INVISIBLE CARNIVORES

Wildlife in an ecosystem can be classed as a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore depending on their eating habits. Carnivores eat other animals, herbivores only eat plants and omnivores eat both. On the Severn, for example, a kingfisher bird is a carnivore – it preys on fish like sticklebacks and minnows and insects like water beetles and dragonflies. However, while kingfishers may be an easy to spot carnivore, freshwater ecosystems like ponds, streams and lakes are also home to another slightly less obvious one – tiny flatworms called planaria. Try catching some for yourself and we can learn about their importance in freshwater ecosystems.