🦅 Food Web Effects
If the population of the Barn Owl declined in farmland, which small mammal would likely increase and why?
What is the Vole? Because barn owls prey on voles and help control their population.
This reptile can change color to help regulate body temperature and blend into surroundings.
What is the Green Anole?
This rattlesnake is most likely found in rocky forested areas of the Blue Ridge region.
What is the Timber Rattlesnake?
This pollinator’s decline would most directly reduce seed production in flowering trees like the Flowering Dogwood.
What is the American Bumblebee?
This oak tree provides acorns that support many mammals and birds in Georgia forests.
What is the White Oak?
If overhunting greatly reduced the White-tailed Deer population, how might forest plant growth change?
What is increased plant and tree growth? Fewer deer would mean less grazing on young plants.
This snake’s camouflage helps it hide in leaf litter and ambush prey.
What is the Copperhead?
This large bird of prey depends on fish and is commonly found near lakes and coastal waterways.
What is the Bald Eagle?
This butterfly depends on milkweed during its larval stage, making it vulnerable to habitat loss.
What is the Monarch Butterfly?
This fast-growing pine competes for sunlight and is widely used in Georgia’s timber industry.
What is the Loblolly Pine?
If the Great Horned Owl disappeared from an ecosystem, what could happen to smaller predator populations?
What is an increase in smaller predators? It is an apex predator that keeps others in balance.
This mammal survives winter in the Blue Ridge by lowering its activity level and using stored body fat.
What is the Black Bear?
If wetlands in the Southeastern Plains were drained, which two amphibians would likely decline first?
What are Marbled Salamander and Southern Leopard Frog?
This eight-legged parasite can spread disease and detect body heat from passing animals.
What is the Lone Star Tick?
If this vine spreads aggressively along forest edges, it may outcompete native plants and cause skin irritation to humans.
What is Eastern Poison Ivy?
If berry-producing plants like Blackberry had a poor season, which two bird species might struggle most and why?
What are Northern Mockingbird and American Robin? They rely on berries for food.
This amphibian must lay eggs in water because its young breathe with gills before developing lungs.
What is the Southern Leopard Frog? (Also accept American Toad)
This mammal’s dams can transform a flowing stream into a wetland ecosystem.
What is the Beaver?
If decomposers like the Carpenter Ant disappeared, what would happen to dead wood in forests?
What is slower decomposition and buildup of dead material?
This hardwood tree provides food for wildlife through its nuts and supports forest biodiversity.
What is the Black Walnut? (Also accept Red Hickory)
If the Beaver was removed from a stream ecosystem, what long-term habitat changes might occur?
What is loss of ponds/wetlands and reduced habitat diversity? Beaver dams create new habitats.
This reptile is considered a keystone species because over 300 species use its burrows for shelter.
What is the Gopher Tortoise?
This venomous snake prefers swamps and slow-moving water in southern Georgia.
What is the Cottonmouth?
This venomous spider plays an important role by reducing insect populations in its habitat.
What is the Black Widow?
If pollinators declined across the Piedmont region, how would fruit-bearing plants like Muscadine be affected?
What is reduced fruit production due to lack of pollination?