Discover: Parts of the Food Chain

You already know about many types of wetland plants and animals and how they are adapted to live in the wetlands.  In a well-balanced ecosystem, each of these organisms has an important role in the cycling of nutrients and energy for the survival of the ecosystem.

Their role could be to make food from the Sun (producers).

They could be a food source for other animals who are consumers.

They might recycle the waste and remains from other animals (decomposers).


Think about the wetland plants and animals you learned about in the last section.  Can you determine their roles?

What are the roles of various wetland organisms?

Resources

  • Digital Field Trip to Wetlands
    • Use the Digital Frog DVD you received with your course materials.
    • Open the program and follow the instructions in the notebook activity.

Notebook

Click here to download the instructions for this activity. Save to your Wetlands Notebook.


  Check Your Answers

Once you have completed this activity, check your answers below. 

  Nature Connection

Most plants are producers. They make all their own food by using the Sun’s energy, water, and carbon dioxide. However, some plants are both producers and consumers.

Plants such as the Venus fly trap or the pitcher plant may rely on trapping and eating insects because the soil where they live is low in nutrients. They still use energy from the Sun to make food, but they rely on eating insects to get enough nutrients.

  Video

Watch these plants in action: Wild View: Carnivorous Plants