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Science

05 March 2010

Activity page

Butterflies in danger

Secondary activity

Extinction investigation

Pick two species facing extinction. One of them must be a butterfly. Now investigate how environmental factors and resources have affected them and what has been done to help the animals/insects to survive.

You can choose whether to explain what has happened to each animal/insect by writing three or four paragraphs about them or by producing a chart comparing and contrasting their plight and their struggle for survival.

Why should it matter if some species become extinct? What knockon effects might their extinction have on other species?

Take a look at the Butterfly Conservation site in Find out more to learn a bit more about butterflies in the UK. What do you think about the story? Send your thoughts to Have your say or longer reports or podcasts to Be a reporter and we will publish the best on the site.

Duke of Burgandy: just one species under threat

Picture: PA

Find out more

Butterfly Conservation - the charity set up to save moths, butterflies and their habitats

http://www.butterfly-conservat

UK butterflies

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Teachers' notes

Secondary lesson objectives

to know that an abundance of organisms in habitats is affected by environmental factors such as availability of light, water and nutrients
to know that distribution of organisms in an environment is affected by environmental factors
to learn that the size of a population and its survival depends on resources

Secondary curriculum links

Science at key stage 3 (Year 8)
Unit 8D: Ecological relationships
Section 12: How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat?

Glossary

Colonies a group of creatures all living in one place

Comeback got more successful after a decline

Concerned worried

Decline numbers going down

Extinct wiped out

Intensive farming farming done on a big scale, in big fields to get the most out of the land as possible

Lepidopterists butterfly experts

Monitoring counting, checking

Native originally from this area

Series a pattern of years, one after another

Species a group of living things of the same type, that can breed with eachother

Thrive do well in

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