Homework: Everglades Capstone Project
Instructions
Article: "File:Food web diagram svg" By LadyofHats (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Consider the two example food webs above depicting a terrestrial food web and a marine food web. Notice how interwoven these examples are and direction of the energy flow (from eaten to eater). In the Everglades, a 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 and among organisms.
Part I: Your task for this project is to construct an illustrated (with images) food web to diagram trophic interactions in the Everglades ecosystem.
You must use a minimum of 8 species that are found in the Everglades and identify each species ("frog" is not specific enough). Include one invasive species and one threatened or endangered species in your web.
Part II: Answer the following questions about the food web you constructed. Answers should be provided on a separate attachment in the homework dropbox. You must provide citations/URL addresses for each source within each response. I will be looking for detail and critical thinking in your answers, not just a few words, to demonstrate your understanding of each topic.
i. List and discuss the producer(s) in your food web.
ii. List and discuss the herbivores in your food web.
iii. Are there any organisms in your food web that are omnivores? On which trophic levels are they feeding?
iv. List and discuss the carnivores in your food web.
v. 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?
vi. Identify the non-native/invasive species in your food web. Describe how they are altering this food web in the Everglades ecosystem.
vii. 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?
viii. 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?
ix. 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 and give an example. Explain how it affects an ecosystem.
x. What are the endangered or threatened species in your food web? If the species goes extinct, how would its loss impact the other organisms?
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.