1. Evaluation Rubric Category 4 3 2 1 Content
Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.
Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.
Includes essential information about the topic but there are some factual errors.
Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors.
Mechanics
No misspellings or grammatical errors.
Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors.
Four misspellings and/or grammatical errors.
More than 4 errors in spelling or grammar.
Attractiveness
Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation.
Makes good use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance to presentation.
Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content.
Use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. but these often distract from the presenation content.
On Task
Information collected for all graphics and facts with good behavior in the library.
Most information was collected for all graphics and facts in a proper manner.
Some information was collected for all graphics and facts in a proper manner.
Very little or no source information was collected or it was done in an improper manner.
Organization
Content is well organized using headings or bulleted lists to group related material.
Uses headings or bulleted lists to organize, but the overall organization of topics appears flawed.
Content is logically organized for the most part.
There was no clear or logical organizational structure, just lots of facts.

2. Platypus
Ms. Fox
Period 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7

3. Where does your Organism live?
List of Areas/Countries: Australia and Tasmania

4. Basic Information: bizarre appearance egg-laying Venomous Duck-billed
beaver-tailed
otter-footed mammal
Size:
Length: 50 cm (20 in) total length
Pounds: 1.5 to 5.3 lb
Males are bigger than females
Life span:
In captivity: 14 years
In the wild: 11 years
semi-aquatic, inhabiting small streams and rivers
nocturnal

5. Australian waterways Biome
Temperature
12 to 25 degrees Celsius in ocean water
Over 25 degrees Celsius in rivers

6. Producers in the Platypus Ecosystem
Mangrove
Melaleuca tree
Eucalypt tree
Acacia
Casuarina
Callitris
golden wattle
Eremophila
Grevillea
Haemodoraceae

7. Consumers in the Platypus ecosystem
Shrimp
fish
Foxes
Humans
dogs
Snakes
birds of prey
Hawks
Owls
eagles
feral cats
large eels
crocodiles
Goannas
Australia
Australia

8. Platypus Food Yabbies (various insect larvae) Shrimp crayfish
earth worms
meal worms
May flies
Dragonflies
Mussels
trout eggs
frog eggs
Tadpoles
small frogs and fish.

9. Decomposers in Platypus ecosystem
Fungi
Mushrooms
Mold
Bacteria

10. Food Chain Plankton; producer Shrimp; consumer Platypus; consumer
Bacteria; decomposer

11. List 2 limiting factors and state how they have an impact on your organism.
Predation.
Until the early 20th century, the platypus was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected.
Human Impact
The Platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, especially water pollution.

12. Describe how and why population numbers changed over time.
Population has changed over time because of limiting factors. The two limiting factors I mentioned were human predation for fur and human impact by polluting Platypus habitat. Although other limiting factors have influenced the population of platypus for 60 million years, these two factors affect the platypus currently. Other limiting factors include: competition, availability of resources, predation, human impact, and disease

13. Platypus’s ecosystem. How many different population are there? 4
List 5 Abiotic Factors:
Water
Sand
Sunlight
Temperature
Rocks
List 5 Biotic Factors:
Platypus
Fish
Tree roots
Seaweed
crocodile
How many different population are there? 4
Describe the community you see above.
The platypus is interacting with both abiotic and biotic factors. It lives in freshwater and land.

14. Interesting facts about the Platypus
The male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans.
One of the five mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.
Until the early 20th century it was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected.
When the Platypus was first discovered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to England by Captain John Hunter.
Early British settlers called it by many names, such as watermole, duckbill, and duckmole.
Venom Spur
Newborn Platypus with Mother

15. Interesting facts continued
The body and the broad, flat tail of the Platypus are covered with dense brown fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm.
The Platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves (an adaptation).
Platypus locate their prey in part by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions (called Electrolocation).
The Platypus is an excellent swimmer and spends much of its time in the water foraging for food (dives last up to 40 seconds).
The oldest discovered fossil of the modern Platypus dates back to about 100,000 years ago

16. Glossary
Producer  an organism, as a plant, that is able to produce its own food from inorganic substances
Consumer  A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.
Decomposer A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.
Abiotic  non-living
Biotic  living
Ecosystem  A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.
Habitat the natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for the life and growth of an organism:
Community  an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area.
Population  all the individuals of one species in a given area

17. Extra Credit: Energy Flow Pyramid
Tertiary consumer;
Least Energy
Crocodile
Secondary consumer
Platypus
Primary consumer
Shrimp
Producer;
MOST ENERGY
Plankton