Canadian Prairie Grassland Food Web
Terrestrial
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands
Canadian Prairies — Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba
Description
The Canadian prairies once supported vast bison herds that shaped the grassland through grazing, wallowing, and nutrient deposition. Although wild bison are largely gone, the food web retains prairie dogs, Richardson's ground squirrels, and ferruginous hawks. Conversion to cropland has eliminated over 70% of the original grassland, making remaining fragments critical for biodiversity.
Trophic Pyramid
Level 5
Decomposers
Grassland fungi
Dung beetles
Soil bacteria
3 species
Level 4
Tertiary Consumers
Golden eagle
Swift fox
2 species
Level 3
Secondary Consumers
Ferruginous hawk
Prairie rattlesnake
Burrowing owl
3 species
Level 2
Primary Consumers
Richardson's ground squirrel
Pronghorn
Prairie vole
3 species
Level 1
Producers
Blue grama grass
Western wheatgrass
Prairie crocus
3 species
Apex Predators
Tertiary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
Key Interactions
- Richardson's ground squirrel colonies support ferruginous hawks, swift foxes, and badgers
- Pronghorn are the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere, adapted to outrun extinct cheetahs
- Burrowing owls nest in ground squirrel and badger burrows on the open prairie
- Grassland conversion to cropland fragments habitat for area-sensitive species