Science project
Introduction:
The aim of this project was to see what food chains and food webs are found in the salt marsh
ecosystem. During the course of the project our team found out that there were a lot of introduced
animals in the salt marsh ecosystem. The salt marsh ecosystem that we were focusing on is the Altona
coastal park. The salt marsh ecosystem is environments that are joined or very near to salt water hence
the salt in salt marsh. To find out the different food chains and food webs we had to answer the
following questions.
Q1. To produce a 12 food chains on the animals that we had previously researched.
(a) Octopus
(b)
fox
(c) octopus
(d) fox
(e) eagle
Crab
back swan
crab
rosella
fox
Bacteria
algae
fungi
seeds
rabbit
(g) Eagle
(h) fox
Rosella
rosella
Seeds
fruit
(I) feral cats
black wallaby
grass
(j) spoonbill (k) herons
small fish
algae
rabbits
grass
(f) fox
black wallaby
lantana
(L)
?
white fronted chat
gastro pods
Q2. To construct a food web.
Quoll
Eagle
Tiger snake
Egrets
Ibis
Fox
Native rats
Octopus
Heron
Rosella
Rabbit
Crabs
Fungi
Seeds
Grass
Frog
Feral cats
Fish
Bacteria
Black swan
Algae
Black wallaby
Lantana
Insects
Leaves
Q3. Which organisms are producers?
The organisms in the eco system that are called producers are normally plants. Which include: fungi,
seeds, fruit, algae, bacteria, lantana, grass and leaves.
Q4. Identify the first second and third consumers in your eco system.
FIRST
SECCOND
THIRD
Crabs
Native rats
Eagle
Rabbit
Octopus
Ibis
Fish
Heron
Tiger snake
Rosella
fox
quoll
Black swan
Feral cats
Black wallaby
Egret
insects
Frog
Q5. Which animals in your eco system are herbivores carnivores or omnivores?
Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore
Tiger snake
Rosella
Crab
Black wallaby
Spoonbill
Orange parrot
Grey teal
Black swan
White
fronted chat
Fox
Native rat
Egret
Ibis
Heron
Q6.which organisms are predators?
The organisms that are predators in our eco system include: octopus, crab, fox, native rats, quoll, tiger
snake, spoonbill, feral cats, herons and egrets.
Q7. Which organisms are preys?
The organisms that are prey in our ecosystem include: black swan, crab, rosella, bugs, frog, tiger snake,
fox, black wallaby, rabbit, fish, egret, heron and native rats.
Q8. Which organisms are competing for the same food?
Native rats and the octopus both compete to eat crabs. The heron and the fox both compete to eat
rabbits. The egret, heron and the spoonbill all compete to eat fish. The fox and the eagle compete to eat
the rosella. The feral cat and the fox compete to eat the black wallaby. The egret and the frog compete
to eat the insects. The tiger snake and the ibis both compete to eat the frog.
Q9. What would happen to the producers if the first order consumers were a) to increase b) to
decrease?
(a) If the first order consumers increased the number of supplies would decrease because of the
lack of supply but high on demand.
(b) If the number of first order consumers decreased the amount of supplies would increase.
Q10. What would happen to the ecosystem if the second order consumers became extinct?
If the second order consumers died or became extinct than the first order consumers would not die or
decompose.
Q11. What are some of the decomposers in your ecosystem?
Two common decomposers in the Salt Marsh ecosystem are fungi/ bacteria.
Q12. Choose one of the consumers in your ecosystem and then predict what would happen if the
population of it increased or decreased?
If the population of the fox were to increase the amount of its prey (rabbit’s ect.) would decrease but is
the population of the fox was to decrease salt marsh areas would be full of rabbits and other animals
that are prey to foxes.
Q13.what is an introduced animal? And are there any in your ecosystem?
An introduced animal is an animal not native to Australia that has been brought to the country. The fox
is an introduced animal it came from Europe and so is the rabbit both apart of the salt marsh ecosystem.
Q14.What is a biological control? Are there in any in your ecosystem?
A biological control is an animal that has been introduced to keep the population of a species under
control and normally to keep the native animals to the areas safe.
Conclusion:
After answering all the questions our group was able to successfully construct more than ten food
chains and one food web. We learnt that in order to construct a food web successfully it always needs
to start with a producer (plant).
Chelsea Rodger 8D