Salt marsh food web activity pdf

You are to construct an accurate food web using the organisms given to you and then discuss the position of each in the ecosystem. A smaller area of salt marsh occurs along the indian river lagoon and in the vicinity north of jacksonville, florida. In this activity, students take on the role of plants, animals, and physical aspects of the salt marsh. Salt marshes are coastal wetlands rich in marine life.

The role of cyanobacteria in southern california salt marsh food webs. Make several copies of the feeding behavior cards used for the game. Students will use a diagram of a food web to answer a series of questions. If you have more students in your class than you have cards, photocopy and cut extra producer cards. Use this diagram of a food web to answer questions 1 through 5. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the. Of the webs with parasites, the carpinteria salt marsh web is the most finely resolved. It was evelyn haines who found a way to evaluate the base of the food web see chapter sixteen. The chesapeake bay has a large, multijurisdictional watershed land area that drains into the bay that includes virginia, maryland, and parts of four other states. Exploring food webs in the south carolina salt marsh.

Salt marsh habitats can be damaged or destroyed by human activities, including oil spills, agricultural drainage, and development. Each card gives some information about the plant or animal, and also tells what that animal eats. Threats to the salt marsh environment thee hundred and fifty years of wetland destruction and pollution have left a lasting legacy on new england salt marshes. Food chains and food webs united states environmental. They create a web demonstrating the interconnections of all parts of the marsh. Coastal marshes and wetlands provide benefits and services that are valued in the billions of dollars. Pdf the origin and fate of microplastics in saltmarshes. The origin and fate of microplastics in saltmarshes. In this part of the activity, you will complete a food web by modeling the energy flow between organisms. The activity includes an introduction, task, student notetaking form, and brochure rubric. Her work showed that algae play a more important part in the food web than cordgrassbased detritus. Together the detritus, phytoplankton and small fish support not only the marsh food web, but because of the tides and the migration of fish and shellfish to adjacent bays and lagoons, contribute to the food web of the entire estuary and nearshore ocean zone. Animals harvested as seafood in south carolina, even offshore species such as some groupers, spend all or part of their lives in estuarine waters within salt marshes. Impacts of nutrients and hurricanes on salt marsh food.

Experiments revealed that alligators can modify crab interactions and behavior. The herring gull concludes the food web of the florida salt marsh. Clip art food web salt marsh wetlands ecology biology environment. Hydrodynamic regulation of salt marsh contributions to. Salt marsh plants cannot grow where waves are strong, but they thrive along lowenergy coasts. Estuaries are divided into four types, depending on how they are formed. A food web shows the many different paths plants and animals are connected. They also occur in areas called estuaries, where freshwater from the land mixes with sea water. Ocean, woodland, salt marsh, arctic, desert, and freshwater pond. Theyre a unique ecosystem, and one that serves a wide variety of critical ecosystem services.

Salt marsh systems are dynamic, constantly changing. Photocopy the food web cards onto cardstock and cut them out. After cutting out pictures of the organisms, they create a food chain placing them in the proper order. Food web lab station activity by its not rocket science tpt. Many species of nekton occupy the surface of flooded marshes. Students explore the variety of salt marsh species and determine their classification in the food chain. In this talk, scientists beth mcgee, mary power, and brian silliman discuss the chesapeake bay, its food web, and the challenges of conserving and restoring the bay. This flow of energy through the food web is important for the functioning of the marsh.

Cut out each of the squares representing the animals in. Within the interdependence of life domain, students are expected. Edge of life salt marsh connections materials photos or slides of salt marsh photos or drawings of salt marsh plants and animals chart paper preparation gather several images of a salt marsh to show the class. Evaluate the assignment is out of 20 points, 10 for the food web diagram and 10 for the questions the answer.

