Breeding for balance
View Sequence overviewStudents will:
- discuss examples of breeding programs.
- compare the meanings of ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’ and ‘at-risk’.
- discuss factors that affect the funding or breeding programs.
Students will represent their understanding as they:
- brainstorm what might be needed for a breeding program.
- describe the factors that affect their choice of a sponsor animal.
In the Launch phase, assessment is diagnostic.
Take note of:
- students’ understanding of:
- the terms ‘extinct’, ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’, and ‘threatened’.
- ‘breeding’ vs ‘reproduction’.
- students’ ability to research to identify and synthesise information.
- students' ability to identify possible limitations in their own positions by considering opposing viewpoints.
Whole class
Access to the internet and YouTube for videos
Breeding for balance Resource PowerPoint
The website of a local/nearby zoo that offers sponsorship for individual animals, for example:
- ACT: National Zoo & Aquarium
- NSW: Taronga Zoo
- QLD: Australia Zoo or Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
- VIC: Zoos Victoria
- WA: Perth Zoo
- SA: Zoos South Australia
- TAS: Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
Each group
Access to the internet for online research
Each student
Individual science notebook (or electronic equivalent)
Resources/materials to produce a digital or paper-based poster
Lesson
The Launch phase is designed to increase the science capital in a classroom by asking questions that elicit and explore students’ experiences. It uses local and global contexts and real-world phenomena that inspire students to recognise and explore the science behind objects, events and phenomena that occur in the material world. It encourages students to ask questions, investigate concepts, and engage with the Core Concepts that anchor each unit.
The Launch phase is divided into four routines that:
- ensure students experience the science for themselves and empathise with people who experience the problems science seeks to solve (Experience and empathise)
- anchor the teaching sequence with the key ideas and core science concepts (Anchor)
- elicit students’ prior understanding (Elicit)
- and connect with the students’ lives, languages and interests (Connect).
Students arrive in the classroom with a variety of scientific experiences. This routine provides an opportunity to plan for a common shared experience for all students. The Experience may involve games, role-play, local excursions or yarning with people in the local community. This routine can involve a chance to Empathise with the people who experience the problems science seeks to solve.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider what experiences will be relevant to your students. Is there a location for an excursion, or people to talk to as part of an incursion? Are there local people in the community who might be able to talk about what they are doing? How could you set up your classroom to broaden the students’ thinking about the core science ideas? How could you provide a common experience that will provide a talking point throughout the sequence?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkEndangered or extinct
(Slide 3) Show an Australian animal that is endangered in your local area. Alternatively, discuss a well-known Australian animal that is endangered (e.g. koala, Gouldian finch, glossy black cockatoo, Eastern quoll, bilby).
(Slide 4) Discuss the difference between:
- ‘extinct’: having no living members of the species.
- ‘endangered’: at high risk of extinction in the near future.
- ‘vulnerable’: at risk of extinction in the medium term.
- ‘threatened’: at risk of extinction.
✎ STUDENT NOTES: Write definitions for ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’, and ‘threatened’.
Discuss the role that zoos play in supporting the breeding of endangered species. Watch the video Breeding Programs - Africa Team | Australia Zoo Life (7:31).
(Slide 5) Pose the question: What do we need to know to start a breeding program?
- What is meant by ‘breeding’? How is it similar or different to ‘reproduction’?
- Reproduction is a term used to describe the production of offspring in general through sexual or asexual processes.
- Breeding is a term mainly used for the sexual reproduction of selected desired traits.
- What is a breeding program?
- A human-designed process that encourages animals to reproduce offspring.
- What is the purpose of a breeding program?
- Why are breeding programs important?
- What are the costs involved in a breeding program?
Breeding programs
Zoos conduct breeding programs to support species conservation by establishing populations of animals that are at risk of extinction.
