Lake Michigan Food Web and Sea Lamprey
By Bill Hodges
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By Bill Hodges
Click on image to download a printable version of this lesson plan
We would greatly appreciate your feedback! Click here to complete a short survey telling us about your experience with this lesson plan.
Lesson Overview
Students will build a food web of Lake Michigan before the construction of the Welland Canal using cards with diet information. After reviewing food web concepts of energy flow, trophic levels, and biomass, they consider the impact of the introduction of sea lamprey into their food web. Students discover that the most valuable Great Lakes fish species--Lake Trout--were eliminated, and tourism suffered due to many small fish species consuming all of their food resources, dying and being washed up on Great Lakes beaches. Lastly, students brainstorm ways of controlling the the lamprey.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
Michigan Science Standards AddressedMiddle School Performance Expectation
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
Science and Engineering Practices:
Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience (Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can change over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations.) Crosscutting Concepts:
Stability and Change (Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.)
High School Performance Expectation:
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
Science and Engineering Practices:
Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience (A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem can keep its numbers and types of organisms relatively constant over long periods of time under stable conditions. Extreme fluctuations in conditions or the size of any population, however, can challenge the functioning of ecosystems in terms of resources and habitat availability).
Biodiversity and Humans (Humans depend on the living world for the resources and other benefits provided by biodiversity. Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species (speciation) and decreased by the loss of species (extinction).
Crosscutting Concepts:
Stability and Change (Much of science deals with constructing explanations on how things change and how they remain stable).
Sources Consulted
This activity uses pictures and information on Lake Michigan creatures taken from the NOAA website: https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/projects/food_web/food_web.html.
Krause, A. E., K. A. FRANK, D. M. MASON, R. E. Ulanowicz, and W. W. Taylor. Compartments revealed in foodweb structure. Nature 426:282-285 (2003). (pdf)
Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 2017. “Sea Lamprey: A Great Lakes Invader.” http://www.glfc.org/sea-lamprey.php
Materials (per student group)
1 set of organism cards.
Chalk (if writing on a lab table or concrete) or a large piece of paper and marker
Example of student-created food web (attached)
New Vocabulary
Producer: Organism that makes its own food.
Primary consumer: Organism that eats producers (herbivores)
Secondary and Tertiary consumers: carnivores that eat the previous trophic level.
Trophic level: energy level of a food web
Biomass: the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume
Decomposers: an organism, such as a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic (plant and animal) material.
DNR: Department of Natural Resources. The state agency in charge of managing and conserving the flora, fauna, and land in Michigan.
Teacher Background
Lamprey Arrival in the Great Lakes Lampreys got here when we built a lock system around Niagara Falls. The lamprey made their way up through the locks and found a home in the Great Lakes. They spend 3-7 years as non-parasitic young, filter feeding in rivers until they leave to the Great Lakes and kill 2-3 large fish as they grow, returning to their home stream to lay eggs. They are native to the Atlantic Ocean, but since they spend the first part of their life in fresh water, they could survive in the Great Lakes.
Analyzing the food web. A student food web, when completed, will look messy. This is a good teaching point. Food webs should be messy—many creatures depending on many creatures. This allows stability for an ecosystem. In our case, the lake trout is a keystone predator of the system. Burbots are rare and prefer warmer water, so when the lake trout were removed, we saw a huge increase in the small fish (yellow layer).
This, in turn, led to a decrease in zooplankton (purple layer) and an increase in phytoplankton (green layer). When the smaller fish used up all of their food resources, their population would then crash, resulting in massive amounts of dead fish on our beaches. The loss of the lake trout caused a chain effect that not only led to the loss of millions of dollars in fisheries, but also tourism dollars because our beaches were not very attractive with rotting fish. The solution was an introduction of a new predator: salmon. Chinook and Coho salmon, along with fishery-raised lake trout, now are at the top of the food chain. This has stabilized the smaller fish population as well as provided an economic boost to our fisheries.
Focus Question (write on board for students to see): What happens to a food web when a new species shows up?
Expected prior knowledge: Students should already have learned about energy flow, trophic levels, and biomass, food web energy transfer.
Classroom Activity – students work together in small groups to complete the following student page. They are welcome to use additional resources—textbook, internet, etc.
Student Assessment – students complete the assessment after completion of the lesson.
Students will build a food web of Lake Michigan before the construction of the Welland Canal using cards with diet information. After reviewing food web concepts of energy flow, trophic levels, and biomass, they consider the impact of the introduction of sea lamprey into their food web. Students discover that the most valuable Great Lakes fish species--Lake Trout--were eliminated, and tourism suffered due to many small fish species consuming all of their food resources, dying and being washed up on Great Lakes beaches. Lastly, students brainstorm ways of controlling the the lamprey.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain how energy and biomass decreases as you move up a food web.
