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Backyard Food
Suggested Grades: 2nd - 5th BACKYARD FOOD WEB Wildlife Champions at Home Science Experiment 2-LS4-1: Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. What is a food web? All living things on earth are either producers, consumers or decomposers. Producers are organisms that create their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is when a living thing uses sunlight, water and nutrients from the soil to create its food. Most plants are producers. Consumers get their energy by eating other living things. Consumers can be either herbivores (eat only plants – like deer), carnivores (eat only meat – like wolves) or omnivores (eat both plants and meat - like humans!) Decomposers are organisms that get their energy by eating dead plants or animals. After a living thing dies, decomposers will break down the body and turn it into nutritious soil for plants to use. Mushrooms, worms and bacteria are all examples of decomposers. A food web is a picture that shows how energy (food) passes through an ecosystem. The easiest way to build a food web is by starting with the producers. Every ecosystem has plants that make their own food through photosynthesis. These plants are eaten by herbivorous consumers. These herbivores are then hunted by carnivorous consumers. Eventually, these carnivores die of illness or old age and become food for decomposers. As decomposers break down the carnivore’s body, they create delicious nutrients in the soil which plants will use to live and grow! When drawing a food web, it is important to show the flow of energy (food) using arrows. -
Body Size and Biomass Distributions of Carrion Visiting Beetles: Do Cities Host Smaller Species?
Ecol Res (2008) 23: 241–248 DOI 10.1007/s11284-007-0369-9 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Werner Ulrich Æ Karol Komosin´ski Æ Marcin Zalewski Body size and biomass distributions of carrion visiting beetles: do cities host smaller species? Received: 15 November 2006 / Accepted: 14 February 2007 / Published online: 28 March 2007 Ó The Ecological Society of Japan 2007 Abstract The question how animal body size changes Introduction along urban–rural gradients has received much attention from carabidologists, who noticed that cities harbour Animal and plant body size is correlated with many smaller species than natural sites. For Carabidae this aspects of life history traits and species interactions pattern is frequently connected with increasing distur- (dispersal, reproduction, energy intake, competition; bance regimes towards cities, which favour smaller Brown et al. 2004; Brose et al. 2006). Therefore, species winged species of higher dispersal ability. However, body size distributions (here understood as the fre- whether changes in body size distributions can be gen- quency distribution of log body size classes, SSDs) are eralised and whether common patterns exist are largely often used to infer patterns of species assembly and unknown. Here we report on body size distributions of energy use (Peters 1983; Calder 1984; Holling 1992; carcass-visiting beetles along an urban–rural gradient in Gotelli and Graves 1996; Etienne and Olff 2004; Ulrich northern Poland. Based on samplings of 58 necrophages 2005a, 2006). and 43 predatory beetle species, mainly of the families Many of the studies on local SSDs focused on the Catopidae, Silphidae, and Staphylinidae, we found number of modes and the shape. -
Biogeography, Community Structure and Biological Habitat Types of Subtidal Reefs on the South Island West Coast, New Zealand
Biogeography, community structure and biological habitat types of subtidal reefs on the South Island West Coast, New Zealand SCIENCE FOR CONSERVATION 281 Biogeography, community structure and biological habitat types of subtidal reefs on the South Island West Coast, New Zealand Nick T. Shears SCIENCE FOR CONSERVATION 281 Published by Science & Technical Publishing Department of Conservation PO Box 10420, The Terrace Wellington 6143, New Zealand Cover: Shallow mixed turfing algal assemblage near Moeraki River, South Westland (2 m depth). Dominant species include Plocamium spp. (yellow-red), Echinothamnium sp. (dark brown), Lophurella hookeriana (green), and Glossophora kunthii (top right). Photo: N.T. Shears Science for Conservation is a scientific monograph series presenting research funded by New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC). Manuscripts are internally and externally peer-reviewed; resulting publications are considered part of the formal international scientific literature. Individual copies are printed, and are also available from the departmental website in pdf form. Titles are listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Science & technical. © Copyright December 2007, New Zealand Department of Conservation ISSN 1173–2946 (hardcopy) ISSN 1177–9241 (web PDF) ISBN 978–0–478–14354–6 (hardcopy) ISBN 978–0–478–14355–3 (web PDF) This report was prepared for publication by Science & Technical Publishing; editing and layout by Lynette Clelland. Publication was approved by the Chief Scientist (Research, Development & Improvement Division), Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. In the interest of forest conservation, we support paperless electronic publishing. When printing, recycled paper is used wherever possible. CONTENTS Abstract 5 1. Introduction 6 2. -
