Lab 4 Energy Cycles in Animal Pellets

Part 1: Owl Pellet Dissection

Image 1: Measurements of the Owl Pellet

Image 2: Bones on the sorting chart. The bones located outside of the chart are ones I could not identify with certainty.

Image 3: My attempt to reconstruct what appears to be a mole.

Image 4: Data collected reflecting how many of each animal was found within the owl pellet.

Image 5: A bar graph reflecting the above mentioned data.

Part 2: Ecological Pyramids 

Number Pyramid for a 24 Hour Period

3* = 1 pellet

2* = 3 skulls ( Please note, I utilized the number 3 instead of 8 -noted above- as I went by                                the number of skulls found vs. number of other bones found, per the                                           instructions requested.) 

1* = 9 (3/1 x 3)

Producers = 27 (3/1 x 9)

Add caption

1.During the nesting season the young need an enormous amount of food for growth. If the nest contains three young and each of the young eat five mice per night for a month and the two adults eat four per night, how many mice would the parents have to capture in 30 days?

The parents would need to capture 23 mice per day, 690 over 30 days.

2.The pellets are from what owl family?

The pellets for this lab are from the Common Barn Owl family, Tyto Alba.

3.Environmentalists are concerned about the accumulation of certain poisons in predators. Why do you suppose owls, eagles, swordfish, humans and lions are often the most threatened organisms of a community that are exposed to DDT or mercury?

I believe owls, eagles, swordfish, humans, and lions are the most threatened organisms of a community because we are predators at the top of the food chain. We need nourishment from many sources of  producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.   Because we eat prey from all levels, we can be exposed to what the prey was exposed to; the tertiary consumers placing us at the highest risk, due to their necessary exposure.