Zoos conduct breeding programs to support species conservation by establishing populations of animals that are at risk of extinction. These populations are used to supplement existing wild populations or re-establish species that are extinct in the wild. These programs are the basis for maintaining the genetic diversity of a population. Sometimes they also allow for the reintroduction of the animals into the environment.
Most zoos track the genealogy (births, parentage, and genetic lineage) of each animal to maximise the genetic diversity of the population. Zoos will also compare the genealogies of their animals, and will exchange animals to increase the genetic diversity of the population.
Zoos conduct breeding programs to support species conservation by establishing populations of animals that are at risk of extinction. These populations are used to supplement existing wild populations or re-establish species that are extinct in the wild. These programs are the basis for maintaining the genetic diversity of a population. Sometimes they also allow for the reintroduction of the animals into the environment.
Most zoos track the genealogy (births, parentage, and genetic lineage) of each animal to maximise the genetic diversity of the population. Zoos will also compare the genealogies of their animals, and will exchange animals to increase the genetic diversity of the population.
The Launch phase is designed to increase the science capital in a classroom by asking questions that elicit and explore students’ experiences. It uses local and global contexts and real-world phenomena that inspire students to recognise and explore the science behind objects, events and phenomena that occur in the material world. It encourages students to ask questions, investigate concepts, and engage with the Core Concepts that anchor each unit.
The Launch phase is divided into four routines that:
- ensure students experience the science for themselves and empathise with people who experience the problems science seeks to solve (Experience and empathise)
- anchor the teaching sequence with the key ideas and core science concepts (Anchor)
- elicit students’ prior understanding (Elicit)
- and connect with the students’ lives, languages and interests (Connect).
The Elicit routine provides opportunities to identify students’ prior experiences, existing science capital and potential alternative conceptions related to the Core concepts. The diagnostic assessment allows teachers to support their students to build connections between what they already know and the teaching and learning that occurs during the Inquire cycle.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider when and where students may have been exposed to the core concepts and key ideas in the past. Imagine how a situation would have looked without any prior knowledge. What ideas and thoughts might students have used to explain the situation or phenomenon? What alternative conceptions might your students hold? How will you identify these?
The Deep connected learning in the ‘Pedagogical Toolbox: Deep connected learning’ provides a set of tools to identify common alternative conceptions to aid teachers during this routine.
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkScience education consists of a series of key ideas and core concepts that can explain objects, events and phenomena, and link them to the experiences encountered by students in their lives. The purpose of the Anchor routine is to identify the key ideas and concepts in a way that builds and deepens students’ understanding. During the Launch phase, the Anchor routine provides a lens through which to view the classroom context, and a way to frame the key knowledge and skills students will be learning.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider the core concepts and key ideas that are relevant. Break these into small bite-sized pieces that are relevant to the age and stage of your students. Consider possible alternative concepts that students might hold. How could you provide activities or ask questions that will allow students to consider what they know?
Breeding for success
Introduce the breeding program that was initiated to save the Tasmanian devil, and show the video One man's mission to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction (5:39).
✎ STUDENT NOTES: Brainstorm what might be needed for a breeding program, including a large enough population for genetic diversity, knowledge of the breeding process that is different for each animal, the environment they need, etc.
Discuss the challenges of coordinating such a program involving many different conservation groups, the capture, transport, and living requirements of the animals to new locations. Introduce the idea that funding is required to support such breeding programs.
Core concepts and key ideas
When planning for teaching in your classroom, it can be useful to see where a sequence fits into the larger picture of science.
When planning for teaching in your classroom, it can be useful to see where a sequence fits into the larger picture of science. This unit is anchored to the Science Understanding core concepts for Biological sciences.
A diverse range of living things have evolved on Earth over hundreds of millions of years; this process is ongoing.
By Year 9, students have already observed external features of plants and animals (Foundation), compared characteristics of living and non-living things and different life cycles (Year 3), examined how particular structural features and behaviours enable their survival, and compared plants and animal cells, tissues, and organs (Year 8). In Year 9, students describe the form and function of reproductive cells and organs in animals and plants, and analyse how the processes of sexual and asexual reproduction enable survival of the species.
