PALOS VERDES PENINSULA LAND CONSERVANCY
Come back and visit!
White Point Nature Preserve
White Point Nature Preserve is located at 1600 W.
Paseo del Mar, San Pedro, CA 90731 on the north
side of Paseo del Mar off of Western Avenue.
The Preserve is open daily from dawn to dusk. The
Center is open from 10am to 4pm on Wednesday,
Saturday, and Sunday.
George F Canyon Nature Preserve
George F Canyon is located at 27305 Palos Verdes
Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates CA 90274 at the
southwest corner of Palos Verdes Drive East and
Palos Verdes Drive North.
The Nature Center is open Friday 1pm - 4pm,
Saturday and Sunday 10am - 4pm, other days by
appointment.
For more information contact:
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
www.pvplc.org
(310) 541-7613
Nature Notebook
The Food Web
This program is made possible by:
Name:
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Field Observation Checklist
Plants
Bush Sunflower
CA Poppy
Bladderpod
Coyote Bush
Willow
Elderberry
Saltbush
Dudleya
Prickly Pear Cactus
Laurel Sumac
Lemonade Berry
Toyon
CA Sagebrush
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Black Sage
Purple Sage
CA Buckwheat
Ahyleaf Buckwheat
Mulefat
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Invertebrates
Dragonfly
Wasp
Bumble bee
Fly
Ant
Butterfly
Honey bee
Harlequin bug
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Allen’s hummingbird
Blue grosbeak
Cactus wren
Common raven
House finch
Northern mockingbird
Song sparrow
American kestrel
Brown pelican
California gnatcatcher
Cooper’s hawk
Lesser goldfinch
Red-tailed hawk
White-throated swift
Lady bug
Snail
Pill bug
Stink beetle
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Birds
Black phoebe
Bushtit
California towhee
American crow
Mourning dove
Say’s phoebe
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Mammals
Cottontail rabbit
Gopher
Skunk
California ground squirrel
Raccoon
mouse
Tree squirrel
Opossum
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Other
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Vocabulary
Consumer – An organism that gets its food by eating other organisms.
Carnivore – An organism that primarily eats animals.
Decomposer – An organism that feeds on dead organisms or animal
waste cycling nutrients back into the food web.
Food Chain – A series of organisms, each dependent on the next as a
source of food.
Food Web – The interconnected network of food chains in an
ecosystem.
Welcome to White Point!
Today you will explore how the plants and animals at White Point
Nature Preserve are interconnected through the food web. You
will search for evidence of carnivores, herbivores, omnivores and
decomposers in action. You will see that plants are the primary
source of energy entering local food chains but that many plants
also rely on animals to survive.
Herbivore – An organism that primarily eats plants.
Inference – A conclusion reached through reasoning based on
knowledge and evidence/observation.
Observation – Gathering information using any or all of your 5 senses.
Omnivore – An organism that eats both plants and animals.
Producer – An organism that can make its own food. (For example: A
plant makes its own “food” though photosynthesis.)
Environmental Stewardship Agreement
Today as a steward of the White Point Nature Reserve I agree to:
1. Walk at all times
2. Stay on the trail
3. Observe gently
… because I know that these 3 steps will help me to stay safe and
protect the natural world as I explore.
______________________________________________
Student Signature
Food Web Game
1) Draw the different organisms from the food web that your team
assembled in the circles below.
Omnivore
Decomposer
Carnivore
Herbivore
Producer
What is one thing that you can do as a steward to protect the
plants and animals of the nature preserve?
2) Add arrows to show how the sun’s energy flows through the food
web above.
3) What would happen to the rest of your food web if the producer
went extinct?
Reflections:
During your field trip you have observed
how the plants and animals of White Point Nature
Preserve are connected through the food web. Write a
short story about what might happen to the balance of
the local food web if the area was no longer protected as
natural open space.
Food Web Scavenger Hunt
Draw or describe one observation that you made during your scavenger
hunt for each category below.
Producer
Consumer
“Sox Tail” Seed Investigation
“Sox Tail” Seed Investigation Continued
3) Test your prediction by placing both seed types on the fur. Try to
Observation
remove the seeds by brushing the fur with your hand. Conduct 3 trials
1) Observe the seeds collected on your sock tail. Draw 2 different
seeds and circle the structure on each that helps the seed attach to
the cloth. Use one descriptive term to label the structure on each.
Seed A
and after each trial put an “x” in the box of the seed type that was
more difficult to brush out (if they are equally difficult to remove
check both boxes).
Seed A
Seed B
Seed B
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
4) Consider the observations you made during your investigation. Which
seed was most difficult to brush out of the fur? (Circle one)
Seed A
Seed B
5) Did the results of your experiment support your prediction?
Yes / No
Inference
6) Use your observations during this investigation combined with your
___________________________
___________________________
these structures might benefit the plant.
Investigation
2) With your team, discuss the two seeds you have observed and
compare the structures that helped each attach to the cloth of your
sock. Predict which of the two seeds would attach better to the fur of
an animal and circle your prediction.
Seed A
knowledge about the plants and animals of the preserve to infer how
Seed B