Owl Pellet Lab

After completing the owl pellet lab in class, please use the provided textbox to answer the lab conclusion questions. 

1. Describe the relationship between the biomass of the consumers and the producers they consume.
2. Explain why the mass of producers consumed by the prey animals changes as the seasons change. 
3. State a claim about the biodiversity of your owl’s ecosystem based on the evidence provided in your pellet.
4. A student investigating the contents of an owl pellet states “There are more mice than owls in the ecosystem where this owl lived.” Provide evidence from your pellet to support this claim. Justify your response. 
5. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy is not created or destroyed, but is converted to one form or another. Explain how your data supports this statement. 
6. Describe the effect on the owl’s ecosystem if each of the following events occurred:
   1. drought sharply reduces the amount of grain available for mice to eat. 
   2. There is abundant rainfall during the year in the location where the pellet was collected. 
   3. A defoliant known to be toxic to small rodents is applied to a vacant field near a housing development to clear land for a shopping center. 
   4. The shrew population doubles in size.