CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

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Worksheet 4.2
Planning a school nature reserve
Your task is to plan a nature reserve at your school. It can be very small (for example, a container
with some water in it, or a big pot with some plants) or quite large (for example, a pond or a small
piece of woodland).
You may have investigated an ecosystem in or near to your school before. If so, you can use what you
found out about habitats and the organisms that live in them to help you with this task.
Here are some things to think about:
• Where will your nature reserve be?
• What kinds of habitats will it contain?
• How will these habitats help wild plants and animals to live there?
• How will the nature reserve be kept safe from damage?
You could draw a diagram or a map to show what your nature reserve will look like.
You can also provide instructions about how to construct the nature reserve, and how it will
be cared for once it has been set up.

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 1
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Worksheet 4.2
Planning a school nature reserve
Teacher support sheet
Look for these features in the plans for a nature reserve.
All learners should:
• give a basic description of an idea for a nature reserve
• make a simple drawing or map to show their idea for a reserve.
In addition, most learners should:
• describe some of the habitats their nature reserve would provide
• explain how these habitats might help some named plants and animals to live there.
In addition, some learners will:
• provide a thoughtful and practical plan for a nature reserve
• provide good detail of at least three different habitats in the reserve, and some animals
and plants that would be able to live in these habitats
• explain how the nature reserve might be used by people at the school, and how it would
be kept safe from damage and maintained.

Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 2
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Name ___________________________________ Date _____________

Worksheet 4.3A
The possum problem
Read the information about brush-tailed possums in New Zealand.

Brush-tailed possums have thick, soft fur. Possums live in Australia. In 1858, people took some
possums to New Zealand. They wanted to breed the possums and sell their fur.

Possums breed quickly. There are now about 30 million possums in New Zealand.

Possums eat plants, insects, eggs and the chicks of ground-nesting birds. They also eat so much
nectar and berries that there is little left for birds.

Many of the species of bird that live in New Zealand nest on the ground. Some species have become
extinct. Many of the remaining species are in danger of becoming extinct. The possums have helped
to cause many of these extinctions.

The New Zealand government plans to remove all the possums from New Zealand by 2050.

One way of doing this is to put a poison into food that possums eat, and leave the food where
possums will find it.

Use the information in the passage, and your own knowledge, to answer the questions.
Try to use your own words, and not just copy sentences from the passage.
1 In which country did possums originally live?

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2 Explain why there are now millions of possums in New Zealand.

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3 Explain why people want to get rid of the possums in New Zealand.

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4 Some people do not like the idea of using poison to kill possums. Suggest why.

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 4
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Name ___________________________________ Date _____________

Worksheet 4.3B
The possum problem
Read the information about brush-tailed possums in New Zealand.

Brush-tailed possums are marsupials – mammals that have pouches in which their young develop
after birth. They have thick, soft fur. Possums are native to Australia. In 1858, a group of possums
was introduced to New Zealand to try to establish a colony that could be used to provide fur to sell.

The possums have since spread across the whole of New Zealand. Possums breed quickly. Today,
there are about 30 million possums in New Zealand.

New Zealand has no native terrestrial predators. Many of the native species of birds nest on the
ground – they have never had to escape from ground-dwelling predators.

Possums eat plants, insects, eggs and the chicks of ground-nesting birds. They also eat so much
nectar and berries that there is little left for birds.

More than 40% of New Zealand’s terrestrial bird species have become extinct. Several species
survive only in protected areas that are free of predators.

In 2016, the New Zealand government announced an ambitious plan to make New Zealand predator-
free by 2050. This includes the removal of all the possums. One way of doing this is to use poison.
The poison is mixed with food such as cereals that possums eat.

Another way is to trap possums. People are encouraged to set traps on their own land. Many people
in New Zealand want to help to get rid of possums, to save the native birds.

Use the information in the passage, and your own knowledge, to answer the questions.
It is important to use your own words, and not just copy sentences from the passage.

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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

1 Explain why possums were introduced to New Zealand.

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2 Suggest why possums were able to spread so quickly across New Zealand.

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3 Explain why possums are a threat to native species in New Zealand.

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4 Suggest why some people do not like the idea of using poison to kill possums.

