Ecological Interactions StAIR Project Margaret Milligan-Joye My name’s Ernie. Click on me to begin...

Ecological Interactions

StAIR ProjectMargaret Milligan-Joye

My name’s Ernie.

Click on me to begin

For use in the Unit: Matter & Energy in Ecosystems of an introductory Biology class.

Introduction As you navigate through this lesson use the following quick

tips Click on the button to go to a list of all the activities. Click on the buttons to go forward or back at any time. Ernie is in the lower corner to give you helpful hints as you go.

Click on the arrow in the upper corner to

explore our Objectives.

Objectives B3.2B Describe energy transfer through an ecosystem,

accounting for energy lost to the environment as heat.

B3.2C Draw the flow of energy through an ecosystem. Predict changes in the food web when one or more organisms are removed.

B3.3A Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers and explain the transfer of energy through trophic levels.

Objectives taken from Michigan Merit Curriculum

for Biology

*The above objectives will be introduced with some practice. Students are notexpected to master the objectives.

LET’S BEGIN!

Vocabulary Review

Click on the vocabulary words as they appear to see the

definition and an example.

Producer

Producer

Consumer

Vocabulary Review

An organism which makes it own food. Example: grass



Producer

Consumer

Vocabulary Review


Decomposer

An organism which must ingest its food. Example: lion, human



Producer

Consumer

Vocabulary Review


Decomposer

An organism which must ingest its food. Example: lion, human

An organism which breaks down and absorbsNutrients from dead or decaying matter.Example: mushroom, mold, bacteria

Click the forward arrow for some practice

Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My!

Click on the vocabulary word that best fits with the organism

in the picture.

Think about how she gets her nutrients!

A. Producer

B. Consumer

C. Decomposer


That’s Correct!I’m a consumer – I

ingest food like grass, hay or alfalfa. Click on

the Forward arrow to try another organism.


Sorry! I can’t make my own food – the farmer

has to feed me everyday.

Try again by clicking on the back arrow.


Sorry! I’m not a fan of dead things – I enjoy

fresh alfalfa as a treat.




in the picture.

Think about my color!

What process do I go

through?

A. Producer

B. Consumer

C. Decomposer


That’s Correct!I’m a producer – I make

the nutrients I need through photosynthesis.

Click on the Forward arrow to try another

organism.


Sorry! I can’t move very far to find food to

ingest.



Sorry! I don’t feed off dead organisms.




in the picture.

Think about where you

might find me growing.

A. Producer

B. Consumer

C. Decomposer


That’s Correct!I’m a decomposer – I

break down dead/decaying matter to

absorb nutrients.Click on the Forward

arrow to learn about Food Chains.


Sorry! Some people think I’m plant-like and make my own food, but

I can’t.



Sorry! I can’t ingest food like you humans do. I’m more of an

absorber.


Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain!

Click on the Swan to watch a short video on Food Chains and Food Webs. Click on the video

while playing to pause. Click again to play.

You must have a copy of the video on your computer in order to view it. If the video will not play, click

HERE.

Brian Jerome. (1998).Food Chains and Webs [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/


Based on the video you just saw, choose the answer below that best represents a simple food chain.

A. Grass Cow Human

B. Grass Cow Human

C. Human Cow Grass

D. Cow Grass Human


B. Grass Cow Human

CORRECT!

This food chain shows that the as the cow eats the grass, energy is transferred from the grass to the cow.

What represents energy in a food chain or food web? Click on the forward arrow to explore.

Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain!Sorry, Try Again.

Think about what the arrows are representing and who they should point at..

Click the back arrow to try

again.


Producers come first in a food chain. Who is the producer?Click the back

arrow to try again.

Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain!The energy transferred in a food chain or web is symbolized by the arrows.

Grass Cow Human

Notice how the arrow always points toward the animal that does the ingesting Or absorbing?

Questions: Not all energy is transferred between organisms. Actually only about 10% of available energy gets transferred. What happens to the other 90%?