If people knew more about how salt marshes support. Including parasites in the food web dramatically increased food web connectance the average level of species interaction, which has profound implications for the study. I use the sun to produce my own food through the process of photosynthesis. The whitetailed deer is found in the bottom lands, and when necessary it will depend on swamps and marshes to escape predators. From the circle of life, by jennifer jolly, coasteam program, project oceanica, college of charleston, charleston, sc 29424 7 this field trip will focus on the maritime forest at edisto beach state park located on edisto island, a sea island.

Food chain cups optional activity to demonstrate food chains food web game constructing a food web activity use the previous documents and images to have students individually or in pairs construct or draw a food web. Building a classroom food web the exploring nature. A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. Food webs and par asites in a salt marsh ecosystem kevin d. Salt marshes are an extremely valuable component of south carolinas economy. Climate change and sea level rise also threaten salt marshes, particularly if natural features or human developments prevent their landward retreat. There are 21 cards representing 21 plants or animals that can be found in estuaries. In europe, salt marsh ecology developed around floristics and phytosociology. Use your desk as a draft before you glue anything, but once the organisms.

Marsh periwinkles peareewinkuls are very common snails in the salt marsh. Knowledge of salt marsh ecology is strongest for vegetation, soil processes, and food webs. I live in the salt marsh and get wet when marine tidal water. Discussion and observations of an ecosystem closer to home or school. If the added nutrients end up in marshes, marsh plants and algae can then use these extra nutrients to grow and reproduce faster. Remember that hightide water flowing over the marsh surface can pick up and transport bits of algae to channels at low tide. Shorebirds are one part of a healthy functioning ecosystem. I am the northern harrier i eat different animals including the salt marsh harvest mouse, and small birds. A salt marsh is a complicated ecosystem made up of different food chains that overlap to form a food web. Study the various diets of the organisms living there and construct a food web. However, in the gulf of mexico, the loss of marsh vegetation because of humandriven disturbances such as sea level rise and oil spills can potentially reduce marsh capacity for n removal. This talk is from a 2016 holiday lecture series, ecology of rivers and coasts.

Color the arrows on the food web graphic to show the routes that gold nanoparticles in this. Contribution median, 95% cis of benthic algae, c3 wetland plants and saltmarsh grass to six fishery food webs in two regions in central queensland, australia. In this food web activity, students will move around the classroom reading cards about different organisms that inhabit the salt marsh ecosystem. Salt marshes are a fascinating ecosystem where land and sea meet. The investigation of the salt marsh community is critical to an understanding and appreciation of this unique ecosystem. Salt marshes play a key role in removing excess anthropogenic nitrogen n loads to nearshore marine ecosystems through sediment microbial processes such as denitrification. Most primary production of angiosperms in coastal salt marshes enters the detritivore food web. I am a predatory bird at the top of the food chain so other animals dont prey upon me. Even if mom did not know why she insisted, both are good precautions against parasites. Identify and label each relationshipin the food web as one of the following. The importance of algae to the marsh food web was supported by stable isotope analyses chapter sixteen. Tidal marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the world because in most tidal salt marshes plants receive full sun and limitless water supplies and.

Because of their dual marineterrestrial nature, salt marshes provide an amazing testbed to ask how does the structure of food webs modify the consequences of changes in diversity for multiple ecosystem functions. Kimberly schneider, gk12 program, department of biological sciences, university of south carolina. You are then to answer the questions based on the food web, and any other necessary outside research. The california clapper rail feeds on mussels, clams, crabs, small fish, insects, spiders, and salt marsh harvest mice. Pretend you are a marine biologist studying a variety of species from georgias coastal areas. Valuing ecosystem services of coastal marshes and wetlands. Other animals found in the salt marsh include many different types of birds.

