Learning about food webs is integral to understanding the EcoMUVE story of a pond ecosystem. A key idea is that all organism in the food chain originally get their energy from the sun. A common misconception is the direction and meaning of arrows in a food web model. The arrows mean "gives energy to" not "eats".
Power Standard: Develop a model to show the conservation of energy and matter while transferred within an ecosystem.
State Standard: 7.MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe that matter and energy are transferred among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem and that both matter and energy are conserved through these processes. Clarification Statements:
What roles do organisms play in a food web?
Where does energy come from in a ecosystem?
How can one small change affect a complex food webs system?
How does matter cycle in an ecosystem?
Abiotic: the non-living parts of an ecosystem
Biotic: the living parts of an ecosystem
Producer: plants and algae that do photosynthesis to get energy from the sun
Primary Consumer: herbivores (plant eaters). Uses respiration to break down food.
Secondary Consumer: omnivores (eat anything) and carnivores (eat meat) Uses respiration to break down food.
Decomposer: eat dead matter and return nutrients to soil. Uses respiration to break down food.
Food Web a model to show the transfer of energy. A food web is made up of many food chains. Arrows show “gives energy to…”