food+web

= = = = =**Revised and Edited by Mr. D 11/16/11 **= = = = Food Web =
 * Throughout the past 3 weeks we have been studying our school gardens and cycles that deal with them.The gardens we have been using are Finn Garden and the Middle School garden which is right outside the locker room. Some examples of the cycles are the Carbon cycle, the Water cycle, and the Nitrogen Cycle. I hope you enjoy this wiki page. **

//**__Food Web-__**//
 * a series of organisms related by predator-prey and consumer-resource interactions; the entirety of interrelated food chains in an ecologicalcommunity(definition from[]) **

= =

1. Draw a food chain using the food web
//** grass->squirrel>fox **// //** grass->beetle->birds->hawks and owls **// //** grass->rabbits->fox/hawks **//
 * __Food Web Examples__ **


 * These are just some based off of the diagram above. In the world there are many more than just these few examples. To explain the web its very simple. Imagine, if there is no grass, the mice, rabbits, squirrels, insects and seed eating birds would all die. Thus causing the insectivorous birds,spiders,predaceous insects, and the hawks and foxes will all die. Now ending the cycle there is nothing left in the cycle. The same thing happens to humans as we eat food and animals like chickens and eggs. If those can,t eat neither can we which causes death and the animals decay once dead. This is basically part of the carbon cycle when the carbon sinks into the soil and goes into the nearest river which leads into the water cycle. Thus causing evaporation and rains. So basically, the carbon cycle and the water cycle are kind of related if you think about it. **

**2. What would happen if the** **MICE** **in the food web above were eliminated from the ecosystem? Describe the populations directly affected. What would happen to the producers, tertiary consumers, herbivores, etc?**

**If the mice were eliminated all the animals that eat mice will die and suffer. The population of plants would increase a lot and there would be more insects being that the mice are gone. Thus meaning that the entire cycle and environment would be changed. The owls and hawks will die causing a whole lot of weird changes. The herbivores would have a lot of food. Mice play a big part in this cycle and their absence may cause a turn in human life as we will not have to worry about mice roaming in our homes. In life(in nature that is)animals will die and make a change in the cycle which will not just effect the specific area but almost the entire country if possible of widespread throughout a yearly distributional cycle.**

3. What would happen if the SPIDERS were eliminated from the food web above?
**The population of the insectivorous birds would decrease, while the population of the herbivorous insects would increase. Still, the predaceous insects would be effected because if they are predators of the spiders they have to find something to eat. No animal would never not be effected because eveything needs to eat and it will always be like that. Evey single animal and plant will eat something that will eat something else and that cycle never ends. This is basically a dominoe cycle because if one dies all die. Thats just how life goes.**

4. What would happen to the food web if the Insectivorous birds were eliminated?
The population of the spiders, herbivorous insects, and predaceous insects would increase. The foxes, hawks and owls, and snakes in that ecosystem would decrease in population.

5. Where do decomposers fit into this food web?
once all the animals die in this food web, decomposers (bacteria, fungi, worms, mold) will then take the atoms (not energy) and cycle them back into the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and water cycle.

6. List four different decomposers that could be found in any ecosystem.
Fungi, Beetles, worms, Bacteria.



Look at the food Web above. Organize the Web into different levels.

list the producers - Plants

list the primary consumers - Rabbits, Squirrels, Mice, Seed-eating birds, Herbivorous insects

list the secondary consumers- Spiders, Toads, Insectivorous birds, Predaceous insects

list the tertiary consumers - Hawks and owls, Foxes, Snakes

What would happen to different populations if the Spiders disappeared?

What would happen to different populations if the Garter Snakes disappeared?

If the garter snakes where removed the producers and primary consumers would increase and the secondary consumers would decrease.

What would happen to different populations if the Hawks disappeared? If the hawks disappeared the secondary and consumers would decrease an the producers and primary consumers would increase.

Where do the decomposers fit into this food web?

once all the animals die in this food web, decomposers (bacteria, fungi, worms, mold) will then take the atoms (not energy) and cycle them back into the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and water cycle.