Food web chart exhibiting relationships among organisms what the organism eats what eats the organism producer, primary or secondary consumer pickleweed cordgrass great blue heron northern anchovy salt marsh harvest mouse leopard shark. Points 10 8 5 3 0 food web activity all the connections between the organisms are correct most of the connections between the organisms are correct about half of the connections are correct. Impacts of nutrients and hurricanes on salt marsh food webs often bordering agricultural or urbanized land, coastal salt marsh ecosystems are vulnerable to anthropogenic nutrient inputs that may affect primary productivity of the dominant cordgrass, spartina alterniflora. Most marsh plants flourish in the spring and summer, growing taller and more abundant. Salt marsh plants salt water algae grasshoppers snails sandpiper eats. Salt marsh plants an overview sciencedirect topics. Also important for the food web is the cycle of matter and nutrients. Building a classroom food web on the species consumption key are all the species in a food web and what they eat. Estuary food pyramid noaa office for coastal management. Habitat is the place where an organism lives because it is adapted to. Field study is a critical component of any environmental education program.

Faculty and student research environmental studies. Building a food web introduction in food webs activity. Select the habitat food web that you want to explore with your students from the shorebird food web cards. Today, some of the challenges facing wetland managers and scientists include the identification or imperiled salt marshes, the prioritization of sites for. Scientists working at plum island marsh wanted to understand how these added nutrients affect the marsh food web, so they experimentally fertilized several salt marsh creeks for many years. Assessment questions based on content covered in estuary food pyramid can be downloaded on the web page for this activity in the middle school curriculum section of the estuary education website at estuaries.

Untangling salt marsh food webs hhmi biointeractive. Food chains demonstrate how living things depend on each other for food energy. Make sure students understand the biotic and abiotic factors of a salt marsh ecosystem. In which biome is this food web most likely to be found. They also feed many invertebrates, such as snails and crabs, which are then eaten by fish and birds. Vegetation loss decreases salt marsh denitrification capacity. Salt marshes also prevent sediments from washing offshore, often creating more land on which salt marshes can grow.

Terrestrial ecosystems full of grasses, spiders, and insects overlap with marine ecosystems of crabs, snails, fish, and algae. A hawk might also eat a mouse, a squirrel, a frog or some other animal. Threats to the salt marsh environment new hampshire. Environmental studies majors with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3. This activity precedes the use of the poster and this will be where the children will be exposed to the organisms in the saltmarsh, feeding relationships, and the effects of disturbances on our natural resource, the salt marsh. Highlights we assessed potential impacts of alligators in a salt marsh food web. Salt marshes are composed of a variety of different species, depending on location, including grasses, sedges, and rushes. List two endangered species in this food web tidal marsh habitat. Ninth graders explain interrelationships in salt marsh ecosystems. Marine life in salt marshes is incredibly diverse and abundant. Salt marshes can absorb, or trap, some of these pollutants, reducing the pollutant load entering estuaries. Set of 21 cards, each represents a component of the estuarine food web.

The snake may eat a beetle, a caterpillar, or some other animal. Read your card, then wrap one end of the yarn around your hand and pass the ball of. Qr codes are incorporated into some of the stations to allow stud. Food chains and food webs activity printable and digital. Students will jot down notes on how each organism obtains energy from reading the cards. Salt marshes florida department of environmental protection. We isolated the effect of alligator presence in a mesocosm experiment. Ecology unit resources garrett middle school 7th life. Conservation is an emerging issue, given threats of sealevel rise in concert with global warming.

To construct an accurate food web and discuss the implications of species extinction in the web. Secondary consumers up and on from eating the sheepshead minnow is the otter. Including parasites in this web doubles connectance and quadruples the number of links, more than 75% of which include parasites lafferty et al. All food chains begin with producers, usually plants. A food web is several food chains connected together. Different salt marsh detritivores are likely to have different effects on decomposition processes in the salt marsh and cannot be regarded as functionally redundant nor can the litter of different plant species be regard ed as redundant as food for marsh detritivores. Use arrows to show theflow of energy from the organism being eaten to the organism that eats it see forest food web example. Most communities include various populations of producer organisms which are eaten by any number of consumer populations. Two days to complete completed in heterogeneous cooperative learning groups. Identify and label each organism as use all that apply. Organism description bacteria sagittula stellata bacteria are extremely important in the overall functioning of marine ecosystems.

