Download Food Chains Begin with Photosynthesis

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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 1
Eye of the Cyclops
Series Teaching Guides
Food Chains
Begin with Photosynthesis
Copyright 2000 BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES
Environment: a freshwater pond
Habitat: the open water
Permission is given to copy or print this guide for use within institutions that have purchased the Food Chains
Begin with Photosynthesis video program. All images are property of BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES and cannot be
resold without permission.
Contents of this guide...
• About Food Chains Begin with Photosynthesis
• Teacher’s guide with national science standards
• Student Research Problems
• Photosynthesis Gallery
In this episode...
page 3...
page 6...
page 9...
page 10...
In this episode, a single algae cell is rescued and its green secrets revealed
through experiments performed on board the Cyclops. The ship’s naturalist
discovers that, given light, the green cell generates oxygen (something the crew
is in dire need of at the time) along with several kinds of food molecules. Swimming outside, the micronauts see vast numbers of green photosynthetic cells.
Larger cells show up and start gorging on the algae, creating a food chain that
ultimately sustains the fish, birds, amphibians and mammals living in and
around the pond.
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 2
Cyclops
Vehicle Dimensions
LENGTH
BEAM
1 mm
.65 mm
Vehicle Mission
Maximum speed
Maximum depth
Mission duration
10 centimeters per minute
2.5 meters
50 days
The microsubmersible Cyclops is designed for extended exploration of
freshwater ponds and streams. The vehicle carries a crew of four. There are
two onboard auxilary craft: a diving bell and a terrestrial crawler (disassembled). Imagine what the pond environment looks like to these explorers
(only 50 microns tall). What unique problems might the crew encounter?
How would they acquire building materials, such as glass? Where would
they find fuel and oxygen?
airlock
engine room
observation/pilothouse
diving room
diving bell
laboratory
bunkhouse
emergency escape hatch
storage modules
grabber claws
Eye of the Cyclops
vehicles are designed by
Eric Robert Russell/Castle
Builders Entertainment
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 3
ABOUT FOOD CHAINS AND THE PROCESS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy into chemical energy useful to
living things. It occurs in green plants, green algae, yellow and red algae, and in certain
kinds of bacteria.
Chloroplasts are filled with stacks of discs covered with
chlorophyll molecules that absorb blue and red wave
lengths, reflecting away the green.
In plant leaves, and in algae, the cells contain
many particles often shaped like green jelly
beans, but in the cell captured by Lyra, the
green particle was bent around the cell
nucleus like a horseshoe. These particles
are called chloroplasts, because they
contain chlorophyll molecules. Chlorophyll molecules absorb light energy in
the blue and red regions of the spectrum and reflect away green—which
explains why plants appear green.
The organism captured by
Lyra, has a horseshoe-shaped chloroplast.
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 4
In ponds, algae cells are used as food by all sorts of small animals and protists.
In this episode of Eye of the Cyclops the crew witnesses an attack by Paramecia and other
ciliated protists on a swarm of small green cells. The abundant green cells create an unusual feeding opportunity for Paramecium which usually subsists on a bacteria diet.
The paramecia, in turn, become
food for small pond animals such
as baby fish, mosquito larva, water
worms, and colonies of filterfeeding animals known as the
bryozoan colony seen at the end of
the episode. Dead organisms and
waste materials fall to the pond
bottom where they are digested by
bacteria. Bacteria are eaten by
protozoans. The protozoans are
eaten by small water animals and
so on.
The always adventurous Lyra is caught in the feeding currents
produced by Paramecia (a frame from the video program).
At each step in the food chain, only part of the energy contained in the organism being
eaten is stored in the cells and tissues of the eater. A rough rule is that only about 10% of
the energy moves from one food chain step to the next. Using the 10% rule try creating an
“energy pyramid” if the top consumer is a Great Blue Heron that weighs ten pounds. The
food chain steps, working backward from the Heron would be—Heron eats fish, fish eats
mosquito larva, mosquito larva eats Paramecium, Paramecium eats single cell green alga.
