3.8 Model Food Web NC

A. Using Models

Make a Prediction: What do Hogwarts Castle and the Statue of Liberty have in common? Click for clues!

Hogwarts Castle

Before the Harry Potter movies were made, models of Hogwarts were created to show what the school would look like before the sets were built. It took 86 people to develop the model!

Hogwarts

Statue of Liberty

Before sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi made the Statue of Liberty, he made many small models to practice. The models were 1 foot, 2 feet, and 3 feet tall and were made of imitation, or fake, bronze.

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (4)

Now, you will have a chance to make a model! Your model will show what the Burmese python’s natural home is like and what they eat there. This will help us understand more about why the pythons are doing so well in the Everglades.

B. Get Ready to Build Your Model

Food Web Diagram

You will create a model ecosystem mobile that shows some of the living things in the natural habitat of the Burmese python. Before you can make your model, you need to understand who eats whom in Southeast Asia, the python’s natural home.

Directions: Each image below has a clue about a living thing from the jungle of Southeast Asia. As you click through each clue, think like a scientist to figure out who eats whom. Use the Food Web Clues page in your Mission Log to draw your diagram.

Clouded Leopard

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (6)
93

Burmese Python

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (5)
95

Fruit Bat

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (11)
85

Jackfruit Clue

82
81

Spotted Deer

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (12)
83

Bearded Pig

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (9)
87

Fig

80
79

Grasses

78
Invasive.Species.3.5.Grasses.2

Orangutan

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (8)
89

Tiger

Rectangle Template Invasive Species (10)
91

How did your food web turn out?

Were you able to use the clues to complete the food web diagram? When you’re done, click on the food web example below. Compare it to your food web to make sure your web shows who eats whom in the natural home of the Burmese python.

Example Food Web

Invasive Species Drag and Drop Template (1)
Rectangle Template Invasive Species

C. Create Your Own Model Ecosystem Mobile

Use the Clues to Make a Model Ecosystem Mobile

Now that you have made a food web diagram, you are ready to make your model of the natural home of the Burmese python. Use the Ecosystem Model Mobile directions in your Mission Log.

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