Question

Observations: • Sea urchins eat kelp. • Kelp forests are highly productive, structurally complex ecosystems: their net primary productivity (NPP) can be as high as 1500-3000 g Carbon/m²/year, similar to coral reefs and tropical rain forests. • Oily fish species (e.g., ocean perch) have declined sharply in these communities since the 1960s. • Less-oily fish species (such as pollock) have increased since the 1960s. • Humans have over-hunted ocean perch. • Pollock primarily eat small to medium zooplankton; ocean perch primarily eat larger zooplankton, such as krill. • Harbor seals eat many types of fish, but oily fish are the most nutritious. • Baleen whales eat zooplankton. • Baleen whale numbers have decreased because of past human hunting. • Killer whales prefer to eat baby seals. • Plankton consists of both phytoplankton, which photosynthesize, and zooplankton, which are small animals that primarily consume phytoplankton. Questions 4. (4 pts.) Draw a food web for this community that includes: sea otters, kelp, harbor seals, ocean perch, pollock, killer whales, sea urchins, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and baleen whales. You can draw this using any computer program that you feel comfortable with, or you can draw it by hand, take a picture of it and insert it into your word document. 5. (2 pts.) On your food web, draw how energy flows through the system and label, primary consumers, and secondary consumers. Label parts of the web that have been directly altered by human intervention. Next to your food web, list species that are competing for resources and what resources they are competing for. 6. (2 pts.) How do you think increased killer whale predation on sea otters will affect kelp populations? Is this a bottom-up or a top-down effect? Explain your answer fully.

Observations:
• Sea urchins eat kelp.
• Kelp forests are highly productive, structurally complex ecosystems: their net primary productivity
(NPP) can be as high as 1500-3000 g Carbon/m²/year, similar to coral reefs and tropical rain forests.
• Oily fish species (e.g., ocean perch) have declined sharply in these communities since the 1960s.
• Less-oily fish species (such as pollock) have increased since the 1960s.
• Humans have over-hunted ocean perch.
• Pollock primarily eat small to medium zooplankton; ocean perch primarily eat larger zooplankton, such
as krill.
• Harbor seals eat many types of fish, but oily fish are the most nutritious.
• Baleen whales eat zooplankton.
• Baleen whale numbers have decreased because of past human hunting.
• Killer whales prefer to eat baby seals.
• Plankton consists of both phytoplankton, which photosynthesize, and zooplankton, which are small
animals that primarily consume phytoplankton.
Questions
4. (4 pts.) Draw a food web for this community that includes: sea otters, kelp, harbor seals, ocean perch,
pollock, killer whales, sea urchins, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and baleen whales. You can draw this
using any computer program that you feel comfortable with, or you can draw it by hand, take a picture of
it and insert it into your word document.
5. (2 pts.) On your food web, draw how energy flows through the system and label, primary consumers, and
secondary consumers. Label parts of the web that have been directly altered by human intervention.
Next to your food web, list species that are competing for resources and what resources they are
competing for.
6. (2 pts.) How do you think increased killer whale predation on sea otters will affect kelp populations? Is
this a bottom-up or a top-down effect? Explain your answer fully.

Added by Gema H.

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