Predator and Scavenger Aggregation to Discarded By-Catch from Dredge Fisheries: Importance of Damage Level
Journal of Sea Research 51 (2004) 69–76 www.elsevier.com/locate/seares Short Communication Predator and scavenger aggregation to discarded by-catch from dredge fisheries: importance of damage level S.R. Jenkinsa,b,*, C. Mullena, A.R. Branda a Port Erin Marine Laboratory (University of Liverpool), Port Erin, Isle of Man, British Isles, IM9 6JA, UK b Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK Received 23 October 2002; accepted 22 May 2003 Abstract Predator and scavenger aggregation to simulated discards from a scallop dredge fishery was investigated in the north Irish Sea using an in situ underwater video to determine differences in the response to varying levels of discard damage. The rate and magnitude of scavenger and predator aggregation was assessed using three different types of bait, undamaged, lightly damaged and highly damaged individuals of the great scallop Pecten maximus. In each treatment scallops were agitated for 40 minutes in seawater to simulate the dredging process, then subjected to the appropriate damage level before being tethered loosely in front of the video camera. The density of predators and scavengers at undamaged scallops was low and equivalent to recorded periods with no bait. Aggregation of a range of predators and scavengers occurred at damaged bait. During the 24 hour period following baiting there was a trend of increasing magnitude of predator abundance with increasing damage level. However, badly damaged scallops were eaten quickly and lightly damaged scallops attracted a higher overall magnitude of predator abundance over a longer 4 day period. Large scale temporal variability in predator aggregation to simulated discarded biota was examined by comparison of results with those of a previous study, at the same site, 4 years previously. -
Polymetallic Nodules Are Essential for Food-Web Integrity of a Prospective Deep-Seabed Mining Area in Pacific Abyssal Plains
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Polymetallic nodules are essential for food‑web integrity of a prospective deep‑seabed mining area in Pacifc abyssal plains Tanja Stratmann1,2,3*, Karline Soetaert1, Daniel Kersken4,5 & Dick van Oevelen1 Polymetallic nodule felds provide hard substrate for sessile organisms on the abyssal seafoor between 3000 and 6000 m water depth. Deep‑seabed mining targets these mineral‑rich nodules and will likely modify the consumer‑resource (trophic) and substrate‑providing (non‑trophic) interactions within the abyssal food web. However, the importance of nodules and their associated sessile fauna in supporting food‑web integrity remains unclear. Here, we use seafoor imagery and published literature to develop highly‑resolved trophic and non‑trophic interaction webs for the Clarion‑Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ, central Pacifc Ocean) and the Peru Basin (PB, South‑East Pacifc Ocean) and to assess how nodule removal may modify these networks. The CCZ interaction web included 1028 compartments connected with 59,793 links and the PB interaction web consisted of 342 compartments and 8044 links. We show that knock‑down efects of nodule removal resulted in a 17.9% (CCZ) to 20.8% (PB) loss of all taxa and 22.8% (PB) to 30.6% (CCZ) loss of network links. Subsequent analysis identifed stalked glass sponges living attached to the nodules as key structural species that supported a high diversity of associated fauna. We conclude that polymetallic nodules are critical for food‑web integrity and that their absence will likely result in reduced local benthic biodiversity. Abyssal plains, the deep seafoor between 3000 and 6000 m water depth, have been relatively untouched by anthropogenic impacts due to their extreme depths and distance from continents 1. -
Guided Inquiry 2
CB 12 Trophic Scavenger Hunt Where does food energy come from? What happens to energy as it is utilized by organisms? In a simple food chain, corn, a photosynthetic plant, would be called a producer because it receives its energy from the sun. A mouse would occupy a second level, as a primary consumer or herbivore. What could you call the level of a snake, which eats the mouse? Or an owl which feeds on the snake? The snake and owl are called secondary consumers or carnivores. How much of the solar energy captured by a plant is actually available to a herbivore? If the herbivore is eaten by a snake, how much of the original energy is available for use by the snake? Food levels represent the amount of energy available for the ecosystem. These are usually referred to as trophic levels. You can estimate the total energy in a given trophic level by the number of organisms that occupy that level. In this activity, you will participate in a scavenger hunt to find the producers and consumers in your ecosystem. You will observe how the producers and consumers interact, and then document everything you observe. What do you expect will happen to the energy available at each level in a food chain? Materials • watch with a second hand • 10 m2 sample area outside classroom; an area that is as natural as possible • field guides to identify names of organisms • colored construction paper and graph paper • scissors and tape • Casio fx2 Graphing Calculator • Casio QV2800 Digital Camera Procedure 1. -
