Nature Links

Nature Links

This activity explores the different types of links found in nature.

Introduction

All plants and animals in the world (and humans too!) are interlinked in a huge "Web of Life".

There are many ways in which they can be interlinked. Below is a list of some of those links. 

1. A 'wild' animal that lives in or near your home

2. A plant that is useful to humans

3. An animal that needs plants as food

4. An animal that feeds on other animals

5. An introduced plant or animal

6. A plant that depends on animals in some way

7. An animal that carries pollen from one plant to another

8. An animal that lives or has its home in a tree

9. A plant that is disliked by animals because it has a nasty taste or some other form of defence

10. An animal that feeds on dead material and helps to decompose it

11. A plant that provides something useful, other than food, for an animal

12. An animal that looks like a plant (as a form of camouflage)

13. Two organisms (species) that depend on each other in some way

14. An organism (species) that moves to a different habitat for reproduction

Can you give examples of each kind of linkage?

Activity

Work in pairs and try to answer as many of these as you can from your own knowledge. If you cannot think of an example, ask people or use books to find out more information. You can write more than one example if you can think of them!

Discussion and Follow-Up

1. Discuss your answers with the rest of the class. Remember you may need to explain how each link works. Would the plant or animal survive without the link?

2. Turn your class examples into a large display, using pictures of some of the animals and plants (or by making models).