Keystone Species For President Project
Research a keystone species and share the information in an election-style poster. The following
information should be in your poster.
1. Pick a Keystone Species. Assign a creative name for your species.
Harry the Hare- Snowshoe Hare Lepus americanus
2. Find the following information on your species:
a. Where does/did your species live?
North America
b. In what type of ecosystem/habitat does your species live?
They are primarily a northern species that inhabits boreal forests and can also range
as far north as the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Along North American mountain ranges, where
elevation simulates the environment of more northerly latitudes, they can be found as far south as
Virginia (the Appalachians) and New Mexico (the Rockies).
c. What does your species eat?
In summer, it feeds on plants such as grass, ferns, and leaves; in winter, it eats twigs, the bark
from trees, and plants and, similar to the Arctic hare, has been known to occasionally eat dead
animals
d. What other organism(s) prey on your species?
Lynx, bobcats, coyotes, red fox, wolves, owls, hawks,
e. What other organisms interact with the organisms identified in questions c and d
above?
There are also red squirrels, weasels, moose, beaver
f. What major role does your species play in its ecosystem that would qualify it as a
keystone species?
They hold the balance between prey and predator due to the population size of them.
Many animals are dependent on them as a food source. Less of them means less of there
predators.
g. Colorful drawings or colored pictures of species
Present this information within your Presidential Poster. You can do this however you want.
These could be your “Why we should vote for them” or could be part of a slogan or background
design.
On the back of the poster:
3. Construct a food web of your species’ ecosystem. Indicate feeding relationships with the
arrow pointing toward the predator.
4. Using specific colors, highlight all species in the same trophic level using the same color (4
different colors for 4 different trophic levels). Key needed.
5. Identify the trophic levels in which your species falls.
Category
Information
required
Food Web
Trophic Levels
Creativity
20 points
15 points
10 points
5 points
All information
is provided.
One information
is missing or
incorrect.
10 points
8 points
Two answers or
information are
missing or
incorrect.
6 points
Three or more
answers are
missing or
incorrect.
4 points
All species
interactions are
accurately
represented.
One species
interaction is
missing or
incorrect.
Two species
interactions are
missing or
incorrect.
10 points
8 points
6 points
Three or more
species
interactions are
missing
incorrect.
4 points
All organisms
are correctly
highlighted
according to
trophic level.
One species
trophic level
incorrectly
identified or
inaccurate key.
Two species
trophic levels
incorrectly
identified, or one
trophic level not
identified, or key
missing.
10 points
8 points
6 points
Three or more
species trophic
levels
incorrectly
identified
AND/OR more
than one trophic
level not
identified.
4 points
Poster shows
creativity and is
bright and
colorful.
Poster shows
some creativity
and is lacking
color.
Poster shows no
creativity and
lacks color.
Poster has no
creativity and no
color.