Making a food web
In this activity, students construct a food web using string to show connections between species.
The food web in the Ross Sea
This diagram shows how the food web in the Ross Sea works. The arrows go from prey species (these get eaten) to predators (the hunters).
Notes: Baleen whales use baleen plates in their mouths to sieve plankton, krill and small fish from the water, and toothed whales have teeth for capturing prey.Krill is the dominant zooplankton species in the Ross Sea.
Skua (flying birds), phalder, 123RF Ltd; Adélie penguin, rhallam/123RF Ltd; Seal, Isselee/123RF Ltd; Fishing trawler, K_Stuart/123RF Ltd; Krill, Uwe Kils, CC BY-SA 3.0; Humpback whale (Baleen whale), Charles J Sharp CC BY-SA 4.0; Sperm whale (Toothed whales), Gabriel Barathieu, CC BY-SA 2.0; Phytoplankton, Public domain; Silverfish, martin_glhf, CC BY-NC 4.0, sourced from iNaturalistNZ; Toothfish, NOAA, Public domain; Zooplankton, Public domain; Flying squid, Darren Stevens, CC BY 3.0; Bacteria, Ivo Sedláček, CC BY 4.0; Benthic invertebrates, NIWA, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; Ocellated icefish (Fish), Public domain.
Based on an original diagram by M. Pinkerton for NIWA.
Download a PDF version here.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
describe relationships between particular organisms within the Antarctic ecosystem
build their own food web to show the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do.
Related content
Further explore Antarctic marine ecosystems, marine habitats, marine food webs and Marine organisms and adaptations.
Activity ideas
Try these similar activities:
In Build a marine food web students build their own food web using images of organisms from the marine ecosystem. The activity can be completed indoors or outside.
Marine ecosystem – this interactive diagram explores food webs and other aspects of life in the sea.
Beach visits – habitats and food webs involves students in researching and then observing a range of organisms to understand the interconnected nature of ecosystems.
Useful link
Listen to this Radio New Zealand programme entitled Sea Lions As Food Web Ambassadors. Lucy Jack is hoping that her research will give insights into marine food webs and how they’ve changed over time.
