Primary Resources -

River Life

Lots of different animals and plants live in rivers. We say the river is their habitat, the environment that they live in.

fish

What lives in the river?


Can you match the names of these plants and animals to the pictures below? (hover on the image for the answer):

Otter Leech Algae
Fish Crayfish Kingfisher
Minibeasts Water vole Snail
leech
crayfish
riverfly
snail
watervole
kingfisher
Fish
Otter
algae

Adaptations



The animals that live in the river must be adapted to their environment. Can you match the features of the mini beast with what it is adapted for?

Feature Function
a) Three long tails 1) To breathe underwater
b) Gills 2) To hold onto rocks so it doesn’t get washed away
c) Camouflage 3) To search for food
d) Hooked feet 4) To help it move by swimming
e) Hard case 5) So predators find it hard to see
f) Feelers and big eyes 6) To protect against the flow of water and moving rocks

Food chains


All living things need food to survive. Plants get their energy from the sun and make their own food. They are called Producers. Some animals eat plants. These animals are called Herbivores. Some animals eat other animals. These are called Carnivores. 

We can link animals together in a Food chain. The arrow means ‘is eaten by..’


In this food chain the worm eats the algae, the fish eats the worm and the kingfisher eats the fish.


Food chain


Can you describe what is happening in these food chains?


Crayfish
Food chain