Recently, on the island of Shetland, off the coast of Scotland,

there were more than _______________ puffin nests almost all entirely

empty.

________________ are sea birds that build their nests in the cliffs along the coasts of the ocean.

______________ eat sand eels, a small, silvery fish that normally lives in the surrounding waters of the North Sea.

In the past year, though, the sand eels have disappeared and the adult birds are starving.

There are not many different types of food for the puffin, so they have to fly farther and farther in search of sand eels. They fly many miles out from shore and dive up to __________ feet underwater in search of food.

After lots of investigating, scientists think they have figured out why the sand eels are disappearing. The sand eels eat cold- water ________________.

Plankton are small plants and animals that float in the water.

________________ are at the beginning of the food web in the ocean.

Some of the plankton that used to be found in the North Sea have moved farther north.

Over the past _____ years, the temperature of the water in the North Sea between the United Kingdom and Norway has become too warm for the plankton to survive there.

Cold- water plankton have been leaving the area and moving toward the North Pole where the water is still cold.

The North Sea sand eels prefer feeding on cold- water plankton because these species are bigger than warm- water plankton, and provide more ____________.

Scientists think that this difference in plankton size is what has led to fewer sand eels. Smaller ____________ means less

food to go around.

Less plankton also means fewer whales, cod, penguins, seals, and other seabirds. And those are just some of the species that will be ________________.

Although plankton live at the ocean’s surface, a rapid drop in its population could affect life all the way down to the _____________ floor.

Scientists now believe that the greatest number of species on Earth may exist in the deepest parts of the oceans, where up to ________ million plants and animals could live.

A producer?

A consumer?

A decomposer?

Sand _________ are an important food source for seabirds, including puffins.

Puffin eat _____________, a small, silvery fish that normally lives in the surrounding waters of the North Sea.

Food contains substances like protein, fat, sugar, and starch.

Food provides energy and building materials for organisms.

Water is not food. I know this because the food labels show that water does not contain carbohydrates, protein, or fat. Also, we tested water for sugar and starch. These are substances in food. The water does not have either one in it. This evidence supports the claim because our scientific principles tell us that all food has protein, fat, or carbohydrates. Since the water does not have these substances, it must not be food.

This is a:

All food that you eat is either a plant or can be traced back to a plant.

Example: turkey eats grain/corn which are parts of a plant.

Animals get their ____________ and building materials from eating other animals and plants.

Simple carbohydrates (sometimes called simple sugars) give a lot of energy fast, but you use them up quickly. The energy does not last.

Complex carbohydrates give energy, but it is released more slowly in your body, so the energy lasts longer.

All the energy and building materials and be traced back to plants. Animals that ate other a__________ eventually ate an animal that ate a plant.

Why were the sand eels dying off?

How did the cold water plankton affect the puffin?

Which part of a food web has the greatest effect on the rest of the food web?

If mice were removed from this ecosystem, which of the

following would also be expected to occur?

Which of the following would cause a decline in the lizard population?

A decrease in which of the following populations would have the greatest effect on the rest of the organisms in this ecosystem?

Which of the following are the producers in this ecosystem?

Which of the following could be a long-term result of reducing the herring population in this ecosystem?

Which of the following would be a result of increasing the krill population in this ecosystem?

Overhunting of humpback whales would result in which of the following changes to this ecosystem?