Desert Food Web Activity
Name: __________________________
6th Grade PSI
Score: _____ / 14 points
-----------------------------------------------Food webs are diagrams that show all the feeding interactions in an ecosystem. They
help us to see how an ecosystem is organized. They also show how energy flows
through an ecosystem.
Food webs help us to understand why certain events happen, such as an increase or
decrease in a population. They can even help to predict future events.
Use the information in the chart below to draw a food web for this desert ecosystem.
Organism
Badger
Bat
Coyote
Insects
Prickly Pear Cactus
Pronghorn
Raptor
Sagebrush
Small reptiles
Snakes
Squirrels/rodents
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Prey/Food
Snakes, Squirrels, small
reptiles
Insects
Pronghorn, small reptiles,
badger
Sagebrush, prickly pear
cactus
__
Sagebrush, prickly pear
cactus
Small reptiles, snakes,
squirrels
__
Insects
Squirrels
Sagebrush, prickly pear
cactus
6th Grade PSI
Predator
Coyote
__
__
Bats, small reptiles
Pronghorn, insects,
squirrels
Coyote
__
Pronghorn, insects,
squirrels
Raptors, coyotes, badger
Badger, raptor
Badger, raptor, snakes
Ecosystem Dynamics
Desert Food Web
www.njctl.org
6th Grade PSI
Ecosystem Dynamics
Analysis
1. What important group is not shown in this ecosystem’s food web? What role
does this group usually play?
2. Using three organisms from your food web, draw a food chain below:
3. Write an example of one organisms that fits each category below:
a. Producer:
b. Consumer:
c. Herbivore:
d. Carnivore:
4. Describe what would happen to the insect population if the following events
occurred?
a. Disease destroys the sagebrush and cactus populations.
b. Habitat destruction forces the bats to migrate to a neighboring ecosystem.
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6th Grade PSI
Ecosystem Dynamics