Activity: Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

1. Go to the Lab-Aids Student Book for Biology (Username = wakestem10 password =

biology10)
2. Click on the Biology 2nd Edition Portal
3. Click on Ecology: Living on Earth

4. Go to Activity 7 and click on Student Book

5. Read the Introduction and the Challenge Question (We will revisit this later).
6. You will follow the Procedure to complete Parts A, B, and D - Skip Part C. Fill in the
sections below as you complete the procedure.
 Part A - Construct a Food Web
1. Follow the procedure for Part A (chart paper = whiteboard)
2. Insert a picture of your food web below. Make sure your food web includes arrows to
show the flow of energy between organisms.

Part B - Predict the Impact on Ecosystems

1. Follow the procedure for Part B.
2. For each Event Card fill in the table below (Add rows if needed)

Summary of the Event Short-terms Effects Long-term Effects Effect on Energy Flow in
Kelp Forest Ecosystem

Nitrogen compounds Overgrowth of Photosynthetic Most of the energy

runoff into the ocean cyanobacteria and organisms like kelp would remain with the
and result of phytoplankton block off start to die off, autotrophic organisms,
overgrowth of sunlight that penetrates organisms that feed on cyanobacteria and
cyanobacteria and ocean surface. kelp like urchins begin phytoplankton. Their
phytoplankton. to die off, fish that feed absorption of majority
on urchins then die off, of the energy provided
and then mammals that by the sun dampens the
feed on fish and amount transferred in
urchins die off as well. the ecosystem. This is
due to the fact that
other organisms rely on
sunlight to survive,
without it they die off
 and cause a chain
reaction of population
decrease in the
ecosystem. Thus, the
amount of energy thats
flowing dramatically
decreases.

Harbor seals die off as Harbor seal prey, Autotrophic organisms Ecosystem will fall out
a result of a disease rockfish and sea like kelp, of balance energy wise
affecting the urchins, increase in phytoplankton, and as the autotrophic
population. population. This is due zooplankton will organisms decrease in
to the fact that their decrease in population population. These
predators have since they are the food organisms hold the
decreased in source of the rapidly majority of the energy
population, so they are increasing fish and in the ecosystem and
less likely to be eaten. urchin populations. without them the
ecosystem is unable to
support the rapidly
growing population of
fish and urchins. Soon
enough, they will die off
much like the seals
before them.

Part D - Construct an Energy Pyramid

1. With your group, use the information from the food web to place the name of each
organism on the energy pyramid below (Some organisms may be placed in more than
one trophic level).
Analysis
1. What is the difference between the role of the organism that is a producer and one that
is a consumer? How is a decomposer different from other consumers? The role of a
producer is different than that of a
consumer in that it is the producers job to
generate enough energy on its own to
support the whole ecosystem, while the
consumer must simply consumer
producers and other consumers to transfer
all this available energy. Decomposers are
different from other consumers in that they
consume dead materials and transfer those
materials back into the ecosystem.
Consumers simply consume other
organisms.
2. Explain the role of the sun in the kelp forest ecosystem? The role of the sun in the kelp
forest ecosystem is to provide the necessary sunlight to power photosynthesis in
kelp, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and cyanobacteria.

3. From the lake food web from the right

a. Predict what would happen if all of the walleye were fished out of the lake. T
here
would be a slight growth of zooplankton, to which would result in a slight
growth of crayfish and a slight decrease in phytoplankton. Since freshwater
drum feed on crayfish, they too would increase in population. Northern pike
would decrease slightly in population due to the loss of walleye, however it
would be supplemented by the crayfish.

b. Choose an organism other than the walleye and predict what would happen if it
disappeared from the lake. If the Northern pike disappeared from the lake,
then it is likely that the walleye and crayfish populations would increase.
This in turn would increase the population of bass dramatically, who feed
on both walleye and crayfish. But over time, walleye and crayfish
populations will decrease with the rapid increase of bass. Freshwater drum
populations would slightly decrease with the loss of zooplankton and
increase with the crayfish population. But with the possible decrease
afterwards, freshwater drum fish will decrease in population as well.
Zooplankton would get the shortest end of the stick, since they are the food
source of the walleye, crayfish, and bass and thus would decrease in
population. Phytoplankton populations would increase as a result of the
dramatic decrease in zooplankton populations.

4. Imagine you are an ecologist who studies kelp forest ecosystems. You have been asked
by the federal government to evaluate two plans for the California sheephead fishery,
which relies on kelp forests. A summary of two proposals follows. Read the proposals
and determine:

a. How the two proposals differ: The second proposal takes the population
count of both California sheepshead and sea urchins every three months.
Additionally, the second proposal measures the density of the giant kelp
population every three months.

b. Which proposal you think the government should implement. T he government

should propose the second plan as it appears to go into more detail in its
investigation on kelp forest ecosystems. It includes the option of
monitoring three organisms: california sheepshead, sea urchins, and giant
kelp, of which their their interactions can be analyzed through the control
of the sheepshead population. With this they can better understand the
interactions between organisms in a kelp forest ecosystem, since they are
 observing the effects the populations of each have of on each other. Of
course, the cost is rather expensive, but by choosing this option you prove
to the public that you are fully supportive of scientific explanation and do
not simply take the cheap way out.

In your recommendation include a discussion of the trade-offs for each proposal.

Proposal 1

Take population counts of California sheepheads once every three months. If the fish
population is below sustainable levels, decrease the size of the allowed sheephead catch. If the
sheephead population is at or above sustainable levels, keep the catch limit at current levels.

Cost to implement this proposal: $750,000

Proposal 2

Take population counts of California sheepheads and sea urchins once every three months.
Measure the density of the giant kelp population once every three months.

If the size of any population is below sustainable levels, decrease the size of the sheephead
catch allowed. If the size of each population is at or above sustainable levels, keep the
sheephead catch at current levels.

Cost to implement this proposal: $1,250,000