1. The Fallen Leaf

2. This is the story of the ‘fallen leaf’. It illustrates how all the organisms in a riparian area ecosystem are linked together. Click to start.

3. The Fallen Leaf

4. A leaf falls to the ground and gets swept downstream by the current. It gets caught in a log and microorganisms start to eat it, and they get eaten by larger aquatic invertebrates. The aquatic insects get eaten by small fish and small fish get eaten by bigger fish. The fish live out their life (migrate, spawn), then some get eaten by land animals – like bear! The nutrients from fish get deposited in the forest and get reabsorbed by the soil. The nutrients aid the tree to grow and produce new leaves – starting the cycle again.