Question

food webs

1. read the descriptions below of organisms food sources and predators. next, create a food web on a separate sheet of paper that includes all of the organisms listed. make sure your arrows point in the correct direction to show the flow of energy! finally, use your food web to complete the rest of this activity sheet.

• ironwood plant - makes its own food
• prickly pear cactus - makes its own food
• male deer - eats plants, eaten by cougars
• carpenter ant - eats leaves, eaten by armadillos & lizards
• kit fox - eats rodents & lizards, eaten by cougars
• armadillo - eats insects & lizards, eaten by kit foxes
• cougar - eats mammals
• peccary - eats plants, eaten by cougars
• kangaroo rat - eats plant seeds, eaten by kit foxes
• collared lizard - eats insects, eaten by armadillos

1. identify the organisms that make up one food chain in the food web you created.
2. identify the organisms in another food chain in your food web.
3. identify two herbivores in the food web.
4. identify two carnivores in the food web.
5. which organisms are the producers in the food web?
6. which organism would be considered the top predator in the food web? how do you know?
7. which organisms in the food web are secondary consumers? how do you know?
8. explain how the kit fox can be both a secondary and tertiary consumer.
9. explain how the organisms in the food web would be affected if a large portion of the ironwood plants died due to a drought.

Explanation:

Step1: Define food - chain and related terms

A food - chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another. Producers make their own food, herbivores eat producers, carnivores eat other animals, and top - predators have no natural predators. Secondary consumers eat primary consumers.

Step2: Identify food - chains

Food - chain 1: Ironwood Plant → Male Deer → Cougar
Food - chain 2: Prickly Pear Cactus → Peccary → Cougar

Step3: Identify herbivores

Male Deer eats plants and Peccary eats plants, so they are herbivores.

Step4: Identify carnivores

Kit Fox eats rodents and lizards, and Cougar eats mammals, so they are carnivores.

Step5: Identify producers

Ironwood Plant and Prickly Pear Cactus make their own food, so they are producers.

Step6: Identify top - predator

Cougar is the top - predator as it has no other organism in this food - web that preys on it.

Step7: Identify secondary consumers

Armadillo eats insects (primary consumers), and Kit Fox eats rodents (primary consumers), so they are secondary consumers.

Step8: Explain Kit Fox's role

Kit Fox is a secondary consumer when it eats rodents (primary consumers) and a tertiary consumer when it eats lizards that eat insects (primary consumers).

Step9: Analyze the impact of Ironwood Plant loss

If a large portion of Ironwood Plants died, herbivores like Male Deer that rely on them would have less food, leading to a decrease in their population. This would then affect the Cougar population as their prey (Male Deer) would be less abundant.

Answer:

1. Ironwood Plant → Male Deer → Cougar
2. Prickly Pear Cactus → Peccary → Cougar
3. Male Deer, Peccary
4. Kit Fox, Cougar
5. Ironwood Plant, Prickly Pear Cactus
6. Cougar; it has no predators in this food - web.
7. Armadillo, Kit Fox; they eat primary consumers.
8. Kit Fox is a secondary consumer when it eats rodents and a tertiary consumer when it eats lizards that eat insects.
9. Herbivores like Male Deer would have less food and their population would decrease. This would lead to a decrease in the Cougar population as their prey would be less abundant.