W8 Mid-Week Assignment
Food Web Construction
Background
In this assignment, you will be constructing a food web. In preparation for this activity, read
Food Chains and Food Webs in the
Week 8 Section 15 document under Readings within the course content.
Then, if interested in seeing another food web in action, head to this
online interactive simulator to investigate food web function. In the Interactive Labs box, under Food Web, click Step 1. Read the instructions first, and then click Step 2 for additional instructions. When you are ready to create a simulation, in the upper-right corner of the Interactive Labs box, click Open Simulator.
Procedure
1. Choose one of the following ecosystems: desert, forest, ocean, prairie, or mountains.
2. Choose at least two producers, two primary consumers, two secondary consumers, two tertiary consumers, and two decomposers for the ecosystem you select. There should be 10 altogether.
3. Construct a food web (
not a food chain) (see note 1 below) showing all of the interactions that are possible for this ecosystem. Include
labeled pictures (see note 2 below) and draw neat lines connecting them. Remember, in a food web, there are many interconnected relationships. Make sure you illustrate these.
Note 1: You may construct your food web in several different ways.
a. You can create a PowerPoint which might be easier than a Word document since you have to draw lines and arrows, etc.
b. You can try to do everything in a Word document
or
c. You can do a drawing on paper, take a picture, and then put it into a Word document for submission.
Note 2: You may use the internet to find pictures of your ten organisms, but you must include a reference page if you do so. You may also draw your organisms. You may not just copy and paste a completed food web from the internet.
