Web of Life

Coastal Ecology—Web of Life

Summary: In this activity students will discover how the plants and animals of the estuary are connected to each other.

Concepts to teach: Interactions and change, balance, food chains, community interactions, interconnectedness.

Goals: Students will understand the interdependence of all living things in an estuarine ecosystem because of their shared food resources.

Standards:
3.2L.1, 4.2L.1, 5.2L.1

Specific Objectives:

  1. Students will collect information about various organisms in the estuary
  2. Create a simulated web of life using a ball of string
  3. Students will identify at least 1 of the following: producer, consumer (herbivore, omnivores & carnivores) and decomposers.

Activity Links and Resources:

Assessment:

  • Have students create their own Estuary web of life. Have them demonstrate their knowledge by including at least 1 producer, consumer and decomposer in their 6+ species web.
  • Compare estuarine food webs to freshwater food webs explored in Watersheds: Making the Connection topic guide