Sci 230 Final

Temperate Forest Ecosystem
Tertiary Consumers
Lynx
Wolf
Bear
Cougar

Secondary Consumers
Shrew
Amphibians
Weasel
Raccoon
Insects
Birds – Owls, hawks

Primary Consumers
Small mammals
Salmon
Insects
Deer
Elk
Birds – Sparrows, Cardinals, Blue-Jays

Primary Producers
Ferns
Mosses
Shrubs
Shrubs Flowers

Canopy Layer Trees
Hemlock
Cedar
Spruce

Understory Layer Trees
Vine
Maple
Dogwood

Ground Layer – Decomposer’s
Ferns
Grasses
Moss
Small Flowering Plants
Fungi
Small Leafy Plants
Bacteria
Protozoans
Detritivores digest dead matter

I chose the Temperate Forest ecosystem. This system has a good range of species that keep it moving and stable. In this diagram we have quite a variety that all rely on each other to maintain this food chain. At the bottom of this food chain we have the decomposers. These plants are responsible for digesting and breaking down the dead bodies of the plants and animals in this ecosystem. This is the ground layer. This helps recycle all the nutrients in the body to begin the food chain. These would be the bacteria, fungi, and small plants that will pull the nutrients from the dead bodies.
We then have the understory and canopy levels of plants that give homes and food to the variety of life in this ecosystem. We will then find the producers. These plants are responsible for providing food such as nuts or flowers to the primary consumers. Here we will find small shrubs, moss, and flowers for the primary consumers to eat.
The next layer in the order is the primary consumers. This layer will fall right in the middle of this food chain. These species eat the plants below it, but will also serve as food sources to some of the species in the upper level of this ecosystem. Here we will find animals like deer, elk, salmon, birds, insects, and small mammals like squirrels and mice. These animals are the primary consumers of the plants.
Next we will have the secondary consumers. Now we will be...