Fisheries in Large Marine Ecosystems: Descriptions and Diagnoses
Fisheries in Large Marine Ecosystems: Descriptions and Diagnoses D. Pauly, J. Alder, S. Booth, W.W.L. Cheung, V. Christensen, C. Close, U.R. Sumaila, W. Swartz, A. Tavakolie, R. Watson, L. Wood and D. Zeller Abstract We present a rationale for the description and diagnosis of fisheries at the level of Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), which is relatively new, and encompasses a series of concepts and indicators different from those typically used to describe fisheries at the stock level. We then document how catch data, which are usually available on a smaller scale, are mapped by the Sea Around Us Project (see www.seaaroundus.org) on a worldwide grid of half-degree lat.-long. cells. The time series of catches thus obtained for over 180,000 half-degree cells can be regrouped on any larger scale, here that of LMEs. This yields catch time series by species (groups) and LME, which began in 1950 when the FAO started collecting global fisheries statistics, and ends in 2004 with the last update of these datasets. The catch data by species, multiplied by ex-vessel price data and then summed, yield the value of the fishery for each LME, here presented as time series by higher (i.e., commercial) groups. Also, these catch data can be used to evaluate the primary production required (PPR) to sustain fisheries catches. PPR, when related to observed primary production, provides another index for assessing the impact of the countries fishing in LMEs. The mean trophic level of species caught by fisheries (or ‘Marine Trophic Index’) is also used, in conjunction with a related indicator, the Fishing-in-Balance Index (FiB), to assess changes in the species composition of the fisheries in LMEs. -
Community Ecology
Schueller 509: Lecture 12 Community ecology 1. The birds of Guam – e.g. of community interactions 2. What is a community? 3. What can we measure about whole communities? An ecology mystery story If birds on Guam are declining due to… • hunting, then bird populations will be larger on military land where hunting is strictly prohibited. • habitat loss, then the amount of land cleared should be negatively correlated with bird numbers. • competition with introduced black drongo birds, then….prediction? • ……. come up with a different hypothesis and matching prediction! $3 million/yr Why not profitable hunting instead? (Worked for the passenger pigeon: “It was the demographic nightmare of overkill and impaired reproduction. If you’re killing a species far faster than they can reproduce, the end is a mathematical certainty.” http://www.audubon.org/magazine/may-june- 2014/why-passenger-pigeon-went-extinct) Community-wide effects of loss of birds Schueller 509: Lecture 12 Community ecology 1. The birds of Guam – e.g. of community interactions 2. What is a community? 3. What can we measure about whole communities? What is an ecological community? Community Ecology • Collection of populations of different species that occupy a given area. What is a community? e.g. Microbial community of one human “YOUR SKIN HARBORS whole swarming civilizations. Your lips are a zoo teeming with well- fed creatures. In your mouth lives a microbiome so dense —that if you decided to name one organism every second (You’re Barbara, You’re Bob, You’re Brenda), you’d likely need fifty lifetimes to name them all. -
Rules and Missions Do Nothing
RULES AND MISSIONS DO NOTHING ..................................................................................... 24 MACHINE ACTIONS .......................................................................... 25 › PEACEKEEPER BOT ACTIONS .........................................................................25 CHAPTERS › FALCHION SENTRY GUN ACTIONS ................................................................25 01 › SWAPPING BOTS AND SENTRY GUNS .........................................................25 02 GAME COMPONENTS ................................................3 10 XENOS' PHASE .........................................................26 STEP 1 - ACTIVATION ...................................................................... 26 03 INVADER PROTOCOL ................................................5 › ATTACK ................................................................................................................26 › ZOMBICIDE TROUGH SPACE AND TIME .......................................................... 6 › MOVE ....................................................................................................................26 04 SETUP ..........................................................................7 › PLAYING HUNTERS ...........................................................................................28 STEP 2 - SPAWN .............................................................................. 28 05 GAME OVERVIEW .................................................... 10 › COLORED SPAWN ZONES ................................................................................28 -
