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Exploring Trophic Cascades

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Trophic cascade thumbnail

Topic

  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Ecology
  • Communities
  • Matter & Energy

Resource Type

  • Interactive Media
  • Click & Learn

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Used In
2 BioInteractive Playlists
Saved By
161 Users
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Description

This interactive module explores examples of how changes in one species can affect species at other trophic levels and ultimately the entire ecosystem.

Trophic cascades refer to impacts that reach beyond adjacent trophic levels. This Click & Learn first walks students through a classic trophic cascade triggered by the loss of sea otters from a kelp forest ecosystem. Students then test their understanding of trophic cascades in four other case studies, where they predict the relationships among different species and the consequences of ecosystem changes. The case studies demonstrate how indirect effects mediated by changes in one species can broadly alter many aspects of community function.

Student Learning Targets

  • Predict whether different organisms in an ecosystem have positive or negative effects on other organisms in that ecosystem.
  • Predict how an ecosystem may change when a particular organism is introduced or removed, based on the evidence provided.

Estimated Time

One to two 50-minute class periods.

Key Terms

consumer, direct effect, food web, indirect effect, jungle, lake, producer, savanna, trophic pyramid, tundra

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

Interactive media meets criteria.

Version History

Date Published 09.13.16
Date Updated 09.13.16

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.B, HS-LS2.C; SEP2

AP Biology (2019)

ENE-1.M, ENE-1.N, ENE-1.O, ENE-4.B, SYI-1.G, SYI-1.H; SP2

IB Biology (2016)

4.1, C.2

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 1.1, 1.9, 1.11
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.A, ENG-1.B, ENG-1.D, SP1, SP2

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.2

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5; DP3

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Trophic Cascades

Tim Guilfoyle describes how he uses the BioInteractive short film "Some Animals Are More Equal than Others" and a claim-evidence-reasoning activity to have his students examine Robert Paine's starfish exclusion experiment.
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