Calculate how many pounds of algae are represented by that 10 pound Heron.
Food chain terminology:
producer: an organism that manufactures biological molecules from raw
materials using light energy (photosynthesis), or energy stored in inorganic molecules (chemosynthesis).
first level consumer: An organism that eats the producer. In this case
Paramecium was acting as a first level consumer when it engulfed the
green photosynthetic cells.
second level consumer: An organism that feeds on first level consumers,
and so on.
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 5
Building the pyramids ...
At each step in the food chain, only part of the energy contained in the organism being
eaten is stored in the cells and tissues of the eater. A rough rule is that only about 10% of
the energy moves from one food chain step to the next. Using the 10% rule try creating an
“energy pyramid” if the top consumer is a Great Blue Heron that weighs ten pounds.
heron
fish
insect larva
Paramecium
algae
?
The food chain steps, working backward from the heron would be—heron eats fish, fish
eats mosquito larva, mosquito larva eats Paramecium, Paramecium eats single cell green
alga. Calculate how many pounds of algae are represented by that 10 pound heron.
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Teacher’s Guide
Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 6
Relevant National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8
Populations and Ecosystems
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Populations of organisms can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem. Plants and
some micro-organisms are producers—they make their own food. All animals, including humans, are
consumers, which obtain food by eating other organisms. Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi,
are consumers that use waste materials and dead organisms for food. Food webs identify the relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.
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For ecosystems, the major source of energy is sunlight. Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is
transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis. That energy then passes from
organism to organism in food webs.
With observation, students should be able to identify local organisms (including small life) as producer, or
assign the organisms to a consumer level. They should be able to create energy pyramids for local ecosystems.
Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms grades 5-8
-
Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over
many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation,
which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations
include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive
success in a particular environment.
Student should be able to list a number of adaptations used in feeding.
Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms grades 5-8
-
Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over
many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation,
which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations
include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive
success in a particular environment.
From Food Chains Begin with Photosynthesis: One of the main themes developed in the Eye of the
Cyclops video series is that in living things structure is related to function—a key concept in understanding
the process of adaptation. Each structure, behavior, or physiological process observed can be understood in
terms of its survival value, and this forms a basis for discussion of natural selection, the principle that explains
how these structures, behaviors, and processes came to be.
Correlation with Middle School Science Text Books
Visit our website, www.eBioMEDIA.com to consult a newly updated list of text books that dovetail with Eye
of the Cyclops. With texts being reprinted constantly, this online list will help you design effective science
lessons that mesh with the books you’re using in the classroom.
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 7
Concept Words used in this Program
Habitat: the place where an organism lives.
Unicellular algae: single celled photosynthetic organisms.
Protist: general name for unicellular life.
Enzymes: protein molecules that catalyze reactions such as the digestion of largeorganic
molecules, breaking them down into their molecular building blocks.
Phagocytosis: the engulfment for food particles (other organisms) by cells.
Food Vacuoles: membrane bubbles within cells where digestion occurs.
Chloroplast: the green organelles found in plant cells and in green algae.
Chloroplasts carry out the process of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis: the fundamental energy transforming process on which almost all living things
depend. The process of converting light energy into the chemical bond energy contained in
organic molecule.
Ecosystem: all of the organisms the interact with each other living in a particular environment.
Examples: a pond ecosystem, a stream ecosystem, a forest ecosystem.
Food chains: description of who eats whom.
Producer: an organisms that gets energy from light or from inorganic chemicals.
Consumer: an organism that obtains energy by eating other organisms.
Decomposers: organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down organic molecules in the
environment .
Ecological pyramid: a graphic presentation that shows the relationship of producer organisms to
consumer organisms. These graphs show at a glance the amounts of energy transferred through
a food chain.
Adaptation: a structure, behavior, or physiological process that fits the organism to its niche. A
structure that has survival value.
