Creating a food web is an excellent strategy for learning more about how organisms and animals live in their habitats. While the food chain shows the functioning of ecosystems in a linear fashion, a web is a more visual approach with many animals connected to each other. To draw it, write the primary producers, herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores in the chosen habitat. Connect them with arrows to indicate the relationship between predator and prey. The final product will look like a real map or network.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Organize your network
Step 1. Choose a specific habitat
Since it is impossible to list all the animals and organisms in the world, focus on a specific habitat to create your network. Your teacher may have assigned you a particular one. Otherwise, you can choose a natural spot near your home, such as a lake or field.
For example, for a larger habitat, you may decide to focus on aquatic or desert spaces. On the other hand, it is easier to think of delimited regions, such as a forest that is close to your city
Step 2. Create a list of the organisms in the habitat
Take a notebook and think of a list of all the organisms that live in your chosen habitat. It includes everything from creatures large and small to plants. A good idea is to read a science book that addresses the habitat you have selected.
- It's okay if your list doesn't include all the creatures that live in your habitat. For example, if you have 30 minutes to create your network, spend 5 minutes creating the initial list.
- If you study the desert, you can list lizards, cacti, and spiders.
Step 3. Use a large sheet of paper to create the web
Since a food web is not linear, you will need much more space, depending on the number of animals you include. Choose a sheet that has enough space to write names and even illustrations. You can also use a computer drawing program to create the web.
If you run out of space when creating your web, you can reduce the font size and even write on the back of the page
Step 4. Choose a title
Write the title in a large font at the top of the food web. It should be a good description of the entire graph. In general, mentioning the type of habitat studied is a good idea.
For example, the title could be: "A food web of the desert", "A circle of life in the ocean" or "A food chain of the jungle"
Step 5. Decide if you want to label or illustrate (or both) the organisms
It uses a uniform identification system for the network. You can include small illustrations, but keep in mind that it will take longer to complete. Otherwise, just label the organism by its given or scientific name.
For example, if you want to include an owl in your network, you can write its scientific name “Tytonidae”
Part 2 of 3: Plot the Initial Network
Step 1. Put all the producers on the sheet
A primary producer is an organism that creates its own food by processing sunlight or chemical energy, thus forming the basis of any food chain or web. Write them apart so that they are not together.
- For example, if you draw a desert food web, you can include a cactus as a producer, since it survives through photosynthesis to convert sunlight into energy.
- The primary producers of ecosystems are also called autotrophs.
- Some people prefer to write the primary producers at the bottom of the sheet to create a visual "base" of the network. However, it is not necessary. You can place them anywhere, as long as you leave a space between them.
Step 2. Place the primary consumers on the sheet
This is the next stage of the food web. Primary consumers are creatures that feed on and hunt producers. They are always herbivores, so they eat plants. As you have done with the producers, come up with some ideas from the primary consumers.
- Look at the list of primary organisms to identify any possible primary consumers. You can also ask yourself: "What creature would feed on the producers that I have written?"
- For example, in a desert food web, grasshoppers (primary consumers) feed on cactus and grass (both producers).
- Since the food web is not in the form of a "list", the exact arrangement of each group of organisms is not that important. Just leave a space between them for the arrows.
Step 3. Add the secondary consumers
These are carnivorous and omnivorous animals. Go through the list when selecting these creatures and place them anywhere on the sheet.
For example, in the desert web, a rat could be a secondary consumer, as it is omnivorous, and can eat grass and grasshoppers
Part 3 of 3: Include the Final Details
Step 1. Include tertiary and downstream consumers
Tertiary consumers hunt secondary, primary and producer. They may not eat animals in all three categories, but they must at least eat secondary ones to be considered tertiary. Also, you can add animals that eat tertiary animals and so on.
- You can add as many tiers or layers as you like in the food web. The animals that are the last predators, almost always carnivores, are considered the alpha predators of the web.
- For example, in a desert food web, a snake is a tertiary consumer that hunts rats. An eagle can be a quaternary consumer, since it feeds on snakes.
- If you want to make the web in the shape of a pyramid, start with the producers on one side of the page and end with the predators on the other.
Step 2. Add detritivores or decomposers to make the network more complex
These creatures consume dead organisms and thus end the cycle of life and energy transfer. Detritivores (like worms) feed on dead animals. Decomposers (like bacteria) help break down the carcass of the dead creature.
- It is important to understand that decomposers act on a microscopic level and are often invisible to the naked eye. However, they are still an essential part of the food web.
- You can place these organisms anywhere on the sheet.
Step 3. Draw arrows between the organisms to indicate the transfer of energy
This is where the network really takes the form of a network. Draw several arrows to connect the predators and the prey. They must start from the hunted animal to the animal that feeds on it. Also, organisms or creatures in the web can be linked by multiple arrows to and from them.
- For example, in the case of a desert food web, you can start with an arrow from the grass and connect it to the grasshoppers. Then do another from the grass to the rats.
- This is the main difference between a web and a food chain. The former is a bit more chaotic in the sense that it can show many arrows between creatures. The final design will not be linear.
- You can also make different colored arrows for a bigger net. For example, make green arrows to link plants eaten by animals and red arrows to link animals eaten by other animals.
- If you plan to do the drawing on your computer, use the shape creation tool to make the arrows.