- Describe how invasive species can impact a food web.
- Explain how invasive species can harm the economy, Great Lakes ecology and people’s use and enjoyment of the Great Lakes.
Michigan Science Standards AddressedMiddle School Performance Expectation
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
Science and Engineering Practices:
- Developing and Using Models (Develop a model to describe phenomena)
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data (Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena)
Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience (Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can change over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations.) Crosscutting Concepts:
Stability and Change (Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.)
High School Performance Expectation:
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
Science and Engineering Practices:
- Engaging in Argument from Evidence (Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments)
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking (Create or revise a simulation of a phenomenon, devised device, process, or system).
Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience (A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem can keep its numbers and types of organisms relatively constant over long periods of time under stable conditions. Extreme fluctuations in conditions or the size of any population, however, can challenge the functioning of ecosystems in terms of resources and habitat availability).
Biodiversity and Humans (Humans depend on the living world for the resources and other benefits provided by biodiversity. Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species (speciation) and decreased by the loss of species (extinction).
Crosscutting Concepts:
Stability and Change (Much of science deals with constructing explanations on how things change and how they remain stable).
Sources Consulted
This activity uses pictures and information on Lake Michigan creatures taken from the NOAA website: https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/projects/food_web/food_web.html.
Krause, A. E., K. A. FRANK, D. M. MASON, R. E. Ulanowicz, and W. W. Taylor. Compartments revealed in foodweb structure. Nature 426:282-285 (2003). (pdf)
Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 2017. “Sea Lamprey: A Great Lakes Invader.” http://www.glfc.org/sea-lamprey.php
Materials (per student group)
1 set of organism cards.
Chalk (if writing on a lab table or concrete) or a large piece of paper and marker
Example of student-created food web (attached)
New Vocabulary
Producer: Organism that makes its own food.
Primary consumer: Organism that eats producers (herbivores)
Secondary and Tertiary consumers: carnivores that eat the previous trophic level.
Trophic level: energy level of a food web
Biomass: the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume
Decomposers: an organism, such as a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic (plant and animal) material.
DNR: Department of Natural Resources. The state agency in charge of managing and conserving the flora, fauna, and land in Michigan.
Teacher Background
Lamprey Arrival in the Great Lakes Lampreys got here when we built a lock system around Niagara Falls. The lamprey made their way up through the locks and found a home in the Great Lakes. They spend 3-7 years as non-parasitic young, filter feeding in rivers until they leave to the Great Lakes and kill 2-3 large fish as they grow, returning to their home stream to lay eggs. They are native to the Atlantic Ocean, but since they spend the first part of their life in fresh water, they could survive in the Great Lakes.
Analyzing the food web. A student food web, when completed, will look messy. This is a good teaching point. Food webs should be messy—many creatures depending on many creatures. This allows stability for an ecosystem. In our case, the lake trout is a keystone predator of the system. Burbots are rare and prefer warmer water, so when the lake trout were removed, we saw a huge increase in the small fish (yellow layer).
This, in turn, led to a decrease in zooplankton (purple layer) and an increase in phytoplankton (green layer). When the smaller fish used up all of their food resources, their population would then crash, resulting in massive amounts of dead fish on our beaches. The loss of the lake trout caused a chain effect that not only led to the loss of millions of dollars in fisheries, but also tourism dollars because our beaches were not very attractive with rotting fish. The solution was an introduction of a new predator: salmon. Chinook and Coho salmon, along with fishery-raised lake trout, now are at the top of the food chain. This has stabilized the smaller fish population as well as provided an economic boost to our fisheries.
Focus Question (write on board for students to see): What happens to a food web when a new species shows up?
Expected prior knowledge: Students should already have learned about energy flow, trophic levels, and biomass, food web energy transfer.
Classroom Activity – students work together in small groups to complete the following student page. They are welcome to use additional resources—textbook, internet, etc.
Student Assessment – students complete the assessment after completion of the lesson.
New lesson plan ideas are welcome and will be uploaded as they are received and approved.
Instructions for submitting lesson plans for:
About invasive species,
About science and science careers
For information about submitting new lesson plans, please contact jchadde(at)mtu.edu
Lesson plan ideas from other web sites:
From Pennsylvania Sea Grant: 10 lesson plans about interactions of invasive species, biodiversity, and climate change
Creation of the above page of educational resources was funded in part by the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program through the Departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality, and Agricultural and Rural Development.
This material is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1614187.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.