Looking at food webs at Ayres Rock Make a note of who eats what, you will be composing a food web at the end

PRODUCERS Make their own food from simple molecules, e.g. Plants Use energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide gas and water into glucose. The producer was Triodia spinifex a grass that grows really well in hot dry climates Spiny grass chiefly found in Australia, growing on the coastal sand dunes. It is often planted to bind sand along the seashore. The term also refers to porcupine grass, any of a group of spiny-leaved, tussock-forming grasses of inland Australia.

Primary consumers These eat the plants, and ONLY plants. They are ‘vegetarians’! These are called herbivores Primary consumers were termites

Secondary consumers The Blue-Tongue Skink is an omnivore it eats plant life and insects The Gecko mostly eats insects, it is a termite predator and just a carnivore, it only eats meat. These can eat both producers and primary consumers – omnivores, or can just eat primary consumers – carnivores.

Stimsons python was a tertiary consumer it Eats small mammals and lizards etc. but does not normally eat other snakes. It is a constrictor, that means it crushes its prey and so has no venom. Tertiary consumers These are usually carnivores, they just eat meat.

Predators These hunt and kill their prey. Some of the secondary and tertiary consumers are predators.

The fierce snake, or taipan, is believed to have the most toxic venom produced by a land snake in the world. It can grow up to 8ft in length and eats mostly rats Top predators The Common or Eastern Brown Snake, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals are their main prey. These can grow up to 2m in length.

Perenties The perentie is the largest lizard on the Australian continent and, with a maximum length in excess of 8 feet, one of the largest lizards in the world! Perenties generally hunt snakes and lizards, even venomous ones! They also eat small mammals, insects and birds, basically any animal that can be overpowered. Reptile and bird eggs, as well as carrion, make up the rest of their diet. Top predators, don’t have many, if any, predators, these are usually at the top of the food web.

Now draw a food chain with four of these organisms in, then a food web for all of them Common brown Fierce snake Stimsons python Spinifex grass Termite Blue tongued skink Gecko Perentie

Common brown Fierce snake Childrens python Spinifex grass Termite Blue tongued skink Gecko Perentie

1.) Scientists have found the following food web in the Antarctic Ocean. (a)Write down the name of the producer in this web. (b)Write down the names of two organisms which are prey in this web. (c) Humans are removing large numbers of the cod. Some scientists argue that this could lead to a decrease in the numbers of squid and penguins. Others argue that the numbers of squid and penguins will stay the same. Carefully explain each argument. i) Why they might decrease. ii) Why they might stay the same. 2.)The following information is about the biomass of the organisms in one of the food chains in the web. Draw and label a pyramid of biomass for this chain

(a) (tiny green) plants / phytoplankton1 for 1 mark (b)penguin1 shrimp cod squid any two for 1 mark (c) (i)Decrease: seals will eat more squid and penguins1 for 1 mark (ii)Stay the same: 2  more shrimp for squid and penguins  squid and penguins increase balances the extra eaten by seals  seals find other prey [allow shrimps] any two for 1 mark each (2)  correct / shape (designs need to be to scale)  correctly labelled with organisms (if wholly correct but inverted then credit 1 mark) each for 1 mark (2) (1)