In this ecosystem instructional activity, 9th graders explain salt marsh populations and how abiotic and biotic factors affect them. Ap environmental science mr soblos science classes. Food webs a web food is made up of interconnected food chains. They will be given a set of cards, a felt board, and yarn. Grazing management in saltmarsh ecosystems drives invertebrate diversity, abundance and functional group structure. Exploring food webs in a south carolina salt marsh. It is dominated by dense stands of salt tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. I am eaten by the salt marsh harvest mouse and the periwinkle snails. The role of cyanobacteria in southern california salt.

Food web activity using yarn start with producers and pass yarn back and forth between producers and their consumers. We performed collections of stomach contents to identify common prey. And so on for all the other animals in the food chain. Blue crabs were found to be a frequent prey type consumed in the wild. Response of the benthic food web to short and longterm.

Transfer of energy in an ecosystem the pyramid graphic shown below represents organisms in the salt marsh ecosystem. Food web construction and manipulation biology junction. The salt marsh is a significant natural feature of the region down jersey. Students will sort 24 organisms into 6 different food chains.

To supplement your use of this teachers guide, please consider visiting robinson preserve for a marsh mania field trip. After the discussion of the food web, additional questions will be asked, including natural selection, limiting factors, adaptation, and how the food web would be affected if organisms were removed. See more ideas about salt marsh, plant science and ocean unit. A closer look at redundancy article pdf available in estuaries and coasts 275. Growth rates and survival of detritivores differed among litter species.

Parasites were added to an already detailed food web from the carpenteria salt marsh in santa barbara, california. In mesocosm experiments, we studied the rates and pattern of decomposition of litter derived from four plant species common in southeastern united. Salt marsh vegetation captures sediment to stay in the system which in turn allows for the plants to grow better and thus the plants are better at trapping sediment and accumulate more organic matter. Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers. From the images taken from the food web, list at least two organisms for each of the. A forest b desert c grassland d urban begins the flow of energy through the 2. This teachers guide is intended to help you and your classes explore this fascinating environment and meet its resident creatures while learning more about this incredible land of sea, salt, and soil. This activity allows students to take a virtual tour of the salt marsh ecosystem. Pdf food webs and parasites in a salt marsh ecosystem.

Through his experiments, silliman revealed that the growth and abundance of salt marsh plants is actually mainly controlled by herbivores, as in many other terrestrial ecosystems. They are involved in breaking down a wide variety of organic materials of plants and. This positive feedback loop potentially allows for salt marsh bed level rates to keep pace with rising sea level rates. How does salt marsh food web structure translate to ecosystem functions and services. The food web should be a true web with multiple branches.

It is okay for more than one student to represent the producers in the. Pdf grazing management in saltmarsh ecosystems drives. The green crab, for example, is a consumer as well as a decomposer. The maritime forest we will discover is bordered by salt marsh. It eats the the sheepshead minnow, the blue crab, and the diamondback turtle. Notice that, as food is passed from producers to higher level consumers, each feeding level has. Building a food chain, you built a food chain and learned how energy flows through trophic levels. Have students get into groups and arrange cards to form food webs.

Mitsch and gosselink, 1993 producers in a salt marsh include the marsh grasses, spartina and juncus mostly, plus various other salt tolerant plants as well as lots of algae. Salt marsh species rely on the decay of marsh plants to supply a steady source of food in the form organic material, or detritus, resulting from the decomposition of plants and animals. Food web construction winstonsalemforsyth county schools. Students must place the organism in the correct food chain and in the correct order. You can hand this out to your students or have them research their own species feeding habits to make this activity an interdisciplinary. Many of the cards also tell what eats the plant or animal. The effects of eutrophication on salt marsh function are difficult to interpret and predict.