1. Ecological Interactions StAIR Project Margaret Milligan-Joye My name’s Ernie. Click on me to begin For use in the Unit: Matter & Energy in Ecosystems of an introductory Biology class.

2. Introduction As you navigate through this lesson use the following quick tips Click on the button to go to a list of all the activities. Click on the buttons to go forward or back at any time. Ernie is in the lower corner to give you helpful hints as you go. Click on the arrow in the upper corner to explore our Objectives.

3. Objectives B3.2B Describe energy transfer through an ecosystem, accounting for energy lost to the environment as heat. B3.2C Draw the flow of energy through an ecosystem. Predict changes in the food web when one or more organisms are removed. B3.3A Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers and explain the transfer of energy through trophic levels. Objectives taken from Michigan Merit Curriculum for Biology *The above objectives will be introduced with some practice. Students are not expected to master the objectives.

4. LET’S BEGIN!

5. Vocabulary Review Click on the vocabulary words as they appear to see the definition and an example. Producer

6. Consumer Vocabulary Review An organism which makes it own food. Example: grass Click on the vocabulary words as they appear to see the definition and an example.

7. Producer Consumer Vocabulary Review An organism which makes it own food. Example: grass Decomposer An organism which must ingest its food. Example: lion, human Click on the vocabulary words as they appear to see the definition and an example.

8. Producer Consumer Vocabulary Review An organism which makes it own food. Example: grass Decomposer An organism which must ingest its food. Example: lion, human An organism which breaks down and absorbs Nutrients from dead or decaying matter. Example: mushroom, mold, bacteria Click the forward arrow for some practice

9. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Click on the vocabulary word that best fits with the organism in the picture. Think about how she gets her nutrients! A. Producer B. Consumer C. Decomposer

10. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! That’s Correct! I’m a consumer – I ingest food like grass, hay or alfalfa. Click on the Forward arrow to try another organism.

11. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Sorry! I can’t make my own food – the farmer has to feed me everyday. Try again by clicking on the back arrow.

12. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Sorry! I’m not a fan of dead things – I enjoy fresh alfalfa as a treat. Try again by clicking on the back arrow.

13. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Click on the vocabulary word that best fits with the organism in the picture. Think about my color! What process do I go through? A. Producer B. Consumer C. Decomposer

14. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! That’s Correct! I’m a producer – I make the nutrients I need through photosynthesis. Click on the Forward arrow to try another organism.

15. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Sorry! I can’t move very far to find food to ingest. Try again by clicking on the back arrow.

16. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Sorry! I don’t feed off dead organisms. Try again by clicking on the back arrow.

17. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Click on the vocabulary word that best fits with the organism in the picture. Think about where you might find me growing. A. Producer B. Consumer C. Decomposer

18. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! That’s Correct! I’m a decomposer – I break down dead/decaying matter to absorb nutrients. Click on the Forward arrow to learn about Food Chains.

19. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Sorry! Some people think I’m plant-like and make my own food, but I can’t. Try again by clicking on the back arrow.

20. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers…Oh My! Sorry! I can’t ingest food like you humans do. I’m more of an absorber. Try again by clicking on the back arrow.

21. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Click on the Swan to watch a short video on Food Chains and Food Webs. Click on the video while playing to pause. Click again to play. You must have a copy of the video on your computer in order to view it. If the video will not play, click HERE. Brian Jerome. (1998). Food Chains and Webs [Full Video]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

22. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Based on the video you just saw, choose the answer below that best represents a simple food chain. A. Grass  Cow  Human B. Grass  Cow  Human C. Human  Cow  Grass D. Cow  Grass  Human

23. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! B. Grass  Cow  Human CORRECT! This food chain shows that the as the cow eats the grass, energy is transferred from the grass to the cow. What represents energy in a food chain or food web? Click on the forward arrow to explore.

24. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Sorry, Try Again. Think about what the arrows are representing and who they should point at.. Click the back arrow to try again.

25. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Sorry, Try Again. Producers come first in a food chain. Who is the producer? Click the back arrow to try again.

26. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! The energy transferred in a food chain or web is symbolized by the arrows. Grass  Cow  Human Notice how the arrow always points toward the animal that does the ingesting Or absorbing? Questions: Not all energy is transferred between organisms. Actually only about 10% of available energy gets transferred. What happens to the other 90%? A. Heard as soundB. Seen as light C. Tasted by the consumerD. Given off as heat

27. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! CORRECT! Most organisms have to use some energy to get food for more energy. (Think of the saying “You gotta spend money to make money”) Some of the “lost” energy in consumers is energy used by muscles to find and eat their food. (We will discuss more about energy transfers during class) Remember we can’t really “lose” heat, we’re just transferring it to something/someone else. Click on Ernie to see how to go from food chains to food web!

28. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Sorry, Try Again. Do you hear noises (other than chewing) when you eat?. Click the back arrow to try again.

29. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Sorry, Try Again. Do you see light coming from your food when you eat?. Click the back arrow to try again.

30. Chain, Chain, Chain….Food Chain! Sorry, Try Again. Taste isn’t a form of energy. Click the back arrow to try again.

31. What a Web you Weave! Before we make our food web, lets look at an example of a simple food web. Choose a food chain that is shown in the food web. A. Hawk  Duck  Fish  Snail  Algae B. Snake  Hawk  Mouse  Insects  Algae D. Algae  Fish  Frog  Crane  Duck C. Algae  Snail  Fish  Crane  Hawk

32. What a Web you Weave! CORRECT! C. Algae  Snail  Fish  Crane  Hawk You have a good understanding of what a food chain is, but what were those words on the side of the food web? Click on the forward arrow to explore the levels found within a food web.

33. What a Web you Weave! Sorry, Try Again. Look closer at the food web and try to follow the arrows. Also think about where the flow of energy starts! Click the back arrow to try again.

34. What a Web you Weave! In a food web, there are different levels of consumers based on what they eat. They are named based on their order in a food chain. Primary comes first, Secondary is second, etc.. Which consumer would come first if we made a food chain from the diagram to the left? (after the producer of course!) A. Flower D. SnakeC. Mouse B. Grasshopper

35. What a Web you Weave! CORRECT! The Grasshopper is a primary consumer – he is the first consumer and in this case he eats a producer. Fill in the blanks for the following sentence: A secondary consumer eats a ______ consumer and would be eaten by a ______ consumer. A. Primary, Secondary C. Secondary, Tertiary D. Primary, Tertiary B. Tertiary, Primary

36. What a Web you Weave! Sorry, Try Again. Is a flower a producer or consumer? Click the back arrow to try again.

37. What a Web you Weave! Sorry, Try Again. The first consumer is the primary consumer and eats producers. Click the back arrow to try again.

38. What a Web you Weave! CORRECT! We see the following relationship in a food web: 1 st “eater”: Primary Consumer 2 nd “eater”: Secondary Consumer, eats the Primary 3 rd “eater”: Tertiary Consumer, eats the Secondary Kind of complicated I know, so lets practice by making a food web. Click on Ernie to begin.

39. What a Web you Weave! Sorry, Try Again. We’re looking at the second level consumer. Who does he eat and who eats him? Click the back arrow to try again.

40. What a Web you Weave! As you’ve seen food chains do not exist alone in an ecosystem. Food chains become intertwined to form complex food webs which have different types of consumers. Lets try making our own food web. Click on Ernie to explore more!

41. What a Web you Weave! Ready for a little practice making a food web? Follow the directions below and try this website.website 1.Create at least one food web of your choosing. 2.Print a copy of your final food web (print at 65% scale) and put it into your science notebook. 3.When you have finished, close your web browser and you will return to this presentation.

42. What a Web you Weave! On the page of your science notebook where you inserted your food web, answer the following questions. We will check and discuss these on the due date. 1. Think about a house of cards. What happens when you remove a card from the base, middle or top of the house? How is the house a metaphor for a food web? 2.Describe the relationship between the producers, consumers and decomposers within your food web. 3.Predict what will happen to both the producers and other consumers if one of the primary consumers is removed. 4.Predict how pollution might affect the organisms within your food web.

43. The end…..or is it? Don’t forget that energy is constantly cycling in an ecosystem – just because you finished your activity doesn’t mean that energy stopped! To try any of the activities again, click the forward arrow to see our activities list.

44. Activities Vocabulary Review Producers, Consumers & Decomposers….Oh My! Chain, Chain, Chain…..Food Chain! What a Web you Weave! Predict What Will Happen Click on the activity you would like to return to or review upon completing all activities. Have a question? Click on me to e-mail your teacher.