This core concept is linked to the key science ideas:
- Patterns in survival systems can be observed at different scales (Patterns, order and organisation).
- Classification or explanations of reproductive strategies used at one scale may need revision at a different scale (Scale and measurement).
- Reproductive survival is determined by the form of reproductive organs and the function of the different strategies used to reproduce (Form and function).
- Orders of magnitude can show how a reproductive strategy model at one scale relates to a model at another scale (Scale and measurement).
- Changes and rates of population change can be quantified and modelled at different scales (Stability and change).
- Models can be used to predict the behaviour of a system (Systems).
- The accuracy and reliability of predictions is dependent upon the assumptions and approximations in a model (Systems).
When your students next progress through this core concept, they will use the theory of evolution by natural selection to explain past and present diversity and analyse the scientific evidence supporting the theory (Year 10).
When planning for teaching in your classroom, it can be useful to see where a sequence fits into the larger picture of science. This unit is anchored to the Science Understanding core concepts for Biological sciences.
A diverse range of living things have evolved on Earth over hundreds of millions of years; this process is ongoing.
By Year 9, students have already observed external features of plants and animals (Foundation), compared characteristics of living and non-living things and different life cycles (Year 3), examined how particular structural features and behaviours enable their survival, and compared plants and animal cells, tissues, and organs (Year 8). In Year 9, students describe the form and function of reproductive cells and organs in animals and plants, and analyse how the processes of sexual and asexual reproduction enable survival of the species.
This core concept is linked to the key science ideas:
- Patterns in survival systems can be observed at different scales (Patterns, order and organisation).
- Classification or explanations of reproductive strategies used at one scale may need revision at a different scale (Scale and measurement).
- Reproductive survival is determined by the form of reproductive organs and the function of the different strategies used to reproduce (Form and function).
- Orders of magnitude can show how a reproductive strategy model at one scale relates to a model at another scale (Scale and measurement).
- Changes and rates of population change can be quantified and modelled at different scales (Stability and change).
- Models can be used to predict the behaviour of a system (Systems).
- The accuracy and reliability of predictions is dependent upon the assumptions and approximations in a model (Systems).
When your students next progress through this core concept, they will use the theory of evolution by natural selection to explain past and present diversity and analyse the scientific evidence supporting the theory (Year 10).
Tasmanian Devil breeding program
A conservation breeding program has resulted in the release of over 23 animals back into the bushland since 2023.
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial native to Tasmania. It has stocky body covered in black fur with white markings on the chest. Devils grow to about 55–65 cm in length and stand 30 cm tall at the shoulder.
As nocturnal scavengers, they feed on carrion, including wallabies, birds, and insects. They can also hunt small prey. They are known for their powerful jaws and loud, aggressive feeding behaviour. Tasmanian devils are highly mobile, covering up to 16 km at night in search of food, and typically rest during the day in dens or thick vegetation.
Tasmanian devils are reproductively mature in their second year. Mating occurs in March and usually involves biting around the facial area. Females give birth to 20-30 joeys after a 21-day gestation period, but most die as the females only have four teats. The young stay in the pouch for about four months before being left in a den until fully weaned at 5-6 months.
Tasmanian devils are classified as endangered, primarily due to the spread of devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), a fatal, transmissible cancer that is spread through biting during social or mating interactions. This disease has caused a significant decline in the population. The species is protected under both Tasmania’s Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 and the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and was placed on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (2008).
A coordinated conservation breeding program called the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program combined the resources of zoos across Australia, Denmark, and New Zealand, as well as private conservation groups in Tasmania, has resulted in the release of over 23 Tasmanian devils back into the protected bushland since 2023.
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial native to Tasmania. It has stocky body covered in black fur with white markings on the chest. Devils grow to about 55–65 cm in length and stand 30 cm tall at the shoulder.
