Name: Jasmine Castillo

PT 7.3: Trophic Levels

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Learning Target
(HS-LS2-4) I can use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling
of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.

Guiding Question
How are matter and energy transferred in an ecosystem?

Task 3 - Owl Pellet Lab

Owls are nocturnal raptors that eat small rodents and birds. If
a farmer is having problems with rodents, a barn owl can be a
big help. One pair of barn owls can catch more rodents than a
dozen cats! In one year, a barn owl eats ~2,000 rats and mice.
Owls have a specialized digestive system because they cannot
digest fur, bones, or feathers. Their digestive system clumps
the indigestible parts into clumps called a pellet which the
owl regurgitates approximately 20 hours after it is finished
eating.
In the diagram to the right, you can see that the barn owl is at
the top of the food chain, which means in this particular
environment, the barn owl is the top predator. The voles,
mice, and shrews are secondary consumers. Worms and
insects are primary consumers, and grasses, trees, and
shrubs are producers.
In this lab you will be dissecting and analyzing an owl pellet.
We will learn about the owl’s diets and about the ecosystem in which it lives. The owl pellets
you will be analyzing are from the common barn owl and have been sterilized. However, it is
still important to clean-up after you dissect and thoroughly wash your hands after clean-up.
Materials:
● Owl pellet ● Tray/plate ● Ruler ● Magnifying glass

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 ● Gloves (optional) ● Toothpicks ● Tweezers ● Poster chart for sorting
Directions:
1. Put your gloves on (this is optional).
2. Unwrap the owl pellet and place it on the plate/tray.
3. Carefully start to dissect the owl pellet.
a. Use your fingers first, as the toothpick or tweezers might damage the bones!
4. Extract the bones and place them carefully on the napkin. Place similar bones together.
5. Put the excess feathers/fur on the side (this will be thrown away).
6. Once you have extracted all the bones, look at the charts to help you identify the bones.
a. NOTE: some bones might be broken and difficult to identify, just try your best!
b. To help you identify the type of organism, use the ruler to measure the jaw bones.
c. Organize the bones by placing them on the chart under the corresponding name of the organism.
7. Once you have identified all the organisms from your owl pellet, estimate the total
number of each organism you have and enter that data under “# found” in Table 1.
a. Ex: if you have 2 mouse jaws, then that is 2 mice. If you have 6 rat hip bones, then you have 3 rats.
8. Calculations: Open the link for the Google Sheet, it will ask you to make a copy.
a. Enter the same data under “# found”. Your data will auto-calculate. Then fill in the rest of Table 1.
b. Enter the data for the biomass of your organisms in Table 2 below.

Table 1: Data Collection

PREY # FOUND # EATEN PER DAY # EATEN PER YEAR
Mouse 1 2 730
Vole 2 4 1460
Shrew
Rat
Bird
TOTAL = 2190
Table 2: Biomass
Organism Total Mass (g) Trophic Level Biomass (g)
Owl 635 Tertiary 635
Mouse 216 Secondary consumers 657000
Vole 84 Primary consumers 5256000
Shrew Producers 42848000
Rat
Bird
Post lab analysis questions:
1. What is an owl pellet?
A clump of bones and fur that owls throw back up because they can’t digest it.

2. What did you notice about your owl’s diet?

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 It consisted of a vole and 2 rats and most likely another bird.

3. Did you find a complete skeleton? Explain two reasons why you may not find a whole
skeleton in one owl pellet.
We didn't find a whole skeleton. The owl makes 2 pallets for every meal it eats.

4. Other types of birds form pellets. What would you expect to find in the pellet of a
seagull?
Snail shells, fish bones, and plant material

5. How many animals found in owl pellets were herbivores? Omnivores? Carnivores?
Only 2 herbivores

6. How would an organism that is considered prey, benefit from a top predator?
The prey would benefit from the predator because of the lower population and less
competition over reasoureces.

7. Which trophic level gains the most amount of energy? Explain why.
The producers because they make their own food with their energy.

Task 4 - Analyzing Data

DIRECTIONS: Task 4 is on google classroom as a google slides assignment.

MASTERY RUBRIC AND COMPLETION CHECKLIST

Learning Target
(HS-LS2-4) I can use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling
of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.

Guiding Question
How are matter and energy transferred in an ecosystem?

1 Concerns (2) Goal Achieved (3) Exceeded Mastery (4)

(Similar to a C) (Similar to a B or B+) (Similar to an A or A+)

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 A score of 2 means you 1) Topic and Content
did everything you were My argument has a
knowledgeable and
supposed to but your
answer may have used thoughtful response to the
some vocabulary learning target(s) and guiding
incorrectly or your use question(s).
of evidence was unclear
2) Use of Evidence and
or missing some
Analysis
important details.
My argument is supported by
information from the
provided class resources
and class activities.
❏ Answered the challenge
question?
❏ Real-world examples or
applications used not from the
class activity.
❏ Score 80% or above on the Unit
quiz.
❏ Supported my argument with
information that was not
provided in class and cited
correctly.
❏ Used all score 4 vocabulary.
You need at least 3 boxes
checked from the above boxes
to have a chance at earning a
grade of 4 if you got a 3 on
everything else.

IMPORTANT! Any information used that is NOT learned from class MUST be cited or
you will have to redo the assignment! You must use YOUR OWN WORDS.
Required Vocabulary: If you do not use ALL of the Score 2 words you will get NO CREDIT.

Score 2 Words Score 3 Words Score 4 Words

● Habitat ● Habitat
● Niche ● Niche
● Habitat ● Herbivore
● Ecosystem ● Ecosystem
● Niche ● Primary consumers
● Energy ● Energy
● Ecosystem ● Secondary consumers
● Predator ● Predator
● Energy ● Tertiary consumers
● Prey ● Prey
● Predator ● Top predator
● Producer ● Producers
● Prey ● Autotrophs
● Consumer ● Primary consumers
● Producers ● Heterotrophs
● Secondary consumers
● Omnivore ● Direct relationship
● Tertiary consumers
● Carnivore