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Predator-Prey Relationships (PCEC) |
| Topic | Laboratory and Hands-on Activities - Food Chain / Web of Life
Laboratory and Hands-on Activities - General
Wildlife - Mammals |
| Summary | This lesson will introduce Arkansas mammals using study skins and skulls to illustrate a predator/prey relationship in food chains, which maintain a balance in the environment.
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| Grade Level | 4 and up |
| Recommended Setting | Indoor or screened-in classroom |
| Location | Potlatch Conservation Education Center at Cook’s Lake, Casscoe |
| Contact | Education Program Coordinator, 870-241-3373
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| Duration | One to two hours |
| Suggested Number of Participants | 20 - 25 |
| Special Conditions | One adult supervisor per 10 students; outdoor activities, weather permitting.
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| Objectives |
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Compare the traits and relationships of Arkansas mammals using their pelts and skulls.
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Construct a food chain and food web using Arkansas mammals.
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Identify Arkansas mammals by studying their pelts.
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| Key Terms* | Aquatic
Canines
Carnivore
Food chain
Food web
Herbivore
Incisor
Omnivore
Pelt
Terrestrial
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| Materials | Arkansas mammal pelts and skulls
Dry erase board and markers
Laminated pictures of mammals
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| Background | Since many mammals are wary and nocturnal, observing them can be difficult. Carefully observing habitats and mammal signs and studying pelts and skulls can teach a great deal. Signs may also include tracks, scat, home sites, tooth markings and food caches. Arkansas mammals can be divided into two categories: terrestrial and aquatic. Studying food chains involving both of these will show the differences and similarities. A skull can reveal if the mammal is a predator or prey.
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| Procedure |
- Ask participants to draw a simple food chain on the dry erase board. Then show a general food cycle or web.
- Show the pelts of Arkansas mammals and briefly describe the animal (where it lives, what it eats). The pelts will be divided into two categories: terrestrial and aquatic.
- The teeth in mammal skulls will determine which animal is a predator or prey.
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| Modifications | Pin a mammal picture on each participant’s back. Participants must figure out what mammal they are by asking the others yes/no questions such as, “Am I a carnivore? Do I live alone?”
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| Review |
- What is the difference between a predator and prey?
- What is the meaning of carnivore, herbivore and omnivore?
- Create a food cycle that includes humans. Compare these with other charts in the class to see how many food cycles the class can come up with.
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| Resources | Sealander, John A. and Gary A. Heidt, Arkansas Mammals: Their Natural History, Classification and Distribution.
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| Related Documents | |
| Glossary | Aquatic – consisting of or relating to water; living or growing in, on or near the water
Canine – one of the pointed conical teeth between the incisors and the first bicuspids
Carnivore – any animal that consumes other animals that are living (predation) or dead (scavenging)
Food chain – feeding order in an ecological community that passes food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and in turn is preyed upon by a higher member
Food web – a network of interrelated food chains in an ecosystem
Herbivore – a plant-eating animal
Incisor (deer) – front tooth of a deer used to grasp, cut and gnaw food; cannot be used to age deer by wear, but can be used to age by cross-sectioning and counting annual rings; adult deer have eight incisors
Omnivore – an animal that eats both animal and vegetable matter
Pelt – skin or fur of an animal
Terrestrial – living on or in the ground
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