Discover: Effects of Changes in the Wetlands

What would you do if you could find no bread for your sandwiches for your lunch? Perhaps, you would find something else to use for your sandwich such as a pita or a bun. Maybe you would find something else to have for lunch instead of a sandwich. Humans are lucky because they are at the top of the food chain and have many options for food.

In ecosystems that have a lot of biodiversity, animals have choices in what they eat. If pollution or changes to the environment destroy one food source, most animals are able to adapt and find another source. However, this does not mean that the food chain is not affected.  Any sudden change to a food chain involving an increase or decrease of food supply affects all organisms that are connected.

In this food web, if all the mice died suddenly from a widespread disease, the snake could change to eating more shrews.  However, this would cause a decrease in the number of shrews.  Over time, this might balance out if the snakes found a new food source or if the mouse population started to come back.  However, even with a healthy food web, a small change can have a big effect.  How is a simple wetland food chain affected?

How can changes to an ecosystem affect various organisms?

Resources

• Wetland Chain Reaction Worksheet
  

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