As nocturnal scavengers, they feed on carrion, including wallabies, birds, and insects. They can also hunt small prey. They are known for their powerful jaws and loud, aggressive feeding behaviour. Tasmanian devils are highly mobile, covering up to 16 km at night in search of food, and typically rest during the day in dens or thick vegetation.
Tasmanian devils are reproductively mature in their second year. Mating occurs in March and usually involves biting around the facial area. Females give birth to 20-30 joeys after a 21-day gestation period, but most die as the females only have four teats. The young stay in the pouch for about four months before being left in a den until fully weaned at 5-6 months.
Tasmanian devils are classified as endangered, primarily due to the spread of devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), a fatal, transmissible cancer that is spread through biting during social or mating interactions. This disease has caused a significant decline in the population. The species is protected under both Tasmania’s Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 and the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and was placed on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (2008).
A coordinated conservation breeding program called the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program combined the resources of zoos across Australia, Denmark, and New Zealand, as well as private conservation groups in Tasmania, has resulted in the release of over 23 Tasmanian devils back into the protected bushland since 2023.
The Launch phase is designed to increase the science capital in a classroom by asking questions that elicit and explore students’ experiences. It uses local and global contexts and real-world phenomena that inspire students to recognise and explore the science behind objects, events and phenomena that occur in the material world. It encourages students to ask questions, investigate concepts, and engage with the Core Concepts that anchor each unit.
The Launch phase is divided into four routines that:
- ensure students experience the science for themselves and empathise with people who experience the problems science seeks to solve (Experience and empathise)
- anchor the teaching sequence with the key ideas and core science concepts (Anchor)
- elicit students’ prior understanding (Elicit)
- and connect with the students’ lives, languages and interests (Connect).
Each student comes to the classroom with experiences made up from science-related knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources in their life. The Connect routine is designed to tap into these experiences and that of their wider community. It is also an opportunity to yarn with community leaders (where appropriate) to gain an understanding of the student’s lives, languages and interests. In the Launch phase, this routine identifies and uses the science capital of students as the foundation of the teaching sequence so students can appreciate the relevance of their learning and its potential impact on future decisions. In short, this routine moves beyond scientific literacy and increases the science capital in the classroom and science identity of the students.
When planning a teaching sequence, take an interest in the lives of your students. What are their hobbies, how do they travel to and from school? What might have happened in the lives of your students (i.e. blackouts) that might be relevant to your next teaching sequence? What context might be of interest to your students?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkShow me the money
Watch State of the Environment Report - Behind The News (4:19).
(Slide 6) Pose the question: How do you decide what animal or plant you will sponsor?
Provide students with the website of a local/nearby zoo that offers sponsorship for individual animals. In groups, students should research and identify which animal they would prefer to sponsor.
✎ STUDENT NOTES: Identify which animal you would most like to sponsor. Record what you know about the animal and how it breeds. Why do you think it needs a breeding program?
(Slide 7) Ask each group to share which animal they would like to sponsor. Discuss the class findings.
- How many animals were mammals/insects/reptiles/amphibians etc.?
- Why do you think some groups were represented more than others? Are they the animals that are most endangered?
- Does cuteness play a role in which animal is most likely to be sponsored or have a breeding program in a zoo?
- While it can be true that ‘cute’ animals are more likely to be sponsored by the public, zoos are more likely to have a breeding program for animals according to need.
Compare ‘cute animals’ and ‘ugly animals’, for example by reviewing the webpages The 20 Cutest Animals in the World (With Photos) and The 25 Ugliest Animals on Earth (With Photos). Discuss how differences in how animals are perceived can sometimes affect how much money is donated for breeding programs.
✎ STUDENT NOTES: Select an ‘ugly animal’ and create a poster that would encourage people to sponsor a breeding program. If required, research how the animal breeds.
Reflect on the lesson
Students might:
- identify if their 'ugly' animal is currently endangered.
- identify if there is currently a breeding program for their selected 'ugly' animal.