IES
Bay Food Web
Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay is an important ecological resource, with a great
diversity of native plants and animals. These plants and animals interact with non-native
invasive species as well, forming a complex food web. In this activity, you will create a
model of a food web specific to the Chesapeake Bay.
Objective: SWBAT build a food web specific to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem in order
to model the interactions between native and non-native species
Procedures:
1) Cut out the cards at the bottom and on the following pages
2) Find all of the producers and align these organisms on the bottom of your poster
3) Find all organisms that eat the producers (primary consumers) and place these
organisms above the producers
4) Draw arrows (in pencil) to show the flow of energy in the food web
5) Repeat steps 2 and 3 with secondary and tertiary consumers
6) Use colored pencils or markers to decorate your poster
The Home Team: “The Natives”
Name: American Oyster
Eats:
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
Eaten by:
Blue Crab
Cownose Ray
Name: Barnacle
Eats:
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
Eaten by:
Ruddy turnstone
Name: Blue Crab
Eats:
Oysters
Seahorses
Terrapin
Eaten by:
Striped Bass
Cownose Ray
Ruddy turnstone
Name: Phytoplankton
Eats:
Eaten by:
Photosynthesis
Oysters
Barnacles
Zooplankton
Menhaden
Name: Zooplankton
Eats:
Phytoplankton
Eaten by:
Oysters
Barnacles
Menhaden
Name: Cownose Ray
Eats:
Oysters
Seahorses
Blue Crabs
Name: Ruddy Turnstone
Eats:
Barnacles
Eaten by:
Red Fox
Osprey
Name: Seahorse
Eats:
Phytoplankton
Eaten by:
Blue Crab
Cownose Ray
Terrapin
Bull Sharks
Name: Terrapin
Eats:
Seahorse
Eaten by:
Blue Crab
Red Fox
Bull Sharks
Eaten by:
Bull Sharks
Name: Striped Bass
Eats:
Blue Crab
Menhaden
Eaten by:
Bull Sharks
Osprey
G. Blue Heron
Name: Menhaden
Eats:
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
Eaten by:
Bull Sharks
Striped Bass
G. Blue Heron
Osprey
Name: Bull Shark
Eats:
Menhaden
Striped Bass
Terrapin
Seahorse
Cownose Ray
Eaten by:
None
Name: Red Fox
Eats:
Ruddy turnstone
Terrapin
Wood duck
Mute Swan
Nutria
Eaten by:
None
Name: Osprey
Eats:
Ruddy turnstone
Menhaden
Striped Bass
Eaten by:
None
Name: Great Blue Heron Eats:
Menhaden
Striped Bass
Blue Crabs
Oysters
Seahorses
Eaten by:
None
Name: Bay Grasses
Eats:
Photosynthesis
Eaten by:
Wood Ducks
Nutria
Mute Swan
Name: Wood Duck
Eats:
Bay Grasses
Phragmites
Eaten by:
Red Fox
The Visiting Team: “Non-native Invasives”
Name: Nutria
Eats:
Bay Grasses
Phragmites
Eaten by:
Red Fox
Name: Mute Swan
Eats:
Bay Grasses
Eaten by:
Red Fox
Name: Phragmites
Eats:
Photosynthesis
Eaten by:
Nutria
Wood ducks
Bull Shark
Striped Bass
Ruddy
turnstone
Cownose Ray
Blue Crab
Menhaden
Oysters
Terrapin
Seahorse
Zooplankton
Barnacles
Phytoplankton