Solved by a verified expert:ExperimThe Food WebThe Food WebHands-On Labs, Inc.Version The Food WebLab Report AssistantThis document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab ReportAssistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and datatables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to aninstructor.Data Table 1: Record of bones in owl pellet.MoleRodentShrew001002011212435123466SkullLower jawScapulaForelimbHindlimbPelvisRibe.com87©Hands-OnExperimThe Food WebQuestionsA. Assuming an owl produces one to three pellets per day, what is your estimate of the annualfood consumption of one owl based upon the results of dissecting this pellet? For example, ifyou find three mice and one mole in one owl pellet, that means four animals wereconsumed in one day if one pellet is regurgitated. If three pellets are regurgitated and thereis an average of four animals/pellet, that is approximately 12 animals consumed in one day.Use this range to estimate the number of animals consumed in one year.Upon my results of dissecting this pellet my estimated food consumption amount per year isapproximately 3,285 animals that the owls consume per year assuming that the owlproduces three pellets per day. During my finding it was very interesting that I only locatedone skull of a shrew and a consistent amount of scapula, limbs, pelvis and ribs of eachanimal. Based on my readings I understand that the owl could have regurgitated the missingparts before or after, also the bones could have been more digested making it harder to fullyidentify all parts. Therefore, based on my calculations and findings, I estimated that the owlconsumes approximately 9 animals per day, regurgitating 3 animal’s remains a day, giving usthe average of 3,285 per year.B. How accurately do you think the content of owl pellets reflects the proportion andabundance of the animals in the area where this pellet was collected?I believe that the owl pellets cannot reflect 100% accuracy of the proportion and/orabundance of the animals in the area where the pellet was collected. This is a randomsample, factors to consider are when the owl catches they’re prey and what’s actuallyavailable in the area. It is difficult to arrive a conclusion based on one pallet, but if I had tochoose I would say that shrews and rodents are in abundance based on my findings fromdissecting the pallet.C. Draw a diagram of a food web using information derived from the animals dissected in thepellet. Assume that the owl is positioned at the highest trophic (feeding) level. Make yourdiagram as comprehensive as possible. Use dotted lines to indicate uncertain relationships.D. Why might seeds and other plant material be found in owl pellets?E. Describe how you would build a self-contained, aquatic micro-ecosystem. The system woulde.com88©Hands-OnExperimThe Food Webbe sealed off from the outside world, except for light. What are the organisms that would benecessary and why? You must have at least two trophic levels represented, but more areprobably necessary. Diagram the food web that would exist in your microcosm.www.HOLscienc89©Hands-On
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