Assessment Task 2 Part A Habitats and interactions

Koala Food eaten by a koala: Koalas only eat eucalyptus leaves off gum trees. There are about 600 varieties of eucalypts in Australia. Koalas will eat the leaves of only about 120 of these species. Each koala will consume about 500 grams a day of leaves. These leaves are actually quite toxic and low in nutrients but koalas can cope with that. Koalas rarely drink because they get most of their water from the eucalyptus leaves. In times of drought they will sometimes drink water because the leaves do not have as much water in them. The biggest threat to their population has been in the past 100 years where the forests they live in have been destroyed for farming land and houses. Also they are killed by dogs and cars. actsheet.pdf (Phascolarctos cinereus)

Great white shark Food eaten by a great white shark: The great white is also known as a white pointer shark. It is known for its size as it can grown up to 6.5 meters in length. It eats marine mammals mainly seals, dolphins, porpoises, whales, fish - like tuna and rays, other sharks, sea turtles, sea otters, seabirds, and land mammals. The great white shark has no natural predators other than the Orca. This animal eats a huge variety of marine life and can survive in most of the worlds’ oceans. (Carcharodon carcharias) This map shows in blue the habitat of the Great White Shark www. Iucnredlist.org

Emu Food eaten by an emu: The emu is a flightless bird native to Australia. It is the 2 nd largest bird in the world beaten only by the ostrich. An emu can grow up to 2 metres in height. Emus eat a variety of native plants and insects, including grasshoppers, crickets, lady birds, caterpillars, moths and ants. The food they eat depends on the seasons and where they are looking for food. They will eat grass shoots, leaves and pods and even crops such as wheat and fruit. In the 1930s and 1940s emus in Queensland spread unwanted cactus by eating the plants and pooing out the seeds! Emus have to eat pebbles and stones to help in the digestion of the plant material. (Dromaius novaehollandiae) The parts in red show where the emu lives. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Tasmanian Devil Food eaten by a Tasmanian devil: Tasmanian Devil are a carnivorous mammal found only in Tasmania, Australia. Tasmanian devil eats mostly carrion or the flesh of dead animals. This includes small mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. They will also eat any human food left lying around. They will hunt wombats and other animals but prefer to scavenge dead animals. They will eat almost anything – scientists have seen clothes, animal collars, plastic and pencils in their ‘scats’ or poo. When the thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger was around, they would eat the cubs. Owen, D; Pemberton, David (2005). Tasmanian Devil: A unique and threatened animal. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. (Sarcophilus harrisii) The whole island State of Tasmania is home to the Tasmanian Devil IUCN Redlist

I deduce which animal would be most affected if one of its food sources disappeared… The animal that I thing would be most affected would be the koala because it really only has one food source – a few varieties of gum leaves from certain eucalyptus trees. If they can’t eat that - then they will die. This is why their habitat must be protected to make sure the koala does not become extinct. The Great White Shark eats a great variety of foods from around the world. It has only one predator and is the top of its food chain. The emus will eat many different foods and will travel long distances to find foods. The Tasmanian Devil will eat almost anything and is happy to scavenge food from other animals, road kill or human scraps. By Angus Herbertson