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:
- Students will collect information about various organisms in the estuary
- Create a simulated web of life using a ball of string
- Students will identify at least 1 of the following: producer, consumer (herbivore, omnivores & carnivores) and decomposers.
Activity Links and Resources:
- Summary for Estuary Web of Life
- Estuary Food Web lessons from Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve address the following essential questions:
- How do the plants and animals in an estuary get energy to live and grow?
- How are plants and animals dependent upon each other within a system?
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
