Assignment:
Consider the two example food webs above depicting a terrestrial food web and a marine food web. However, in the Everglades, the freshwater marsh, terrestrial and freshwater aquatic environments are interconnected. The complexity of this unique ecosystem can be analyzed by constructing a food web to trace the flow of energy between organisms.
Part 1: Your task for this project is to construct an illustrated food web to diagram trophic interactions in the Everglades ecosystem. The food web must be an original creation, you cannot submit a food web or information that you find online! You must use a minimum of 8 species that are found in the Everglades. You must indicate, using arrows or lines, to show the flow of energy between the species in your diagram.
A resource that will allow you to identify plants and animals that are found in the Everglades.
Part 2: Answer the following questions about the food web you constructed.
1) List and discuss the producer(s) in your food web.
2) List and discuss the herbivores in your food web.
3) Are there any organisms in your food web that are omnivores? On which trophic levels are they feeding?
4) List and discuss the carnivores in your food web.
5) Identify and list a food chain within your food web that depicts at least three trophic levels. What organism in your selected food chain is a secondary consumer?
6) Are there any non-native species in your food web? Briefly describe how they are altering this food web in the Everglades ecosystem?
7) Choose a primary consumer in your food web. If its population suddenly started to decline, what density-dependent (biotic) factors could be causing it and what would be the effect?
8) Choose a secondary consumer in your food web. If its population suddenly started to increase, what density-dependent (biotic) factors could be causing it and what would be the effect?
9) Are there any keystone species in your food web? If a keystone species were removed from your food web, how would its loss impact the other organisms? If there are no keystone species in your food web, describe what this type of species is.
10) Are there any endangered or threatened species in your food web? If the species goes extinct, how would its loss impact the other organisms?