Lesson 27: energy flow in
ecosystems

focus on inquiry

the food chains and food webs that appear in this lesson and in other books have already been
worked out. to construct a food chain or food web, you need to identify which organisms live in an
environment and how each organism obtains energy within that environment.

some organisms are suited to life in more than one type of environment. such an organism may have
a different place in the food chain in each environment. for example, coyotes live in both deciduous
forests and deserts. very different plants and animals make up these two ecosystems. therefore, a
food chain or food web that includes a coyote living in a desert may be very different from one that
includes a coyote in a forest. migratory birds are often suited to life in different ecosystems. the
winter home, or habitat, of a migratory bird may be very different from its summer habitat.

identify a species of migratory bird or other animal that can live in more than one type of
environment. research what the animal eats in each ecosystem and whether other organisms prey on
it in those environments. gather enough information to draw two different food chains or food webs
that include the animal.