Страноведение. Австралия. «Флора и фауна»

Конкурс проектных работ

обучающихся МОУ «Гимназия №1»

города Балаково Саратовской области

Страноведение. Австралия.

Номинация «Флора и фауна»

                                                 Работу выполнили  обучающиеся 7 «Б» класса

                                                                 МОУ «Гимназия №1»

 Аргеткина Дарина

Бодрова Анна

Кузнецова Надежда

                                                                     Руководитель:

                                                          Бодрова Инна Викторовна

БАЛАКОВО

2010

CONTENTS

I. Introduction ………………………………………………………….……….….3

II. Australia ………………………………………….……………………………..3

III. Flora and Fauna of Australia ……. ………………………………...………….3

        IV. Flora of Australia   ………………………………………………….………... 3

               1.  Eucalyptus …………………………………………………………………4    

               2.  Ficus platypoda ……………………………………………………………4    

               3.  Macadamia integrifolia…………………………………………………….4

               4. Nothofagus……………………………………………….…………………5

               5. Bottle tree …………………………………………………………………. 5

V. Fauna of Australia ……………………………………………………………...5

             1. Kangaroo…………………………………………………………………….6

            2. Koala …………………………………………………………………………6  

            3. Anteater ……………………………….……………………….…………6 – 7

            4. Tasmanian Devil ……………………………………………………………..7

            5.  Dingo Australia's Wild Dog ……………………………………………..7 – 8  

            6. Crocodile ……………………………………………………………………..8

            7. Echidna …………………………………………………………………...8 – 9

            8. The Duckbill Platypus …………………………………………………….….9

            9.   Wombat ……………… ……………………………………………….9 – 10

           10.  Possum ……………………………………………………………………..10

           11. Emu ……………………………………………………………………11 – 12

           12. Cockatoo …………………………………………………………………....12

           13. Lyrebird ………………………………………………………………….…12

           14. Snakes ………………………………………………………………………13

            15. Lizards …………………………………………………………………..…13

VI. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………....13

VII. Bibliography …………………………………………………..…………….14

I. Introduction

  Australia is a unique country. We are interested to know some facts about this continent, its flora and fauna.   The task of our work is to learn to find necessary information using internet and other recourses.  The aim of our work is to learn to speak about the results of our work publicly.

II. Australia

   Australia is the world’s smallest, flattest, and driest continent. It is the biggest island and the smallest continent in the world. Australia is the oldest continent on earth – some of the rocks are more than 3,000 million years old.

  Australia is located south of Asia, between the Pacific and Indian Ocean. It is a vast continent, made up of mainland Australia and of island of Tasmania to the south.    It is the only country in the world which occupies the territory of the continent.

   Australia is the driest (after Antarctica) of all continents (40 per cent of it lies in tropics, one-third is desert, vast areas are arid or semi-desert, unsuitable for settlement). The centre of the continent is taken by deserts: Great Sandy Desert; Great Victoria Desert, Simpson Desert. There are few rivers and lakes in Australia.  

III. Flora and Fauna of Australia

  Flora and Fauna Australia are sometimes called "The Land of Wattle", "Kangaroo land", and “The Lucky Country". It is also called "Down Under" because of it geographical position: it is situated in southern hemisphere. The isolation of the continent has resulted in the development of a distinctive flora. This is reflected in the country’s   coat-of-arms by the symbols of Australia’s native animals and plants: the kangaroo and the emu and a twig of wattle.  

   Isolation of Australian island – continent for 55 million years created a sanctuary for the flora and fauna. Many species of animals and plants are found nowhere else in the world, they are endemics.

IV. Flora of Australia

Australia has 20,000 species of plants and brilliant wildflowers such as the red and green kangaroo paw. The continent has 700 species of acacia, which Australians call wattle, and 1200 species eucalypti or gum trees. Many of the trees lose their bark not their leaves and a lot of flowers have no smell. The gum, found across the continent, ranges from 90m high to stunted types in arid zones. One eucalyptus, the jar rah, ranks among the world’s hardest woods. The tropical north east belt with its heavy rainfall and high temperatures is heavily forested.

Palms, ferns, and vines grow prolifically among the oaks, ash, cedar, brush box and beeches. Among the eastern coast and into Tasmania are found forests of pine which rank second to the eucalyptus in economic importance.

Eucalyptus

 There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia.    Only 15 species occur outside Australia, and only 9 do not occur in Australia. Species of Eucalyptus are cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics including the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China and the Indian Subcontinent.

