Biodiversity battleships
Activity idea
As a result of this student activity, students will:
- develop knowledge of flora and fauna in a variety of New Zealand habitats
- develop knowledge on Māori names for native flora and fauna
- gain awareness of the extent of the loss of the New Zealand habitat, both before and after European settlement
Instructions
Working in an even number of small groups, each group draws flora and fauna from a particular habitat on a map grid. Pairs of groups then play ‘battleships’ to identify the extent of the loss of the New Zealand habitat, before and after European settlement.
What you will need:
- Habitat card per group
- Books/website resources with information about native New Zealand plants and animals
- Battleship grid per group
- Crayons and coloured pencils
- Paper
- Blu Tack or sticky tape
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Investigate and research the plants/animals on your habitat card and become familiar with the English and Māori names. You need to draw each of these, so think about how to make each animal/plant recognisable from similar ones on the card, for example, flax and toetoe.
- Draw each plant/animal so they can be reduced in size to fit on the grid and copied the number of times indicated on their habitat card.
- Position the plants/animals on your grid.
- Working with another group, without seeing each other’s grid, take turns to call out grid coordinates. When a grid coordinate is called out, the other group has to ‘destroy’ that square on their grid by covering it with a square of coloured paper.
- Take nine turns each, so 30 percent of the grid has been destroyed. This represents the loss of habitat before European settlement.
- Discuss what has happened to the plants and animals in your grid.
- Take nine more turns each, so 60 percent of the grid has been destroyed. This represents post-European habitat loss.
- Discuss what has happened to the plants and animals in your grid.
- As a class, look at all the habitats together and determine if any ‘extinctions’ have occurred overall or what species have been highly reduced in number.
Habitat cards (English)
These can be printed, cut out and laminated so that each group can be given one habitat card.
Coastal
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gull | 8 | Pohutukawa | 8 |
| NZ red back spider | 2 | Flax | 10 |
| Shag | 2 | Golden sand sedge | 5 |
| Kingfisher | 4 | Tussock grass | 8 |
| Oyster catcher | 10 | ||
Forest
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue duck | 4 | NZ peppertree | 5 |
| Brown kiwi | 4 | Totara | 12 |
| Night parrot | 2 | Karaka | 7 |
| NZ wood pigeon | 6 | Black tree fern | 5 |
| Fantail | 10 | Kowhai | 8 |
| Tui | 10 | Red pine | 9 |
| NZ wattled crow | 4 | Slender tree fern | 5 |
Marsh/Lowland
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Swamp hen | 10 | Flax | 15 |
| NZ wood pigeon | 4 | Kowhai | 6 |
| Fantail | 10 | White pine | 10 |
| Tui | 9 | Black tree fern | 5 |
| NZ wattled crow | 3 | Nikau palm | 8 |
| Tussock | 10 |
||
| Slender tree fern | 5 |
||
Alpine/sub-alpine
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ falcon | 1 | Red tussock | 12 |
| Kea (alpine parrot) | 4 | Beech tree | 7 |
| Stitchbird | 4 | Alpine daisy | 5 |
| Long-tailed cuckoo | 2 | Turpentine plant | 5 |
| NZ peppertree | 4 |
||
| Ruapehu hebe | 5 |
||
Habitat cards (Māori)
These can be printed, cut out and laminated so that each group can be given one habitat card.
Coastal
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tara | 8 | Pohutukawa | 8 |
| Katipo | 2 | 10 |
|
| Kawau | 2 | Pingao | 5 |
| Kotare | 4 | Toetoe | 8 |
| Tōrea | 10 | ||
Forest
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Whio | 4 | Horopito | 5 |
| Brown Kiwi | 4 | Totara | 12 |
| Kakapo | 2 | Karaka | 7 |
| Kereru | 6 | Mamaku | 5 |
| Piwakawaka | 10 | Kowhai | 8 |
| Tui | 10 | Rimu | 9 |
| Kokako | 4 | Wheki | 5 |
Marsh/Lowland
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pukeko | 10 | Harakeke | 15 |
| Kereru | 4 | Kowhai | 6 |
| Piwakawaka | 10 | Kahikatea | 10 |
| Tui | 9 | Mamaku | 5 |
| Kokako | 3 | Nikau | 8 |
| Toetoe | 10 |
||
| Wheki | 5 |
||
Alpine/sub-alpine
| Fauna | Flora |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kārearea | 1 | Red tussock | 12 |
| Kea | 4 | Tawhai | 7 |
| Hihi | 4 | Tīkumu | 5 |
| Koekoeā | 2 | Inanga ( Dracophyllum) | 5 |
| Horopito | 4 |
||
| Ruapehu hebe | 5 |
||
Battleship grid
Print one battleship grid per group. Background scenery relevant to the habitat can be drawn (for example, river, mountain, sand dunes) and then the card can be laminated.
| A | B | C | D | E | F |
|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | ||||||
| 3 | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 5 |
