Question

yellowstone major organism facts label each organism as either: highlight your answer p (producer), 1 (primary consumer), 2 (secondary consumer), or 3 (tertiary consumer). ——1 wheatgrass: the main source of food for pronghorn, bighorn sheep, bison and elk. ——2 beaver: primarily consume plants such as pond lilies and gray willow. ——pronghorn: primarily consume wheatgrass and are prey to grizzlies, coyote and wolves. ——4 gray willow: young trees are eaten by bighorn sheep, elk and deer mouse. ——5 bison: these vegetarians consume wheatgrass and gray willow. ——6 pond lily are the main source of food for beavers in yellowstone. ——7 green algae: consumed by aquatic organisms like the mayfly and cutthroat trout. ——8 deer mouse are small snacks for coyotes, grizzly bears and large birds of prey. ——9 gray wolf: considered a top predator in the yellowstone ecosystem, gray wolves consume coyote, bison, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and beaver. with the exception of human hunters, wolves are not preyed upon by anything in the area.

Explanation:

• Producers (P) make their own food, typically plants/algae.
• Primary consumers (1) eat producers.
• Secondary consumers (2) eat primary consumers.
• Tertiary consumers (3) eat secondary consumers, top predators with no natural predators (except humans here for wolves).

1. Wheatgrass is a plant that produces its own food, so it is a producer.
2. Beaver eats plants (producers), so it is a primary consumer.
3. Pronghorn eats wheatgrass (producer), so it is a primary consumer; it is prey to higher predators.
4. Gray Willow is a plant producer.
5. Bison eats plants (producers), so it is a primary consumer.
6. Pond Lily is an aquatic plant producer.
7. Green Algae is an aquatic producer.
8. Deer mouse is eaten by predators like coyotes, and it likely eats producers, so it is a primary consumer.
9. Gray Wolf eats primary/secondary consumers (coyote, bison, elk) and is a top predator, so it is a tertiary consumer.

Answer:

1. Wheatgrass: P (producer)
2. Beaver: 1 (primary consumer)
3. Pronghorn: 1 (primary consumer)
4. Gray Willow: P (producer)
5. Bison: 1 (primary consumer)
6. Pond Lily: P (producer)
7. Green Algae: P (producer)
8. Deer mouse: 1 (primary consumer)
9. Gray Wolf: 3 (tertiary consumer)