Chapter 21 Resource: Ecology

Name Date ClassCopyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.2Food Webs: Who eats whom?Animals and plants need energy to carry out life’s activities. Plants are producers. They get theirenergy from the Sun. Animals are consumers. They get their energy by eating plants or other animalsor organisms. A food chain is a simple model that shows how energy passes from organismto organism. In an ecosystem, there are many different food chains. A food web is a model thatshows all of the energy relationships among organisms. In this experiment, you will look at organismsfrom a forest ecosystem and create a model food web.StrategyYou will identify producers and consumers.You will create a model of a food web.Materialsblack pen or markerglue or tapegreen construction paperposter boardred construction paperscissorsyarn or stringProcedure1. Figure 1 shows a forest ecosystem. The listbeside Figure 1 shows the names of someof the different plants and animals that livein this ecosystem. Take some time andthink about how these organisms interact.Figure 1LaboratoryActivity2. Cut out three medium-sized circles fromthe green construction paper.3. Cut out four medium-sized circles from thered construction paper.4. Plants and other organisms that producetheir own food are called producers. Fromthe list beside Figure 1, use a black markeror pen to write the name of a producer oneach of your green circles.5. Organisms that obtain their energy by eatingother organisms are consumers. Fromthe list beside Figure 1, use a black markeror pen to write the name of a consumer ineach of your red circles.6. Glue or tape each of your circles to a pieceof poster board. Make sure you scatter thecircles on the poster board.Organisms in a Forest Ecosystemrabbit squirrel deer wolffern acorn oak tree grassHands-On ActivitiesEcology 11