CLASS COPY

Building a Food Web Assignment

Building your Food Web: (10 points)

1.  Cut out the producer and consumer blocks from the attached page. Keep the title of your web.

2.  The sun is the source of energy in all food webs. On your paper, draw a sun in pencil (in case you want to change the sun’s position later). Place your producer blocks next to the sun. Do not paste anything until all the organisms have been placed.

3.  Place two or three animals around the producers. If one animal can eat another, join them with an arrow (use a pencil). Remember that arrows represent the flow of energy from one organism to another and consequently must be drawn in the right direction. Continue to add the rest of the organisms and connect using arrows.

4.  When your food web is complete and neatly arranged, paste the pictures to the paper and retrace your arrows with pen or marker to complete the web.

Discussion: Answer the following questions (in complete sentences where appropriate) on a sheet of notebook paper.

1.  Under EACH organism picture, list its niche using the following letters. P = producer, H = herbivore, O = omnivore, C = carnivore. 5 points

2.  Approximately how many food chains did you produce your food web? 5 points

3.  Name TWO abiotic factors that would affect your food web and describe how your food web would be affected. 5 points

4.  Write out a five part food chain from each food web (one aquatic and one forest) beginning with the sun to the final consumer. Make sure to specify which food chain you are showing. 5 points

5.  Name an organism from each food web that uses photosynthesis for energy production. Explain in detail how this organism performs photosynthesis. 10 points

6.  Name an organism from each food web that uses cellular respiration for energy production. Explain in detail how this organism performs cellular respiration. 10 points

7.  Describe where the decomposers would fit into this food web. Why are decomposers so important? 10 points

8.  If the producer in your food chain from question 2 contained 20 000 Kcal in energy, how much energy would be found in the other levels of your food chain? Draw an energy pyramid to represent this.

10 points

9.  Pick one producer from your food web and pretend it suddenly disappeared. How many organisms would it affect? Would any other organisms disappear entirely? Why or why not? 10 points

10.  Now pick one of the highest consumers from your food web and pretend it suddenly disappeared. How many organisms would be negatively affected by this change? Would any disappear? Why or why not? 10 points

11.  Which type of organisms are the most important in your food web? Explain your answer. 10 points

WHO EATS WHO??

Forest Food Web Aquatic Food Web

Snake / insects, mouse / Clam / seaweed
Spider / insects / Starfish / protozoa
Rabbit / grass, berries / Lobster / algae, protozoa
Grasshopper / grass, oak leaves / Albatross / flounder, squid, shrimp
Fox / mouse, chipmunk / Fur seal / octopus, krill
Mouse / berries, flowers / Blue whale / krill
Bees / flowers / Flounder / phytoplankton
Wolf / fox, deer / Squid / tuna, shrimp
Frog / insects / Sea turtles / seaweed
Chipmunk / oak acorns, berries, pine cones / Shrimp / phytoplankton
Deer / berries, grass / Elephant seal / tuna, octopus
Ant / pine needles, oak leaves / Killer whale / tuna, seals
Bear / berries, chipmunk, rabbit / Krill / algae
Bird / insects / Octopus / clams, starfish, crab
Owl / mouse, rabbit, chipmunk / Crab / protozoa
Bobcat / fox, owl, deer / Penguins / flounder, squid
Tuna / flounder, krill, shrimp