1. Functional Feeding Groups in Stream Macroinvertebrates
Powerpoint to accompany Lesson 6 in the Biodiversity Teaching Experiment
Written by: Jennifer Doherty, Cornelia Harris, and Laurel Hartley
Culturally relevant ecology, learning progressions and environmental literacy
Long Term Ecological Research Math Science Partnership
2012
Disclaimer: This research is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation: Targeted Partnership: Culturally relevant ecology, learning progressions and environmental literacy (NSF ). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

2. Functional Feeding Groups
in stream macroinvertebrates
Organisms have particular abiotic and biotic habitat/resource requirements. Explain to students that we can classify different organisms by their biotic requirements, like the type of food they eat.
You have observed the mouthparts of the macroinvertebrates from your leaf packs, now you will discuss how different shaped mouthparts make different organisms suited to eat different things. Consider asking students to hypothesize how and what they think these groups might eat.

3. Predator
Dragonfly larvae have a modified labium (lower lip) to snap up prey; its really fast, check out the YouTube video by clicking on the picture or pasting into your browser
Dragonfly Larvae: lower lip is modified to snap up prey! Watch one hunting!

4. Predator
The video is 2 min 35 sec and shows the mouthparts well; it is GROSS near the end too  watch by clicking on picture or copying into your browser
What do all the predators have in common?
Damselfly Larva: watch a video of one catching and eating a small fish

5. Scraper
What you see in the photo is the underside of a snail, with its mouthpart, called a radula, in action scraping food off rocks and stones.
Snails are scrapers! Click picture for video of scraping eating or past url into browser

6. Collector Blackfly Larva
The fans on their head circulate water and collect microscopic particles of detritus and microscopic food such as bacteria
Blackfly Larva

7. Collector
Mayfly: can you see all their mouthparts

8. Shredder Crane Fly Larvae
Chewing mouthparts also allow shredders to break up leaves into smaller pieces and eat the small (micro) organisms living on them
Crane Fly Larvae

9. Shredder Caddisfly Larva
Caddisfly shredder pulling leaf bits into its mouth for feeding click on picture or paste url into browser
Caddisfly Larva

10. Guess the functional feeding group…
Predator? Scraper? Collector? Shredder?
Dobsonflies are predators.
Video:
(video for the dobsonfly could not be downloaded, follow link above to see video. It’s worth watching!)
Dobsonfly
- check out those large jaws!