Biology: Provincial Level

Ecology:

Core Topics

A. Cell Biology

• Explain the role of molecules, including water, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids
• Describe major structures and functions of cells and their components, including the basic mechanisms of
  • Gene expression
  • Membrane transport
  • DNA replication
• Describe the role of enzymes and their importance to cellular processes.
• Outline the processes of cellular respiration
  • Describe and compare mitosis and meiosis

B. Bioenergetics

• Outline the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and their relationship to one another

C. Plant Anatomy and Physiology

• Describe the major plant tissue types and their functions
• Describe the functions of plant control and reproductive systems

D. Animal Anatomy and Physiology

• Apply the concept of homeostasis
• Demonstrate knowledge of integration of tissues, organs and systems
• Identify structures and describe functions of the following systems:
• Respiratory system
• Cardiovascular system
• Skeleton-muscular system
• Reproductive system
• Nervous and sensory systems

E. Ecology

• Use fundamentals of classification to identify organisms
• Explain how plant and animal diversity enables adaptation to environments
• Explain the principles of population dynamics: population growth, density, distribution, and regularity
• Explain ecosystem dynamics: energy flow and nutrient cycling
• Explain community dynamics, including community structure, diversity, and interspecific relationships
• Demonstrate knowledge of the challenges to biome integrity

Laboratory Skills

All Provincial Biology courses must include a minimum of seven dedicated laboratory and / or fieldwork activities. The learning outcomes for these are described in the Overall Learning Outcomes for biology.