Exercises — Lab 3: Darien Rainforest Food Chain and Food Web
1 hands-on tasks. Do them in order; each one feeds the Canvas item it names.
50 min · lab-scaffold
1. Lab 3 write-up scaffold
- HYPOTHESIS — Predict what will happen to the population of one species if the jaguar (apex predator) is removed from the Darien food web. State which species you chose and why.
- METHODS — Describe how you constructed your food web (species list source, how you determined feeding relationships, how you organized levels).
- DATA TABLE — Present your food web as a diagram (hand-drawn or digital). Label trophic levels. Include a species count per level. Note arrow direction (from prey to predator).
- ANALYSIS — Trace the cascade: remove the jaguar and follow the effects two trophic levels down. Which species increase? Which decrease? Apply the 10% rule to estimate energy change.
- CONCLUSION — (1) Was your hypothesis supported by the cascade you traced? (2) What is one source of error in food web modeling? (3) How does biodiversity loss in the Darien connect to BIO 1120 Outcome 3?
Turn in / bring: Submit food web diagram + write-up through Canvas by 9/21 @ 11:59pm.