FOOD CHAINS OF THE MARSH
“On Your Own” at the Virginia Aquarium (MP)
 A food chain shows the feeding relationships between animals. For example:
Plankton
Mullet (Fish)
Bluefish (Bigger Fish)
Osprey (Bird)
Owl’s Creek has many food chains. When food chains link together, they are called food webs.
What is always at the beginning of a food chain?
a. Plants
b. Animals
c. People
Plants are called producers (or autotrophs), this is because plants can produce their own
___________________________.
Animals have to find food to eat and are called
a. Producers
b. Consumers
c. Omnivores
Circle the pictures of consumers:
The pictures that you did not circle are called what? ________________________
 Food Chain #1
Let’s build some marsh food chains. Look around for the items listed below.
Place arrows between the plants and animals to show who eats whom.
Dead marsh grass
(detritus)
Fiddler Crab
(Hint: look in the
fiddler crab habitat)
Great Blue Heron
(Hint: look in the aviary)
Write 1 fact about each thing:
Marsh Grass: ___________________________________________________________________
Fiddler Crab: ___________________________________________________________________
Great Blue Heron: _______________________________________________________________
 Food Chain #2
Great Horned Owl
(Hint: look in the aviary)
Draw arrows to show who eats whom.
Black Rat Snake
Marsh Rat
(Hint: look across from
the venomous snakes)
Marsh Grass Seeds
Food Chain # 3 Draw arrows to show who eats whom.
Tree Frog
Plant Leaves
(Hint: look in the Macro Marsh)
 Food Chain # 4
Draw arrows to show who eats whom.
Human
 Predators
(Hint: look across from
the venomous snakes)
Leafhopper
Spot
Worm
Plankton
A predator is an animal that eats another animal.
From one of the food chains, name one animal that is a predator: _______________________________
What do you call the animal that the predator hunts? _______________________________
 Adaptations
Animals have many different adaptations for capturing and eating their food.
Match each animal to its special adaptation.
A. Venom
B. Claws
C. Camouflage
Rattlesnake
Snapping Turtle
Blue Crab
Seahorse
D. Tube mouth
E. Paws
River Otter
 To Discuss Back at School
What happens to a predator if all of its prey disappears from the watershed?
Why might all the prey disappear?
How can people help to protect the food web in the Owl’s Creek watershed?