Dianne+Science

**SCIENCE ECOSYSTEM-PLANTS AND ANIMALS**

The ecosystem ** Iramoo Grassland ** had open habitats covered mainly in grass, low shrubs, wild flowers and the grasslands were all mostly flat. The weather in ** Iramoo Grassland ** receives less rainfall than forests but receives more than deserts. It’s year is concentrated on hot summers and harsh winters. Other places in the world, where you’ll find this ecosystem is in South America, North America, Africa and Asia. Wallaby Grass Golden Sun Moth || ** Plant 2 ** Trees – seeds Plains Wanderer || ** Animal 1 ** Striped Legless Lizard Blackfield crickets, Caterpillars, Cockroaches and Spiders Snakes, some Cats, Foxes, Ants, some native animals and birds of prey CARNIVORE || Eastern Barred Bandicoot Crickets, Beetles and Earthworms Foxes, Cats, Dingoes and Ants CARNIVORE || ** Animal 3 ** Tiger Snake Lizards, Eels, Fish, Rats, small Birds and other small animals Large Birds CARNIVORE || ** Animal 4 ** Plains Wanderer Seeds, Insects and rarely Leaves Tiger snakes and dingoes OMNIVORE || Golden Sun Moth Wallaby Grass Birds and Frogs HERBIVORE || ** Animal 6 ** Dingo Rats, Kangaroos, Birds, Rabbits, Lizards and some farm animals Nothing. CARNIVORE || ** Animal 7 ** Ants Plants, dead Insects and dead animals Anteaters, some mammals and some birds OMNIVORE
 * DISCUSSION: **
 * ** Plant 1 **
 * Name of Plant **
 * What animal eats the plant? **
 * Picture of the Plant: **
 * Name of Plant **
 * What animal eats the plant? **
 * Picture of the Plant: **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **
 * ** Animal 2 **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **
 * ** Animal 5 **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **
 * Name **
 * What does it eat? **
 * What eats it? **
 * Is it a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? **

|| After researching the ecosystem, animals and plants, the next task was to answer the questions or provide a diagram when assigned. First, it was asked to create as many food chains as could from the list of plants and animals. It was compulsory to have at least four steps in two of the food chains. Our group created four food chains together that all had four steps each. Here are all the food chains that were made: 1) Wallaby Grass → Golden Sun Moth → Plains Wanderer → Dingo 2) Wallaby Grass → Golden Sun Moth → Plains Wanderer → Tiger Snake 3) Trees → Ants → Striped Legless Lizard → Tiger Snake 4) Trees → Ants → Eastern Barred Bandicoot → Dingo

A food web was essential to our project, although it was a bit difficult to involve all of the animals in the food web. The whole group had to make one individually. This is the end result of my own food web...

Looking at the food web above, the organisms that were producers were the Trees and Wallaby Grass. While the first consumers were the Golden Sun Moth, Ants and Plains Wanderer, the second consumers were the Striped Legless Lizard, Eastern Barred Bandicoot and Plains Wanderer again and lastly, the third consumers were the Dingo and Tiger Snake.

There are a few animals that were omnivores and herbivores but the carnivores had the largest number. Omnivores: Plains Wanderer Herbivores: Golden Sun Moth Carnivores: Striped Legless Lizard, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Tiger Snake, Dingo.

The organisms that are predators are the Tiger Snake and Dingo while the organisms that are the prey are the Striped Legless Lizard, Eastern Barred Bandicoot and Plains Wanderer.

The organisms competing for the same food are: Trees - Plains Wanderer, Ants; Ants - Striped Legless Lizard, Plains Wanderer, Eastern Barred Bandicoot; Golden Sun Moth - Striped Legless Lizard, Plains Wanderer; Striped Legless Lizard, Plains Wanderer, Eastern Barred Bandicoot - Tiger Snake, Dingo;

If the first consumers increased, there wouldn’t be enough producers to satisfy their needs, and they would disappear forever. While if the first order consumers decreased, there would be too much of the producers. They would eventually grow and become an irritating problem.

If the second order consumers became extinct, the third consumers would have less variety in their diet and there would be an increase in first consumers. In result, may perhaps cause the food web to become unbalanced.

The only decomposers in our ecosystem are the ants.

If the Plains Wanderers’ population decreased it would affect all of the animals in the ecosystem. This may cause the Trees, Golden Sun Moth, Wallaby Grass and Ants to increase in population size.

Dingoes were the only introduced species in our ecosystem. (An introduced species is a species that has been released into an ecosystem in which it does not occur naturally)

Biological control is of unwanted plants and animals that use other organisms, rather than chemicals, as a method of control. There was no biological control in our ecosystem.

Helpful websites that provided me information about the plants and animals from the ** Iramoo Grassland ** are: [] [] [] []
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY: **

The animals and plants found in the Iramoo Grassland ecosystem that we chose were Wallaby Grass, Trees, Striped Legless Lizard, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Tiger Snake, Plains Wanderer, Golden Sun Moth, Dingo and Ants. This term’s project wasn’t that complicated when researching and answering the questions but putting the information on // wiki // was quite difficult, as it was a new experience for me. < Math | English >
 * CONCLUSION: **