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S A P O R A S F O O D W E B A C T I V I T Y

Redwood Tree Canopy

1) Read the background information provided below Coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) are the tallest trees on Earth reaching up to 380 feet tall. High in their canopies live a variety of organisms that spend their entire lives on the branches of these massive trees - creating what ecologists call a canopy community. 2) Arrange these organisms into a Food Chain, use arrows to show how they are connected. 3) Label each as a producer, consumer (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, or scavenger/decomposer. 4) Connect them into a Food Web using arrows.
Redwood Trees These are the tallest trees in the world. Redwood trees grow along the coast of California and Oregon, where they rely on the cool, wet fog of summer to provide moisture to their canopies. Mosses and Ferns There are many species of moss that grow on the branches of redwood trees. Mosses are a simple type of plant that lack roots - they get all their water from osmosis.

Life in a

Huckleberries California Tree Vole Yes - huckleberry bushes This tiny, mouse-like, grow hundreds of feet up rodent spends its entire and an important food life in the canopies of source for many trees - sometimes just one organisms. tree. It eats only the needles (leaves) of conifer trees (redwoods).

Mites (Acari sp.) Araci mites are small insects that feed on the leaves of redwood trees and other plants growing in the canopy.

Cyanide Millipede A very important member of the forest ecosystem, this insect feeds on dead leaves and is very important in recycling nutrients.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Very tiny birds that live year-round in the redwood forest traveling in small ocks (populations), feeding on insects and small berries.

Wandering Salamander Climbing high seeking small insects to feed on, these salamanders have been found living hundreds of feet above the forest oor.

Ringtail Climbing through the canopy at night, ringtails will eat just about anything - from seeds, to bugs, to voles.

Northern Spotted Owl A top-level predator that hunts rodents and other small animals.

Questions - answer the following on your drawing or on the back (be sure to write the number next to your answer). A. What is primary source for energy driving this food web? Add it to your drawing and label. B. What would happen if you removed the California Tree Vole and the Cyanide Millipede from your food web? Explain what you think would happen to the food web and ecosystem if this organism was vanquished!

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Use the images below (you can trace them) to help you draw your Redwood Canopy Food Web.

Use the images below (you can trace them) to help you draw your Redwood Canopy Food Web.