1. Food Chains and Food Webs

2. What is a food chain?
A food chain is “a sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next, lower member of the sequence as a food source1”

3. Important facts about food chains
In a food chain each organism obtains energy from the one at the level below.
Plants are called producers because they create their own food through photosynthesis3
Animals are consumers because they cannot create their own food, they must eat plants or other animals to get the energy that they need.

4. Primary Producers
Primary producers are “organisms capable of producing their own food4”
We can also say that they are photosynthetic, use light energy.
Examples of primary producers include algae, phytoplankton, and large plants.
Primary producers are eaten by primary consumers (herbivores)

5. Primary Producers Cattails Marsh Mallow Blue Flag Iris Marsh Fern
Blue Flag Iris
Marsh Fern

6. Four types of consumer Herbivores: animals that eat only plants3
Carnivores: animals that eat only other animals3.
Omnivores: animals that eat animals and plants3.
Detritivores: Animals that eat dead materials and organic wastes

7. Other Ways to Classify Consumers
Primary Consumers: Herbivores3.
Secondary Consumers: Carnivores that eat herbivores3.
Tertiary Consumers: Carnivores that eat other carnivores3.

8. Primary Consumers in Marshes
Muskrat (eats mostly Cattails)

9. Primary Consumers in Marshes
Wood Duck eats seeds like those of the Swamp Marsh Mallow and Blue Flag Iris

10. Primary Consumers in Marshes
Glassy-winged Toothpick Grasshopper – eats leaves of plants like cattail and pickerelweed

11. Secondary Consumers
Black Rat Snake eats eggs of animals like wood duck

12. Secondary Consumers
Swamp Sparrow eats seeds but also insects like the toothpick grasshopper

13. Tertiary Consumers
Eat other animals in marsh including snake and sparrow
Osprey

14. Omnivore
Racoon eats seeds, fruits, insects, worms, fish, and frogs… and pretty much anything else they can get their paws on!

15. Detritivore
Worms are common detritivores in many ecosystems including marshes

16. What is a food web?
A food web is “an interlocking pattern of food chains2”

17. Symbiosis

18. Our goal is to answer these questions:
What is symbiosis?
What are the different kinds of symbiosis?
What are some examples of symbiosis?

19. the act of living together
What is symbiosis?
the act of living together

20. Symbiosis What it means: Two organisms that live together
Temporarily or for a longer time
At least one of the organisms benefits from the relationship

21. What are the different kinds of symbiosis?
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
both organisms benefit
one organism benefits
one organism benefits
one organism is unaffected
one organism is harmed

22. Organism One Organism Two
Mutualism
Organism One Organism Two

23. Organism One Organism Two
Commensalism
Organism One Organism Two

24. Organism One Organism Two
Parasitism
Organism One Organism Two

25. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Acacia Plant & Ants
The ants lay eggs on acacia tree so they get a nice safe place for their eggs. The acacia covers the infected area with brown flesh (called a gall.) The plant has to use valuable resources to create the gall.
parasitism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

26. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Anemone & Anemone Fish
This fish lives its entire adult life among the tentacles of a bulb- tentacle sea anemone. Anemone fish do not get stung by the anemone as would most other fish so they get protection from predators. The fish often drop food scraps which the anemones can eat.
mutualism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

27. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Boxer Crab & Anemones
This Boxer Crab carries a pair of stinging anemones in its claws, which it uses to defend itself from predators. The anemones get to move around which increases their food supply.
mutualism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

28. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Shark & Remora
The remora attaches itself to the shark and saves energy since it doesn’t have to swim, and it gets to snack on the sharks kills. The shark doesn’t get anything.
commensalism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

29. Emperor Shrimp & Sea Cucumber What symbiotic relationship is this?
This tiny emperor shrimp is riding along on the back of a sea cucumber (a long worm-like starfish relative) while it crawls along a sandy bottom. The shrimp gets to travel around under the protection of its much larger partner, and the sea cucumber doesn't seem to mind.
commensalism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

30. Moray Eel & Cleaner Fish What symbiotic relationship is this?
This moray eel has a small fish cleaning between its teeth. The eel gets a clean mouth while the cleaner fish gets a nice meal.
mutualism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

31. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Cattle & Cattle Egrets
As these cattle walk around eating grass they stir up lots of insects. The egrets hang around and get a yummy meal of insects.
What symbiotic relationship is this?
commensalism

32. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Clown Fish & Anemone
This clown fish swims in the anemone and gets protection, since its predators will get stung. The anemone is unaffected.
What symbiotic relationship is this?
commensalism

33. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Antelope & Ox Bird
This ox bird hangs out on the antelope and gets a delicious meal of bugs living on the antelope. The antelope gets rid of parasites.
What symbiotic relationship is this?
mutualism

34. What symbiotic relationship is this?
Loa Loa Worm & Human
This worm infects human the blood stream and gets a nice warm safe home there. The human may go blind or have other complications as a result.
What symbiotic relationship is this?
parasitism

35. Goby and Alpheid Shrimp
This alpheid shrimp (on
the right) uses its strong claws like a bulldozer to create a burrow in the sand. The shrimp is nearly blind. It relies upon its partner, the sharp-eyed goby, to warn of danger. When a potential predator approaches, both animals disappear quickly into the burrow
mutualism
What symbiotic relationship is this?

36. Wrasse & Batfish Can you see the two cleaner wrasses are
removing parasites from a batfish? One of the wrasses has entered the gill slit of the batfish, and may even enter its
mouth in search of food. The batfish gets a bath and the wrasse gets a meal.
What symbiotic relationship is this?
mutualism

37. Hummingbird Moth & Flower
mutualism
This hummingbird moth is drinking the nectar of a flower. The flower gets pollinated (the moth brings pollen from other flowers) and the moth gets a tasty meal.
What symbiotic relationship is this?

38. Answer each of following questions on a sheet of lined paper.
Let’s Review
Answer each of following questions on a sheet of lined paper.
What is symbiosis?
What are the different kinds of symbiosis?
Describe one example of each kind of symbiotic relationship.