Understanding the Living Planet Indices (activity 2)

Terrestrial, Marine, Freshwater (pages 4-11)

Look at Figure 4 Terrestrial Living Planet Index, Figure 5 Marine Living Planet Index and Figure 6 Freshwater Living Planet Index.

1. What does the Living Planet Index tell us?
2. Are there common trends between the 3 graphs? Can you think of any reasons for this?
3. What is the overall percentage decline in the three animal indices since data was first collected in 1970?

Terrestrial Species

Although Terrestrial Species have been in decline overall since 1980, the two main sub groupings, temperate and tropical, have behaved quite differently.



4. What do you think caused the decline in temperate species prior to 1970?
5. Why have temperate species increased slightly since?
6. Why have tropical species been in decline since 1970?

Research activity (page 7)



7. Choose a terrestrial population that has increased and give possible reasons for this.
8. Choose a terrestrial population in decline to study. Research this endangered species and create a poster raising awareness of the need to conserve it and its habitat. (Your poster could also reflect an understanding of the particular issues that have lead to the decline of that species.)

Marine Species



9. What are the two main reasons for a decline in the Marine Index?
10. Why have the Arctic/Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Basins behaved differently to the Southern and Indian/Southeast Asian Ocean Basins?
11. Why are mangrove ecosystems so important?

Research activity (page 9)



12. Choose a marine species population that has increased and give possible reasons for this.
13. Choose a marine species population in decline to study. Research this endangered species and create a poster raising awareness of the need to conserve it and its habitat. (Your poster could also reflect an understanding of the particular issues that have lead to the species decline.)

Freshwater Species



14. Where is the habitat of freshwater vertebrates?
15. What was the average decline in freshwater species?
16. What are the reasons for a decline in the Freshwater Index?
17. Where there any species that bucked the trend? Why?

Research activity



18. Go to kids.mdbc.gov.au/basin_games to answer a quiz which highlights some of the issues from the Living Planet Report that are also issues for our own Murrray River.
19. Describe as many factors as possible that have impacted on the environmental health of the Murray River? How have water flows in the Murray changed since European settlement? Can you find figures to include in your answer?

Research activity



20. Choose a freshwater species population that has increased and give possible reasons for this. You could also choose one from the Murray Darling Basin.
21. Choose a freshwater species population in decline to study. Research this endangered species and create a poster raising awareness of the need to conserve it and its habitat. (Your poster could also reflect an understanding of the particular issues that have lead to the species

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