Morning Starters: Summer 2 - Wetland Wonders
Did You Know?
In the Pantanal, many animals rely on the apple snail for survival. This snail is known as an ‘ecosystem engineer’ because it helps maintain the wetland by eating decaying plants and turning them into nutrients. Caimans, capybaras and giant otters all depend on the apple snail for food, showing how interconnected life in the Pantanal is.
Credit: BBC Two - Secrets of Our Living World
Word Challenge
Write the antonym of each word underlined in the ‘Did You Know?’ paragraph.
Note: An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.
Grammar Challenge
Write a sentence that starts in the following way.
Although the apple snail is small, …
Number Challenge
The Pantanal’s average rainfall is 1,100 mm per year. In 2024, it rained 1.5 times more than usual.
How much rainfall did the Pantanal receive in 2024?
Critical Thinking
Is it fair for one small animal, like the apple snail, to be so important to a whole ecosystem?