Problem
Woods Ecosystem and the lake/stream ecosystem
A. Are there substantial amounts of dead organic matter (detritus) in the ecosystem? What is the source of the detritus (i.e. what was it when it was alive)? Was the dead organic matter produced within the ecosystem that you are observing or did it come from another ecosystem?
B. What evidence do you see of grazing on the primary producers? What types of animals are likely to eat the dominant primary producer? Are all parts of the primary producer equally edible? Describe which parts are more and less edible.
C. Dig around in the detritus. What organisms appear to be eating the detritus?
D. What types of animals do you see in each ecosystem? What are they likely to eat? What is the most abundant animal?
E. Based on what you can see, what is the total biomass of plants relative to the total biomass of animals? How much detritus is there relative to plants and animals?
F. Where are the microbes that function as decomposers in each ecosystem?
G. What are potential pathways by which nutrients or energy can be transported into the ecosystem from adjacent ecosystems? What are pathways for export?