Eucalyptus is one of three similar genera that are commonly referred to as "eucalypts," the others being Corymbia and Angophora. Many, but far from all, are known as gum trees because many species exude copious sap from any break in the bark (e.g. Scribbly Gum). The name eucalyptus comes from the Greek: εὐκάλυπτος, eucalyptus, meaning "well covered", or "beautiful bark" according to linguist Ahmed Seddik.

Eucalyptus has attracted attention from global development researchers and environmentalists. It is a fast-growing source of wood, its oil can be used for cleaning and functions as a natural insecticide, and it is sometimes used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria.  

Ficus platypoda, commonly known as the desert fig or rock fig, is a fig that is endemic to central and northern Australia, and Indonesia. The fruit can be eaten when soft and ripe. It is suitable for use in bonsai; its tendency to form a wide trunk base and small leaves being attractive features.

Macadamia integrifolia

Evergreen tropical tree, nut tree, a native of Australia.  Reaches in the natural habitat of 15 m in height. It grows in tropical rain forests, along river floodplains. Period of flowering winter-early spring. Nuts ripen within 6-7 months. Fruit - very hard, round green edible nuts, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter. Core of white, sweet, used in fresh and fried. It is considered sacred nuts. Has valuable nutritional properties and high calorie content.
Color: Yellowish, fine texture.
Aroma: Not a strong pleasant nutty flavor, more distinct than that of sweet almond oil.
Taste: The taste like pistachios and hazelnuts simultaneously.

 Nothofagus

Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of about 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east & southeast Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Guinea and New Caledonia). Fossils have recently been found in Antarctica.

The leaves are toothed or entire, evergreen or deciduous. The fruit is a small, flattened or triangular nut, borne in cupules containing 2-7 nuts. Nothofagus species are used as food plants.

Many individuals are extremely old, and at one time it was believed that some populations could not reproduce in present-day conditions at the location where they were growing, except by suckering, being remnant forest from a cooler time. It has since been shown that sexual reproduction may occur, but distribution in cool, isolated high-altitude environments at temperate and tropical latitudes is consistent with the theory that the species was more prolific in a cooler age.

 The bottle tree

The bottle tree has one of the most visually interesting shapes. The common name derives from the tree's shape, which becomes bottle like as it ages at between five and eight years of age. Some people believe the tree is hollow but the swelling is due to the water held in its trunk. The bottle tree is semi-deciduous and reaches 18 to 20 metres. But if grown in cooler regions it’s usually smaller. The leaves are about a hundred millimetres long and these drop from the tree before flowering. The bell shaped, or campanulate, yellowish flowers usually form between October and December in clusters at the end of the branches.

Bottle trees grow best in well drained, slightly acidic soil, in full sunshine but they can also withstand temperatures of - 8 degrees up to +50 degrees celsius.

If you're looking for a feature tree in your garden that's guaranteed to be a talking point, you can't go past the Queensland bottle tree Brachychiton rupestris.

                                                       V. Fauna of Australia

       Australia’s best – known animals are the kangaroo, koala, dingo (wild dog), Tasmanian devil (marsupial), wombats (bear like marsupials), opossum, spiny anteater (or echidna), platypus. There are crocodiles in the north, and others.

 Kangaroo 

The Kangaroo is a common marsupial from the islands of Australia and New Guinea. There are 47 species of "roos." Kangaroos can hop up to 40 miles per hour (74 kph) and go over 30 feet (9 m) in one hop. These shy animals live about 6 years in the wild and up to 20 in captivity.  Many roos are in danger of extinction, but they are also considered pests due to the way they damage crops. An adult male is called a buck, boomer or jack; an adult female is called a doe, flyer, roo.   A group of roos is called a mob.

Anatomy: Roos and wallabies range in size from 2 pounds (the Rock Wallaby) up to 6 ft and 300 pounds (the Red Kangaroo). The soft, woolly fur can be blue, grey, red, black, yellow or brown, depending on the species. Females have a pouch in which the young live and drink milk.

Diet: These herbivores (plant-eaters) eat grass, leaves, and roots. They swallow their food without chewing it and later regurgitate a cud and chew it. Roos need little water; they can go for months without drinking, and they dig their own water wells.

Koala
The word koala is an Aboriginal word meaning "no water". This refers to the koala's ability to obtain most of its moisture requirements from gum leaves.

Koalas similarities to a teddy bear often gave them the name "koala bear", but there is no relation to the bear family. Koalas have soft thick fur often grey or brown in colour with a white belly, a large hairless nose, round ears and almost no tail.   Koalas’ sharp, strong, curved claws, long toes and strong grip enable them to spend most of their time asleep in a fork of a eucalyptus tree.  

