En anglais

Ocean Food Webs

Science · Ocean Life · ages 7-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

In this path, what do zooplankton eat?
- Tuna
- Algae
- Small fish
What is a food web?
- Many food chains connected together
- One single path of who eats whom
- A map of the ocean floor
In a food web, only one animal can eat each kind of prey.
Circle one: True False
Look at this path: algae, zooplankton, small fish, tuna. How many living things are in this one path?
Answer: ______________
Which pair shows two different paths that both start with algae?
- Algae to shark to tuna, and zooplankton to algae to crab
- Tuna to shark to algae, and small fish to zooplankton to algae
- Algae to zooplankton to small fish to tuna, and algae to small fish to shark
If small fish disappeared from the ocean, what would most likely happen?
- Zooplankton might increase and tuna would have less food
- Nothing would change since fish are not important
- Algae would stop making food
Leo says a food web is just a food chain with a fancier name. What is wrong with what Leo said?
- A food chain has more animals than a food web
- Nothing, they mean the exact same thing
- A food web shows many connected food chains, not just one path
A fishing boat catches almost all the sardines in one area, and sea lions that eat sardines start to starve. What does this show?
- Sea lions and sardines are not connected in the food web
- Removing one species can affect other species far along the web
- Sardines do not matter to the ocean food web

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Algae · Zooplankton eat algae, the tiny producers that make their own food using sunlight.
Many food chains connected together · A food web links many food chains together, showing all the paths energy can take through the ocean.
False · In a real food web, many different animals often eat the same prey, and one animal often eats many different foods.
4 · Count each living thing once: algae, zooplankton, small fish, and tuna makes four links.
Algae to zooplankton to small fish to tuna, and algae to small fish to shark · Both paths start with algae, the producer, then energy flows up through different animals.
Zooplankton might increase and tuna would have less food · Small fish eat zooplankton and get eaten by tuna, so losing them affects both what they ate and what ate them.
A food web shows many connected food chains, not just one path · A food chain is one path. A food web shows how many chains connect and overlap in a real ecosystem.
Removing one species can affect other species far along the web · Sardines connect many parts of the web, so removing them can hurt the animals that depended on them.