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5 Suggest why it is important that ordinary people in New Zealand are involved in the attempts to
exterminate possums.

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 6
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Name ___________________________________ Date _____________

Worksheet 4.3C
The possum problem
Read the information about brush-tailed possums in New Zealand.

Brush-tailed possums are marsupials – mammals that have pouches in which their young develop
after birth. They have thick, soft fur. Possums are native to Australia. In 1858, a group of possums
was introduced to New Zealand to try to establish a colony that could be used to provide fur to
sell. The possums have since spread across the whole of New Zealand.
New Zealand has no native terrestrial mammals. Many of the native species of birds nest on the
ground – they have never had to escape from ground-dwelling predators. This makes them very
vulnerable to introduced species including stoats, rats and possums.
Possums eat plants, insects, eggs and the chicks of ground-nesting birds. They also eat so much
nectar and berries that there is little left for birds. Possums breed quickly. By the 1980s, there
were more than 50 million possums in New Zealand. Today, after many years trying to control
their numbers, there are about 30 million.
More than 40% of New Zealand’s terrestrial bird species have become extinct. Of those that
remain, 35% are judged to be at risk. Several species survive only in protected areas that are free
of predators.
In 2016, the New Zealand government announced an ambitious plan to make New Zealand
predator-free by 2050. There are several different ways in which people hope to get rid of
possums for ever.
They include:
• using a poison called 1080, which is mixed with food such as cereals that possums eat; it is very
effective in killing possums, but can also harm other animals
• trapping; new types of possum trap have been developed that don't need people to keep
checking them, so they can be used in remote areas
• predator-proof fencing, to isolate areas within which all the possums can be killed and no more
can get in.
These measures can only work if most people in New Zealand agree with the plan, and are
prepared to help. For example, many people set possum traps on their own land. There is an app
that they can use to check whether the level of bird song in the area has increased, which it is
hoped will happen when the possums are eradicated.

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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Use the information in the passage, and your own knowledge, to answer the questions.
If you like, you can also search for more information on the internet.
It is important to use your own words, and not just copy sentences from the passage.
1 Explain why many birds in New Zealand nest on the ground.

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2 Suggest why possums were able to spread so quickly and extensively across New Zealand.

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3 Explain why possums are a threat to native species in New Zealand.

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4 Most people in New Zealand would like to be able to stop using the poison 1080, but they also accept
that it is necessary to use it now. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using this poison.

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5 The new traps can reset themselves after they have caught a possum, so there is no need for
people to check them regularly. Suggest why this is useful.

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6 Predator-proof fencing is useful, but will not solve the possum problem on its own. Suggest why.

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7 Suggest why it is important that ordinary people in New Zealand are involved in the
attempts to exterminate possums.

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 9
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Name ___________________________________ Date _____________

Worksheet 4.4
Mercury in an Arctic food web
The diagram shows a food web in the Arctic Ocean.

Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 10
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

This diagram shows the quantities of mercury in the water in the ocean, and in some of the
organisms in the food web.
The figures are given in parts per million, ppm. This tells us how many grams of mercury are
present in 1000 kg of the organism.

1 Name the producer in this food web.

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2 Construct a food chain that starts with this producer and ends with a person.

3 Explain how the information in the diagrams shows biomagnification along a food chain.
Use figures from the diagrams to help your explanation.

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 11
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Name ___________________________________ Date _____________

Worksheet 4.4
Mercury in an Arctic food web
Additional notes for question 3
a What is the concentration of mercury in microscopic algae?

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b What is the concentration of mercury in fish?

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c Is the number in your answer to part b larger or smaller than the number in your answer to part a?

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d What is the concentration of mercury in polar bears?

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e Is the number in your answer to part d larger or smaller than the number in your answer to part b?

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 12
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 8 UNIT 4: ECOSYSTEMS

Name ___________________________________ Date _____________

Worksheet 4.4
Mercury in an Arctic food web
Extension
4 Include a calculation to show the magnitude by which the mercury concentration increases
at higher levels in the food web.

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5 Explain why biomagnification happens.

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 8 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman and Michael Smyth © Cambridge University Press 2021 13