Appendix 2: Teacher notes - outputs of the lesson

Syllabus sections addressed by this lesson

Teaching Syllabus for Biology

SHS2 Section 1 Diversity of Living Things Unit 7 Scientific Inquiry Skills

• 1.7.2 classify organisms

SHS 2 Section 2 Interactions in Nature, Unit 2 Study of Specific Habitats

• 2.2.1 outline the general characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial habitats

SHS 2 Section 2 Interactions in Nature Unit 8 Scientific Inquiry Skills

• 2.8.6 interpret biological data
• 2.8.7 present biological data in graphical form

Setting up equipment

To carry out this lesson, students can work on a computer individually or in pairs.

Students need their notebooks, pen, pencil (for drawing) and ruler.

Organising the lesson

The estimated lesson time is 60 minutes for Activity 1, but it could be completed in less time by reducing the amount of writing required in notebooks. It could be split between two shorter lessons by covering the background theory and exploration of the virtual field trip in Lesson 1 and carrying out the field sketching, and making observations and collecting information about species, discussion and conclusions in Lesson 2. Computers would be needed for both lessons.

The estimated lesson time is 60 minutes for Activity 2, but it could be completed in less time by having students complete only 2 of the 5 quadrats or by carrying out a pair-share exercise where pairs or small groups of students look at Quadrat Area 1 and other pairs/ small groups look at Quadrat Area 2. The pairs/ groups would then share and discuss the data for the two areas.

This virtual field trip application is exploratory – there are lots of options for looking at different habitats and species that you can use with the students as you want. When students are directed to find two different organisms and collect taxonomic and ecological information, you could organise them to collect similar organisms (e.g. birds) or dissimilar ones, or to work in particular habitats (e.g. aquatic and terrestrial).

Here is a list of the different habitats and indication of some of the features of each panorama.

Legon Botanical Gardens

• Panorama 5. Dam site: an open water pond with islands; there are birds, insects and monitor lizards. Abiotic factor: water. Human impacts include the dam which controls the water level in the pond, fences and aerial walkway.
• Panorama 6. Grass site: A mosaic of open grassland with scattered trees, birds, kob deer, butterfly and caterpillar.
• Panorama 7. Palm tree site: A wooded area with mixed trees, including palm trees with birds, termite mounds, a snake. Human impact: a path through the area.
• Panorama 8. Farm site: An area of crops with birds. Human impacts include agriculture, buildings (greenhouses), water supply. Abiotic factor: water.

Sakumo Ramsar site:

• Panorama 5. Beach coast: Area of sea, sandy coast and rocky sea defence, with plants, crabs, birds. Abiotic: water, rocks, sand. Human impact: rocky sea defence, sluice connecting the lagoon to the sea, road, cars.
• Panorama 6. Flood plain near coast: Flood plain end of the Sakumo Lagoon with aquatic vegetation and lagoon water flowing out towards the sea with grassy vegetation, birds, cattle. Human impacts: sea defence, road, cars, rail line, sluice connecting the lagoon to the sea, agriculture (cattle). Abiotic: water, sand.
• Panorama 7. Flood plain: The main flood plain area in the middle section of the Sakumo Lagoon, with aquatic vegetation and mudflat areas that experience variable water levels and are used largely by waterbirds for foraging. Grassy vegetation, aquatic vegetation, sedges and rushes, mangrove tree area, birds, cattle. Abiotic: water, mudflats. Human impacts: agriculture (cattle)
• Panorama 8. Wooded area:  Agroforested catchment area in the northwestern area of the Sakumo Lagoon with trees planted to serve as a wind break and enhance water retention on the wetland. With trees, birds, dragonfly, aquatic vegetation in the distance.
• Panorama 9. Mangrove forest: Mosaic of mangrove and cattail area on the western bank of Sakumo Lagoon near the middle section used for nesting and roosting by birds. With birds, a bird nest with eggs, mangrove trees, rushes, grass. Abiotic: water

The lessons could be extended in the following ways:

• Activity 1: Carry out a pair-share exercise where students work in pairs to make observations and record notes about different species or different habitats and then share and compare what they have recorded with another pair of students (e.g. aquatic vs terrestrial habitats: Sakumo – seashore vs mangrove; Legon – dam site vs grass site).
• Produce a one-page summary of the field trip Activity 1 or Activity 2, with examples and illustrations.
• Produce a presentation about the activity for students who have not studied this topic (using presentation software or on paper).
• Direct students to areas where there are environment-human interactions, e.g. agriculture, buildings, and they can think about, discuss and make notes about the interactions (e.g. farming, food, fuel, water, places to live, dangerous lifeforms, transport, pollution, biodiversity loss, environmental protection).

Task 1: Example field notebook record for practical on virtual field trip

Title: Virtual field trip to Legon Botanic Gardens, Ghana

1. Plan of what to do on the virtual field trip

• Enter the virtual field trip, choose a location to explore, take some drone flights and look at the panoramas
• Choose one panorama to study and write notes about the location; for example, name of the location, where it is located, the name and location of the panorama
• Make a field sketch of panorama
• Add labels to the field sketch to record information, for example, location, habitat type, plant and animal species, evidence of human activity
• Find two different organisms, collect taxonomic information from the field guide and make notes about the organism; for example, where you observed it, what it looks like, what it eats.

