattern:-Stripes or spots-Bright colours-No colour

Behaviour:-Hides or buries-Swims quickly-Floats or drifts

Special Defence:-Spines or barbs-Poison-Protected by other animals-Bright blue as a warning sign

Blue Spotted Lagoon StingrayRowley Shoals

ClownfishCreatures Up Close exhibit

Moray EelCreatures Up Close exhibit

LonghornedCowfishRowley Shoals

Blue Tang SurgeonfishCoral Lagoon

Adaptations are features or behaviours that help an animal to survive in their environment. Identify which adaptations (features and behaviours) these sea creatures have developed:

14. Of these animals, pick your favourite to do a profile on:________________________

Based on the data you collected about your animal’s adaptations, answer the following:

15. Where does your creature live (coral reef, sea floor, deep sea, open ocean or shoreline)?

_____________________________________________________________________

16. How does its body and its colours/patterns help it survive here?

_____________________________________________________________________

17. How does it defend itself?

_____________________________________________________________________

18. How does its mouth help it to find/catch food?

_____________________________________________________________________

All animals have certain features which help them to survive in their environment. Investigate the sea snake in AQWA’s DANGERzone.

1. What shape is the end of its tail?

____________________________________________________________________

2. How could this help a sea snake to swim?

____________________________________________________________________3. How would you describe the overall shape of a sea snake’s body?

____________________________________________________________________4. How could this shape help a sea snake to hide?

____________________________________________________________________

Animals can be grouped based on their common features and separated based on their differences. Lets practice grouping by thinking about the sea snake:

5. Name one difference and one similarity between a land snake and a sea snake:

They have different:___________________________________________________

They have similar:____________________________________________________

6. Name one difference and one similarity between a sea snake and an eel (you can see an eel in our Creatures Up Close exhibit in the Far North).

They have different:__________________________________________________

They have similar:____________________________________________________

7. Do you think that a sea snake is related to a land snake or an eel? Circle your guess:

blue ringed octopus (seasonal)

stonefishsea snakeDANGERzone5lionfish

Theatrette

land snake / eel

blue ringed octopus (seasonal)

stonefishsea snakeDANGERzone5lionfish

Theatrette

Investigate each animal in the DANGERzone by observing and reading the information.

8. Tick the group the animal belongs to and write what part of its body is dangerous:

Group: Fish: has gills to breathe in water, has fins

Reptile: has lungs to breathe air, can hold breath in water

Mollusc: has a soft, fleshy body, sometimes has a shell

Cnidarian: has stinging tentacles and a jelly-like body

What is dangerous? Its bite/teeth, spines, flesh or tentacles?

Marmion Marine ParkDiscovery PoolCoral ReefAdventure Bay6 Playground & Picnic Areas

Region Quiz: read these questions before you enter the region and keep them in mind. As you explore, you’ll find the answers on our signs and displays

1. How many teeth do sea urchins have?

2. What animal breathes through its bottom?

3. Which animal takes its stomach out of its mouth to eat?

4. Why are fish slimy? Give at least 3 reasons:

Coral is made up of tiny jellyfish like animals, called polyps, that live together in a colony.

5. Most animals are capable of locomotion (moving around). Why can’t coral polyps?

_____________________________________________________________________There are hard and soft corals. Hard corals make a skeleton for themselves and as they grow so does the reef.

6. What do they use to make these bony structures?

_____________________________________________________________________

7. What grows inside hard corals and what does it do for the coral?

_____________________________________________________________________Hint: corals don’t need to find much food because of this!

8. Why can daisy corals live in the dark, while many other corals can’t?

_____________________________________________________________________

9. Recipe for a reef; what are the 3 water conditions that all coral reefs need to grow?

_____________________________________________________________________