Yellowstone Food Web
Introduction: The students will create a food web diagram. This
National Science lesson takes about one or two 80 minute classes to teach the
Content Standards: concept and work time on making the assignment.
Life Science: This can be done prior to or after playing WolfQuest.
• Populations and
Ecosystems
Unifying Concepts and
Processes: This activity could be done before or after playing
Objectives:
• Systems, Order, WolfQuest.
At the end of this activity, the student will:
and Organization 1. Demonstrate knowledge of energy flow in an ecosystem.
2. Know that all species depend upon the other for survival.
Vocabulary: 3. Demonstrate knowledge of terms; omnivores, carnivores,
Producer herbivores, and producers.
Carnivore
Omnivore
Herbivore
Interdependence
Procedure:
1. Students should cut out squares and glue onto a large piece
Materials: of paper forming a large circle.
• Copies of animal 2. Using the provided data sheet, students should begin to
sheet create arrows showing what is eating what. For example, is a
• Color pencils wolf eats elk, the student should draw a line connecting the
• Construction paper elk box to the wolf box. The arrow shows the flow of energy,
in an ecosystem the animal that is eating is obtaining the
energy. Thus the arrow for our above example should be
pointing towards the wolf, not the elk.
3. Once the arrows are drawn, the students need to determine if
each species is a producer, omnivore, carnivore, or
herbivore. To demonstrate knowledge students should color
all producers green, omnivores blue, carnivores red, and
herbivores yellow.
Possible extensions:
Allow students to create food web using different
materials: string, plastic animals, etc.
Allow students to research and add to the web.
Increase amounts of plants, animals.
Allow students to create a food web for an ecosystem in
your area. (marine ecosystems, freshwater lakes/rivers,
prairies, deserts, etc.)
Procedure (continued):
8. Have students work on critical thinking skills by asking them to
examine what would happen if one species was taken away
(extinct) from the web. What if something new was added
(exotic species)? What effects would that have on the food
web?
Snowshoe Hare Stink Beetle
Western Meadowlark
Berries Pocket Mouse
Bison
Flowers/Nectar Roots
Spotted Skunk
Monarch Butterfly
Coyote Rattlesnake
Deer Mouse
Raccoon Ground Squirrel
Broad-Tailed
Bull Snake
Hummingbird Elk
Leaves/Grasses Wolf
Seeds/Nuts
Shrubs
Twigs
Mule Deer
FOOD WEB ASSIGNMENT
ANIMAL WHAT IT EATS
Stink Beetle leaves/grasses
Monarch
leaves(as a caterpillar), nectar
Butterfly
Broad-Tailed
nectar
Hummingbird
Western
insects, seeds
Meadowlark
leaves/grasses, flowers, berries,
Snowshoe Hare
shrubs
Pocket Mouse insects, seeds
seeds/nuts, berries,
Deer Mouse
leaves/grasses, insects
leaves/grasses, seeds/nuts,
Ground Squirrel
berries, insects
fruits, nuts, grass, insects, bird
Raccoon
eggs
mice, bird eggs, insects, grasses,
Spotted Skunk
berries
Mule Deer shrubs, twigs, grasses
Bull Snake ground squirrels, mice
Rattlesnake ground squirrels, mice
Bison grasses
Elk grasses, twigs, berries
Wolf elk, mule deer, bison
scavenger: will eat almost anything
Coyote animal or vegetable; prefers
rodents, rabbits
Using the above data chart, create a food web:
• Cut out each of the organism pictures and glue onto large paper.
• Draw arrows that show the flow of energy. (Arrow goes to the eating animal)
• Color Producers (Green) [Organisms that produce energy]
• Color Herbivores (Yellow) [Animals that eat only plants]
• Color Carnivores (Red) [Animals that eat only animals]
• Color Omnivores (Blue) [Animals that eat both plants & animals]
