Backyard food web - Food web for Environmental Science with description on second page PDF

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Food web for Environmental Science with description on second page...

Description

I decided to stay as close to home as possible to observe for my food web. I live in Miami FL, but stayed over the week in my family’s home in Orlando, FL. Behind my house, I have a backyard where my dogs and siblings can play. What I noticed at first was that without the sun, none of my food web would be possible. The sun is our main energy source that allows plants (grass) to take part in photosynthesis in order to grow. In the grass, I spotted a few animals such as, snails and bugs. These animals live off of the soil that provides them a home and they decompose from dead animal and plant matter. This was very interesting to me because it seems like they have so little when in reality they can get all of their nutrients from the soil. My primary consumer that I spotted was a neighborhood rabbit that allows hops around into different backyards. She feeds off of the grass as well but she can also become a target to other neighboring animals. With a lake near the house, snakes can be found wandering backyards and circling the nearby waters. A source of moving water is essential to all animals in a food web. Without water, they would not survive, just like humans. This is a food source, quench for third and a breeding ground for some animals. With the snakes habitat being the water, they are looking for prey and the rabbits are first on their list. But the cycle doesn’t end there. I noticed a peregrine falcon circling around the sky which indicates he was looking for prey. While these birds to not breed in Florida, they can be found in the state during seasonal migrations in the Fall. Falcons are very strong and fast animals and having the advantage of wings, they can spot things that many of us can’t. So, they prey on the snakes and smaller birds that are wandering around the water. Overall, without the sun, soil, and animals, a food web would not be complete. Everything plays a major part in completing the cycle and it will continue to do so years to come!...