Koalas only feed on leaves of certain types of eucalypt. Eucalyptus leaves have a very high fibre and low protein content. They contain strong smelling oils, phenolic compounds and sometimes even cyanide precursors which makes them unpleasant or even poisonous for most mammals. A fully grown koala eats a bit more than one kilogram of leaves a day.  Fully grown a koala measures from 64 to 76 cm and will weigh around 7 to 14 kilograms.

  Anteater

   The largest extant representative of the group is the Giant Anteater, or ant-bear, an animal measuring up to 2.4 meter (8 feet) in length, excluding the tail, and up to 1.2 meter (4 foot) in height at the shoulder. It has a long, thin head and a large, bushy tail. Its prevailing color is grey, with a broad black band, bordered with white, starting on the chest, and passing obliquely over the shoulder, diminishing gradually in breadth as it approaches the loins, where it ends in a point. Giant Anteaters are sometimes mistaken for bears because of their claws and bushy fur. The Giant Anteater is also a very solitary animal. Its food consists mainly of termites, which it obtains by opening nests with its powerful sharp anterior (front) claws. As the insects swarm to the damaged part of their dwelling, it draws them into its mouth by means of its long, flexible, rapidly moving tongue covered with sticky saliva. Their tongue can be flicked up to 150-160 times or more per minute. A full-grown giant Anteater eats upwards of 30,000 ants and termites a day. They also have small spikes on their tongue that help keep the ants and other insects on the tongue while they get swept into the anteaters mouth. The Giant Anteater and regular anteaters have no teeth.  The giant Anteater lives above ground, not burrowing underground. The anteater finds a place to sleep, curls up, and covers itself with its bushy tail. Since the anteater is a very solitary animal, it can be easily awoken. When attacked, it can defend itself with its sabre-like anterior claws.

  Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous (eats meat) marsupial in Australia. Tasmanian Devils are a nocturnal (active at night) animal, lives alone and prefers its own company hence it is a relatively shy animal.

The Tasmanian Devil is usually black with a white "collar" or patch around its neck. It is the size of a small terrier dog very solid and "stout" and weighs in between 6 and 8 kgs It has a tail of between 9 to 12" long. Tasmanian Devils have an extremely large powerful head with a wide jaw with sharp teeth pointy pink ears (that turn red when angry due to increased blood flow) and piercing dark eyes. Its dark colouring helps it to move around unseen at night time (feeding time). They spend the daytime out of sight sleeping in dens lined with grass and leaves made in hollow logs.  

 Tasmanian Devils prefer to eat carrion, that is dead animals. They will eat anything lying around no matter how old and rotten, and their powerful jaws will help them crush bones so they can devour the whole carcass, meat, fur and bone, leaving nothing to pollute the environment. Tasmanian Devils are very loud especially when there are a number of them at the one carcass, trying to scare each other off. They have a range of sound, from barks to snorts to growling to screaming ! This screaming and their fierce looks gave birth to their "Devil" name

     DINGO Australia's Wild Dog

 The Dingo is found in Australia (except Tasmania). It is a wild form of the domestic dog, and thus is a mammal. Dingoes are not by nature a pack dog, but rather live and hunt alone or in pairs or as a small family group. Dingoes appear to have clearly defined home territory, though parts of this territory may be shared with other dingoes.  

Its short-haired coat colour wise, ranges from reddish ginger, rust, yellow to browns and (rarely) to black with white points on the feet, snout and the tip of the tail The dingo (the size of a medium dog) has a fairly bushy tail, strong claws a very angular alert looking head with erect ears.  The Dingo can be found in almost any part of the Australian mainland which provides access to drinking water, (as it needs to drink once a day). Because of this need for water the dingo prefers the edge of forests which butt on to grasslands, but are forced inland to more semi-arid areas (mainly by man).

Crocodile

There are two kinds of crocodile in Australia. They live in the hot north of Australia. They eat meat. Crocodile scales have become thick skin.

There are two kinds of crocodile in Australia: the Estuarine, a saltwater crocodile and Johnsons, a freshwater crocodile. Both are found in the hot, tropical northern part of the continent.   It grows to between 4 and 7 metres long.  Unlike other reptiles, crocodiles have four sections in their hearts, like mammals and birds have. Their long, flattened tail moves from side to side as they swim through the water, with their legs by their sides. Their movement in the water is powered by their tail. The legs are short with webbed toes, five on the front legs and four on the back legs. On land, crocodiles can run very quickly, lifting their bodies up off the ground.