Islands in the Stream 2002: Exploring Underwater Oases
Islands in the Stream 2002: Exploring Underwater Oases NOAA: Office of Ocean Exploration Mission Three: SUMMARY Discovery of New Resources with Pharmaceutical Potential (Pharmaceutical Discovery) Exploration of Vision and Bioluminescence in Deep-sea Benthos (Vision and Bioluminescence) Microscopic view of a Pachastrellidae sponge (front) and an example of benthic bioluminescence (back). August 16 - August 31, 2002 Shirley Pomponi, Co-Chief Scientist Tammy Frank, Co-Chief Scientist John Reed, Co-Chief Scientist Edie Widder, Co-Chief Scientist Pharmaceutical Discovery Vision and Bioluminescence Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution ABSTRACT Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) scientists continued their cutting-edge exploration searching for untapped sources of new drugs, examining the visual physiology of deep-sea benthos and characterizing the habitat in the South Atlantic Bight aboard the R/V Seaward Johnson from August 16-31, 2002. Over a half-dozen new species of sponges were recorded, which may provide scientists with information leading to the development of compounds used to study, treat, or diagnose human diseases. In addition, wondrous examples of bioluminescence and emission spectra were recorded, providing scientists with more data to help them understand how benthic organisms visualize their environment. New and creative Table of Contents ways to outreach and educate the public also Key Findings and Outcomes................................2 Rationale and Objectives ....................................4 -
Plants Are Producers! Draw the Different Producers Below
Name: ______________________________ The Unique Producer Every food chain begins with a producer. Plants are producers. They make their own food, which creates energy for them to grow, reproduce and survive. Being able to make their own food makes them unique; they are the only living things on Earth that can make their own source of food energy. Of course, they require sun, water and air to thrive. Given these three essential ingredients, you will have a healthy plant to begin the food chain. All plants are producers! Draw the different producers below. Apple Tree Rose Bushes Watermelon Grasses Plant Blueberry Flower Fern Daisy Bush List the three essential needs that every producer must have in order to live. © 2009 by Heather Motley Name: ______________________________ Producers can make their own food and energy, but consumers are different. Living things that have to hunt, gather and eat their food are called consumers. Consumers have to eat to gain energy or they will die. There are four types of consumers: omnivores, carnivores, herbivores and decomposers. Herbivores are living things that only eat plants to get the food and energy they need. Animals like whales, elephants, cows, pigs, rabbits, and horses are herbivores. Carnivores are living things that only eat meat. Animals like owls, tigers, sharks and cougars are carnivores. You would not catch a plant in these animals’ mouths. Then, we have the omnivores. Omnivores will eat both plants and animals to get energy. Whichever food source is abundant or available is what they will eat. Animals like the brown bear, dogs, turtles, raccoons and even some people are omnivores. -
Nile Tilapia and Milkfish in the Philippines
FAO ISSN 2070-7010 FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL PAPER 614 Better management practices for feed production and management of Nile tilapia and milkfish in the Philippines Cover photographs: Top left: Harvest of milkfish in Panabo Mariculture Park, Panabo City, Davao, Philippines (courtesy of FAO/Thomas A. Shipton). Top right: Harvest of Nile tilapia in Taal Lake in the province of Batangas, the Philippines (courtesy of FAO/Mohammad R. Hasan). Bottom: A view of cage and pen culture of milkfish in a large brackishwater pond, Dagupan, Philippines. (courtesy of FAO/Mohammad R. Hasan). Cover design: Mohammad R. Hasan and Koen Ivens. FAO FISHERIES AND Better management practices AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL for feed production and PAPER management of Nile tilapia 614 and milkfish in the Philippines by Patrick G. White FAO Consultant Crest, France Thomas A. Shipton FAO Consultant Grahamstown, South Africa Pedro B. Bueno FAO Consultant Bangkok, Thailand and Mohammad R. Hasan Aquaculture Officer Aquaculture Branch FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Rome, Italy FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2018 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.