A. Heard as sound B. Seen as light

C. Tasted by the consumer

D. Given off as heat

Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain!CORRECT!

Most organisms have to use some energy to get food for more energy. (Think of the saying “You gotta spend money to make money”) Some of the “lost” energy in consumers is energy used by muscles to find and eat their food. (We will discuss more about energy transfers during class)

Remember we can’t really “lose” heat, we’re just transferring it to something/someone else.

Click on Ernie to see how to go from food chains to food web!


Do you hear noises (other than chewing) when you eat?. Click the back

arrow to try again.


Do you see light coming from your food when you eat?.


again.


Taste isn’t a form of energy.


again.

What a Web you Weave!

Before we make our food web, lets look at an example of a simple food web. Choose a food chain that is shown in the food web.

A. Hawk Duck Fish Snail Algae

B. Snake Hawk Mouse Insects Algae

D. Algae Fish Frog Crane Duck

C. Algae Snail Fish Crane Hawk

What a Web you Weave!CORRECT!

C. Algae Snail Fish Crane Hawk

You have a good understanding of what a food chain is, but what were those words on the side of the food web?

Click on the forward arrow to explore the levels found within a food web.

What a Web you Weave!Sorry, Try Again.

Look closer at the food web and try to follow the arrows.Also think about where the flow of energy starts!


again.

What a Web you Weave!In a food web, there are different levels of consumers based on what they eat. They are named based on their order in a food chain. Primary comes first, Secondary is second, etc..Which consumer would come first if we made a food chain from the diagram to the left?(after the producer of course!)

A. Flower

D. SnakeC. Mouse

B. Grasshopper


The Grasshopper is a primary consumer – he is the first consumer and in this case he eats a producer. Fill in the blanks for the following sentence:

A secondary consumer eats a ______ consumer and would be eaten by a ______ consumer.

A. Primary, SecondaryC. Secondary, Tertiary

D. Primary, Tertiary

B. Tertiary, Primary


Is a flower a producer or consumer?


again.


The first consumer is the primary consumer and eats producers.Click the back

arrow to try again.


We see the following relationship in a food web:

1st “eater”: Primary Consumer2nd “eater”: Secondary Consumer, eats the Primary3rd “eater”: Tertiary Consumer, eats the Secondary

Kind of complicated I know, so lets practice by making a food web. Click on Ernie to begin.


We’re looking at the second level consumer. Who does he eat and who eats him?


again.

What a Web you Weave!As you’ve seen food chains do not exist alone in an ecosystem. Food chains become intertwined to form complex food webs which have different types of consumers.

Lets try making our own food web. Click on Ernie to explore more!


Ready for a little practice making a food web? Follow the directions below and try this website.

1. Create at least one food web of your choosing.2. Print a copy of your final food web (print at 65%

scale) and put it into your science notebook.3. When you have finished, close your web browser

and you will return to this presentation.

http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm


On the page of your science notebook where you inserted your food web, answer the following questions. We will check and discuss these on the due date.

1. Think about a house of cards. What happens when you remove a card from the base, middle or top of the house? How is the house a metaphor for a food web?

2. Describe the relationship between the producers, consumers and decomposers within your food web.

3. Predict what will happen to both the producers and other consumers if one of the primary consumers is removed.

4. Predict how pollution might affect the organisms within your food web.

The end…..or is it?

Don’t forget that energy is constantly cycling in an ecosystem – just because you finished your activity doesn’t mean that energy stopped!

Congratulations!You did it!

To try any of the activities again, click the forward arrow to see our activities list.

ActivitiesVocabulary Review

Producers, Consumers & Decomposers….Oh My!

Chain, Chain, Chain…..Food Chain!

What a Web you Weave!Predict What Will Happen

Click on the activity you would like to return to or review upon

completing all activities.

Have a question? Click on me to e-mail your teacher.

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Ecological%20Interaction%20Question

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Ecological%20Interactions%20Question

Ecological Interactions StAIR Project Margaret Milligan-Joye My name’s Ernie. Click on me to begin...

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