All crocodilians have eyes and nostrils are on the top part of the head so that they can lie in the water almost completely hidden from view.

Crocodiles have very strong jaws. They do not chew their food. They swallow it in large chunks. In the stomach the food is broken down. They feed on a large variety of prey such as small mammals, birds and even domestic livestock.

They can leap high out of the water to reach their prey if necessary.

Crocodilians communicate with each other with sounds that they make by forcing air through a voice box in the throat. The young call to the adults when they are in danger and make lots of noise while they are being fed. Adults make loud, low roars to each other.

 Echidna

Echidnas are small mammals that are covered with coarse hair and spines. Superficially they resemble the anteaters of South America and other spiny mammals like hedgehogs and porcupines; this is due to convergent evolution. They have snouts which have the functions of both mouth and nose. They have very short, strong limbs with large claws and are powerful diggers. Echidnas have a tiny mouth and a toothless jaw. They feed by tearing open soft logs, anthills and the like, and use their long, sticky tongue, which protrudes from their snout, to collect their prey. The Short-beaked Echidna's diet consists largely of ants and termites, while the Zaglossus species typically eat worms and insect larvae. Echidnas and the Platypus are the only egg-laying mammals.  

 The Duckbill Platypus

The platypus is a small furry little animal that loves the water (it's aquatic). The platypus lives near fresh water where it finds its food and makes its home. The platypus is a very unusual mammal (mammal means that it has fur on it):

It lays eggs like a bird or a reptile. The males have poison like a snake in spurs on their hind legs. The poison can kill a dog and cause extreme pain in people. They have a bill like a duck. The mother's milk comes out through glands on her skin and the babies lick it off of her fur. The platypus is only found in Australia and its island state, Tasmania.

The platypus likes to eat worms, slugs, shrimp, larvae, eggs and yappies. It lives in burrows that it digs under the ground near water.  The mother platypus lays two eggs and keeps them warm by placing them on her belly and covering them with her tail. In about two weeks they are born. The baby platypi are naked and helpless. They drink their milk off of their mother's fur for four to five months. When she goes to get food they stay in the comfort of the burrow.

The platypus can live up to 17 years in captivity. It has dark brown fur on its back and silvery to light brown hair on its belly. It can grow up to two feet long including its tail. It is a shy little animal that keeps to itself. God takes care of the platypus.

Wombat

 It is distinguishably from its cousins the Southern, and Northern Hairy nosed wombats mainly by its nose which is "naked", smaller ears and a more rounded head and longer fur due to its living in a colder part of Australia

These marsupials are strong, stout and sturdy and built close to the ground, and can move most things in their way (like farmers fences) so hence their "nick name" of the "Bulldozers of the Bush"! Adults weigh in between 17kg and 40kg in a body length of between 80 cm and 130 cm with the males being a bit larger than the females. Common wombats in Tasmania and on Flinders Island are normally a little smaller than those found on the mainland. They have short legs with long strong claws excellent for digging. Their tail is just a stump, and the colouring of their coarse fur ranges through the browns, grey and fawns to black.

The common wombat is found in South eastern Australia in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and in south eastern South Australia. They live in forested areas.  Like all Australian mammals the common wombat is a protected species.  

                         Possum

  The Common Ringtail Possum is well known to many Sydney residents. About the size of a cat, the Common Ringtail Possum is grey with white patches behind the eyes and on the belly, and orange-brown tinges on the tail and limbs. Its long prehensile tail has a white tip and it uses it like a fifth limb to climb and jump between connecting branches, fences.

Sometimes people mistake Black Rats for Ringtail Possums. Size range   Body 300 mm - 350 mm, Tail 300 mm - 350 mm, weight 700 - 1100 g.  The Common Ringtail Possum is nocturnal and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers and fruits.

 Emu

 Emus Birds have been in Australia for over 80 million years. They have flat breastbones and no wing muscles, so they cannot fly. Emu Birds are cursorial. They have developed strong legs for running. An emu can run 40 miles per hour for short distances. All ratites are cursorial.

Emus Birds have 3 forward pointing toes; the underside of each is flat with a broad pad.

Emus Birds have interesting calls, a throbbing drum (by the female) and a grunt (by the male). The chicks whistle and the male will whistle to them.

Emu feathers are unique because both the primary and secondary feathers are the same length. Each feather has two shafts, with barbs so widely spaced that they do not interlock to form a firm vane as in most birds; instead they form a loose, hair-like body covering.

Emus lay an egg every 3 to 5 days during the breeding and laying season. Breeding season runs from October through April in the United States.