2. Field notes

Location: Legon Botanic Gardens, Ghana

This is a is a tropical botanical garden located in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. The botanic garden has a dam with a pond, a farm and woodland and grassland areas.

Panorama: Palm tree site.

This is a woodland habitat, with mixed trees including palm trees, silk-cotton trees, bushes and grasses. There is a human made path running through the site. There are several bird species – green turaco, grey hornbill, broad-billed roller and a yellow-billed kite. There is a slender-tailed squirrel (mammal). There is a western green mamba (a snake) in one of the palm trees. There are several termite mounds in the area.

3. Labelled field sketch of one view from the Palm tree site panorama

4. Table of two organisms from the Palm tree site panorama

Taxa	Organism 1	Organism 2
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata	Arthropoda
Class	Reptilia	Insecta
Order	Squamata	Blattodea
Family	Elapidae	Termitidae
Genus	Dendroaspis	Macrotermes
Species	viridis
Notes:	The Western green mamba is a bright green snake that was seen in a palm tree. It is highly venomous and eats prey such as rodents.	Termites are insects that live in large termite mounds which they build from soil. They eat a fungus that they grow in a fungus garden inside the mound. They feed plant material to the fungus.

Task 2: Example Field Notebook for Vegetation sampling exercise

Virtual Field Trip Quadrat Data Collection Form

Date (dd/mm/yy):	23/09/21
Location:	Quadrat Area 1, Legon Botanical Gardens, Accra
Team member names:	….
Quadrat size:	1 m x 1 m
Notes:	Shady woodland site with short ground vegetation. Ground cover is thin, lots of soil showing

Note: these do not need to be in alphabetical order, this is so it is easy for you to check

Quadrat number	Scientific name	Common name	Present?	Notes
Q1	Asystasia buettneri		x
	Cyperus		x
	Elytraria marginata		x
Q2	Asystasia buettneri		x
	Commelina diffusa	Climbing dayflower	x
	Cyperus		x
	Elytraria marginata		x
Q3	Asystasia buettneri		x
	Desmodium triflorum	Creeping tick trefoil/ three-flower beggarweed	x
	Elytraria marginata		x
Q4	Asystasia buettneri		x
	Commelina diffusa	Climbing dayflower	x
	Cyperus		x
	Elytraria marginata		x
Q5	Asystasia buettneri		x
	Commelina diffusa	Climbing dayflower	x
	Cyperus		x
	Elytraria marginata		x

Virtual Field Trip Quadrat Data Collection Form

Date (dd/mm/yy):	23/09/21
Location:	Quadrat Area 2, Legon Botanical Gardens, Accra
Team member names:	….
Quadrat size:	1 m x 1 m
Notes:	Open sunny woodland site with ground vegetation. A mix of sun and shade, long grassy vegetation. A few patches of bare soil.

 

Quadrat number	Scientific name	Common name	Present? (x)	Notes
Q1	Evolvulus alsinoides	Dwarf-morning-glory	x
	Sporobolus pyramidalis	Giant rat's tail grass	x
Q2	Chamaecrista rotundifolia	Round-leaf cassia	x
	Panicum maximum	Guinea grass	x
	Sporobolus pyramidalis	Giant rat's tail grass	x
Q3	Chamaecrista rotundifolia	Round-leaf cassia	x
	Cyanthillium cinereum	Little ironweed	x
	Desmodium triflorum	Creeping tick trefoil/ three-flower beggarweed	x
	Evolvulus alsinoides	Dwarf-morning-glory	x
	Gomphrena serrata		x
	Heteropogon contortus	Black speargrass	x
	Portulaca	Purslane	x
	Setaria helvola	Yellow foxtail/ yellow bristle grass	x
Q4	Commelina diffusa	Climbing dayflower	x
	Sporobolus pyramidalis	Giant rat's tail grass	x
Q5	Cyanthillium cinereum	Little ironweed	x
	Heteropogon contortus	Black speargrass	x
	Sporobolus pyramidalis	Giant rat's tail grass	x
	Tridax procumbens	Coatbuttons / tridax daisy	x

Calculations and Graphs

Question 1: Using the whole dataset, draw a graph of the average species richness of Quadrat Area 1 and Quadrat Area 2

Average species richness of Quadrat Area 1 = 4.7

Average species richness of Quadrat Area 2 = 5.4

Question 2. What is the frequency of Commelina diffusa in Quadrat Area 1 and Quadrat Area 2?

Frequency of Commelina diffusa in Quadrat Area 1 = 7/10 x 100 = 70%

Frequency of Commelina diffusa in Quadrat Area 2 = 3/10 x 100 = 30%

Question 3. Which species has the highest frequency in Quadrat Area 1 and Quadrat Area 2?

Quadrat Area 1: Elytraria marginata (100%)

Quadrat Area 2: Sporobolus pyramidalis (90%)

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