1. Interactions in our Environment

2.  Learning Goals:  Describe a food chain and the effect of losing a part of that chain.  Success Criteria:  I can describe a food chain/web and discuss what happens when one part of the food web is lost.

3.  All energy in ecosystems originate with the sun. As we learned last lesson, plants absorb energy and turn it into foods such as sugars and starches.  Animals eat the plants and the energy is transferred.  Carnivores and omnivores eat those animals and energy is again transferred.

4. sungrainschicken Chicken dinner Food Chain (def): A sequence that shows how energy and nutrients are transferred from one organism to another in an ecosystem.

5.  The number of “links” in a food chain can vary, but it always starts with a producer and ends with a consumer. Blueberry bush bear dandelionaphidladybugrobinhawk 2 links 5 links:

6.  In real ecosystems, food chains are not that simple.  Producers (plants) are usually eaten by many different consumers (animals) which in turn can be eaten by many other animals.  Food Web (def): A model that shows how food chains in an ecosystem are connected.

8.  In your group, create a food web.  Work together to think of as many plants and animals as possible that will be part of your web. Animals/plants must be realistic and links must be accurate (e.g. A bear does not eat a lion!)  You must identify your ecosystem!  Your group will have 8 minutes to make your web. Be ready to present.  Which group will have the most connections?

9.  What happens when one species is eliminated from the web? (Discuss as a class)

10.  If one species is eliminated (e.g. goes extinct) it affects the other species in that food web.  Sometime other species will die or they may find an alternate source of food.  When any part of a food web is changed the flow of energy is affected in a food web. We will be studying energy flows next.

11.  Food Chains, Food Webs and Energy Pyramids in Ecosystems Food Chains, Food Webs and Energy Pyramids in Ecosystems  Food chains/webs show how energy moves from one organism to another but they do not show how the energy is used.

12.  Work with a partner to find the important information and make jot notes about the information on pages 132-134. (Hint: divide the information into headings, following the text and use diagrams to help you illustrate and understand)