2. What is a Food Chain?
Food Chain
A food chain is the path by which energy passes from one living thing to another.

3. Let’s Look at a Food Chain
A food chain is a simplified way to look at the energy that passes from producers to consumers.

4. Types of Food Chains
Aquatic- Water-related food chains with sea plants and animals
Terrestrial- Land-related food chains with land plants and animals

5. What’s in a Food Chain?
Producers
Consumers
Decomposers

6. Producers Producers make their own food
Green plants use energy from the sun to make food
Producers are on the bottom of the food chain

7. The Producers
Producers are the beginning of a simple food chain. Producers are plants and vegetables.

8. The Producers
All energy comes from the Sun and plants are the ones who make food with that energy. They use the process of photosynthesis. Plants also make loads of other nutrients for other organisms to eat.

10. Consumers
Consumers hunt, gather, and store food because they cannot make their own.

11. Consumers
are the next link in a food chain. There are several levels of consumers that we will discuss.

12. Levels of Consumers

13. Primary consumers (1st Order)
Worms, insects, squirrels, mice: all eat plants (HERBIVORES) ex: squirrel eats acorns
Secondary consumers (2nd Order)
Eat the primary consumers (CARNIVORES) example: cat eats squirrel
Tertiary consumers (3rd order)
Eat the primary and secondary consumers (CARNIVORES) ex: wolf eats cat and squirrel

14. Consumers Are Also Called
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
which is based on what they eat

15. Herbivores Animals who eat plants such as: grasshoppers rabbits
squirrels
deer
pandas

16. Carnivores Animals who only eat other animals such as: tigers lions
hawks
wolves
cougars

17. Omnivores Animals who eat both plants and animals such as: humans
bears
They can be
EITHER primary or
secondary consumers.

18. The Decomposers
The last links in the chain are the decomposers. (They break things down) Like bacteria, mold, fungi, mushrooms
If you die, they eat you.
If you poop, they eat that.
If you lose a leaf, they eat it.
Whenever something that was alive dies, the decomposers get it.

19. Decomposers break down nutrients in the dead "stuff" and return it to the soil.
The producers can then use the nutrients and elements once it's in the soil.
The decomposers complete the system, returning essential molecules to the producers.

20. Scavengers
They eat the remains of dead organisms left by the consumers
Ex. vultures, coyotes, hyenas

21. Predator & Prey
Predator- An animal that captures and eats other animals
Prey- The animal that is captured and eaten

22. Food Web

23. Another Link in the Food Web
Everyone plays a specific role in the food web of life. You might be a human thinking they are king of the hill or you might be a bacterium under the feet.
You are very important to the survival of the system no matter what role you play.

24. In a Food web organisms are involved with several other organisms
In a Food web organisms are involved with several other organisms. Food chains are linked together to form a food web.

25. What is a Food Web?
A more realistic way of looking at the relationship of plants and animals in an environment
Several food chains linked together
A predator from one food chain may be linked to the prey of another food chain

26. Food Webs
How many food chains can you make from this food web?

27. Recap What were the 3 types of consumers?
What are some other names for consumers that are based on what they eat?
What is a decomposer?
What is a scavenger?
Where does the energy come from? Explain.

28. The End