Rainis and Russell, Guide to Microlife, Franklin Watts Publisher (identification, color photos, and life
descriptions of common forms of microlife including plankton)
Golden Book of Ponds
Video Programs:
The Small Life of Ponds and Wetlands, BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES
CD-ROMs:
The Wetlands Explorer, BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 8
Programs in the Eye of the Cyclops series
Plankton Play (15 minutes)
Cyclops and its intrepid crew of explorers dive into open water where they encounter the denizens
of the plankton: micro-crustaceans, insects, rotifers and protists, all showing unique adaptations for
open water life.
Decomposers Everywhere (15 minutes)
Settling their craft into the bottom, the micronauts discover that the bottom ooze is populated by
bacteria, the microbes that decompose and recycle organic materials—an unforgettable visual introduction to living bacteria.
Food Chains Begin with Photosynthesis (15 minutes)
In this episode, a single algae cell is rescued and its green secrets revealed through experiments
performed on board the Cyclops. They discover how algae start food chains that ultimately sustains
the fish, birds, amphibians and mammals living in and around the pond.
Protozoans and Algae (15 minutes)
Cruising through the weedy shallows, the crew is amazed at the diversity of protozoans swimming
by the observation ports. They discovery how these complex single cells feed, reproduce and escape.
Predators of the Shallows (15 minutes)
While engrossed in observing the food capturing and feeding methods used by predatory flatworms,
the Cyclops crew becomes trapped by the tentacles of Hydra where they receive a visible lesson in the
process of digestion.
White Water Adventure (15 minutes)
Trying to return to duck weed base, the Cyclops is channeled into the pond outlet, where they tumble
into a rapidly flowing stream and discover a world of aquatic insects adapted for life in flowing
water.
Discovering a Forest Microcosm (15 minutes)
Washed onto a sand bar, the Cyclops crew assembles their terra-rover and discovers a world dominated by mites, roundworms, tiny insects, bacteria and fungi—creating a forest floor ecosystem on
which the trees depend.
Backyard Biodiversity (15 minutes)
The micronauts discover that gardens support an amazing community of small life including butterflies and their larva, pollinating insects, herbivores, predators, scavengers and earthworms that
constantly process the soil.
Visit Cyclops on the World Wide Web
Check www.eBiomedia.com for an ongoing story of the crew’s biological explorations and more tips on how
to study the fascinating organisms they encounter. Post your research results there and see what other
students are discovering.
Eye of the Cyclops is produced by BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES
in association with Castle Builders Entertainment.
Order Eye of the Cyclops from www.ebiomedia.com
eBioMEDIA • P.O. Box 1234 • Beaufort, SC • 29901-1234
ORDER/INFO: (877) 661-5355/(843) 470-0236
FAX: (843) 470-0237
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 9
Student Research
Looking for green jelly beans with a microscope
This is your chance to observe the particle on which almost all life depends—the
chloroplast.
Try examining subjects you think might contain chloroplasts. The best ones will be
very thin so that light can pass through the subject.
Some suggestions: tiny moss leaves placed in a drop of water and pressed flat with a
coverglass; a leaf of elodea, a common aquarium plant; any bright green algae
scraped from a damp wall or found in a pond or stream.
Can Earth support more rice eaters, or hamburger eaters?
Using the 10:1 conversion ration, estimate how many pounds of cattle food a growing
100 pound person who eats nothing but hamburgers represents.
Let’s go live on the moon—This is a sit down research problem requiring no field work or laboratory experiment.
Working with what you have learned from this video program create what you
consider would be the most efficient life support system for a self sufficient colony of
humans on the moon. Consider the type of food needed to support the colony, what
you would do with waste materials, where would oxygen needed for life be obtained, and any related questions that come to mind. Tip—ecologists often use diagrams with arrows assigned to products, to depict such close systems.
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Food Chains Begins with Photosynthesis Study Guide, 10
Photosynthesis Gallery
Chloroplasts in plants are spheres or bean shaped (seen in the moss leaf cells). Chloroplasts in algae
take on different shapes. All have the same internal structure seen in the electron micrograph. Which
photo shows a first level consumer? Answers and key are posted on our Galleries web section.
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All images copyright 2000 BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES, Photography by Bruce J. Russell