Think like an ecologist
Ready for a challenge? These questions ask you to think like an ecologist — reasoning about a whole food web, not just one chain.
Challenge questions
Q1. Foxes are introduced. Imagine a lot of foxes arrive and the bandicoot almost disappears. Trace at least two flow-on effects through the web. What might happen to the insects? To the banksia?
Q2. A disease kills most of the grass. The honey possum feeds on banksia, but the rabbit feeds mostly on grass. Which animal is in more trouble, and why? Use the idea that more food sources make an animal more resilient.
Q3. Explain why a food web is a more accurate model of nature than a single food chain. Give an example from the diagram.
Q4. Design a fair test. You wonder: "Does adding more producers (plants) help an ecosystem support more consumers?" You cannot test this on real bushland. Describe a model or investigation you could do, including what you would change, measure and keep the same.
Q5. Big thinking. Aboriginal peoples have cared for Country for tens of thousands of years, keeping ecosystems in balance. Suggest one thing people today could do to protect a native food web from an introduced species, and explain how it would help.