Emu Eggs are dark green. The female lays an egg every 3 to 5 days.

Emu chicks are cream colored with brown and tan stripes. As they get older, they lose their stripes. By the time they are 6 months old, they will be a chocolate brown color. By the time they are 2 years old, they will have lost the chocolate colored feathers in favor of the lighter colored feathers of the adults.

In the wild, emu birds eat fruits, flowers, insects, seeds, and green vegetation, they love caterpillars. To aid in their digestive process, they will swallow large stones. They need water daily. Emus orginated in Australia, but are now raised on farms throughout the United States for their lean red meat, and other food by-products.  Every part of the emu is used.

     Cockatoos

  All cockatoos are parrots. Some Cockatoos can live for up to 60 years of age. There are 13 species of Australian Cockatoos.

All have a crest they can raise when they become excited or alarmed. All parrot eggs are white and are generally laid in the afternoon or early evening.   In the wild, cockatoos often live in large flocks. Their beaks have adapted to suit their preferred food source.  

The cockatoos are generally medium to large parrots of stocky build, which range from 30–60 cm (12–24 in) in length and 300–1,200 g (0.66–2.6 lb) in weight.  

Like other parrots, cockatoos have short legs, strong claws, and a waddling gait, and often use their strong bill as a third limb when climbing through branches. They generally have long broad wings used in rapid flight, with speeds up to 70 km/h.    

The vocalisations of cockatoos are loud and harsh.   Cockatoos are monogamous breeders, with pair bonds that can last many years.

Lyrebird

 The Lyrebirds are a small Australian family composed of just two species.   The name "lyrebird" comes from the resembles of the male's tail in Superb Lyrebird to a Greek lyre (a musical instrument), especially when the male is in full display (below). The tail has 16 feathers: two lyrates, two medians, and 12 filaments which are thrown forward over the head in a shimmering fan during the courtship display.  

The song of both lyrebirds is impressive. It has species specific vocalizations, but much of the song is composed of mimic phrases of other birds and natural sounds, including flight calls of parrots and wing beats of large species.

 Snakes

There are about 2500 snake species in the world. In Australia live only 110 land and 32 sea snakes.   Australia is the only country that has more venomous snakes than non-venomous species. But not all of the snakes considered poisonous have venom that is capable to kill humans, or even cause severe illness. Snakes can be found all over Australia.  

  Snakes can see, smell and hear. Most snakes have good eyesight, at least over short distances. They hear with an inner ear that picks up vibrations from the ground. But their most important sense is the sense of smell. Snakes smell by flicking their tongues in and out their mouth.

Snakes are cold-blooded. They can't regulate their body temperature internally like mammals do. Snakes need the sun, or at least warm air temperature for their body heat. The colder it is, the more inactive snakes become. That's why snakes like basking in the sun.   Some snakes lay eggs, while others give birth to living young.

                        Lizards 

There are over 520 species of lizards found in Australia. The five main families of lizards are Geckos, Legless lizards or Snake lizards, Dragon lizards, Monitor lizards or Goannas, and Skinks.

Geckos, skinks, legless lizards and some dragons have the ability to lose their tail quickly if grasped by a predator, and then grow a new tail. Dropping a tail is not something a lizard does casually. A tail is a useful part of a lizard, storing body fat, providing balance and increasing the surface area of the lizard relative to its body mass, which is doubtlessly important in temperature regulation.  

VI. Conclusion

  Working at our project we’ve learnt interesting information about such plants as                   eucalyptus, ficus platypoda, macadamia integrifolia, nothofagus and such animals and birds as a kangaroo, a koala, an anteater, a tasmanian devil, a dingo, a crocodile, an echidna, a duckbill platypus, a wombat, a possum, an emu, a cockatoo, a lyrebird, snakes and lizards. Besides it we practiced working at computer using such programs as

Microsoft Office World, Microsoft Office Power Point, Internet Explorer and Nero Vision.  

VII. Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockatoo

http://www.frogandtoad.com.au/wa/koalas.html

http://australian-animals.net/dingo.htm

http://australian-animals.net/wombat.htm

http://www.birdcare.com.au/cockatoos.htm

http://www.virtualoceania.net/australia/photos/fauna/lizards/

http://www.ritas-outback-guide.com/australian-snakes.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/marsupial/Kangaroocoloring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteater

http://australian-animals.net/devil.htm

http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/crocs_oz.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckbill

http://www.emuoil4sale.com/emu-farming.html

http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/lyrebirds.html

http:// you. tube