Who’s Who in a Food Chain?

A food chain tells us what is eaten by what in an ecosystem.

What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is all the animals and the plants in a habitat, together with their environment. An ecosystem provides everything that the animals and plants that live there need. A rock pool is an ecosystem, and so is a forest or a lake.

What does this food chain show? The plant is eaten by the slug. The slug is eaten by the frog. The frog is eaten by the heron.

What do the arrows mean? The arrows show how the energy is flowing in the food chain or food web. Its NOT who is eating who!

Producers ALL LIVING THINGS NEED ENERGY FROM FOOD. Green plants are the only living things that can make their own food. They are called producers. A food chain always begins with a producer. Producers

Consumers Animals are consumers because they eat plants or other animals to get their energy. The first consumer in a food chain is an herbivore (an animal that eats only plants).

Consumers The secondary consumer is a carnivore (an animal that eats only other animals). A carnivore may be eaten by a larger carnivore called a third/ tertiary consumer.

Consumers A food chain sometimes includes a consumer that is an omnivore (an animal that eats both plants and animals).

Decomposers Decomposers are consumers that break down dead plants and animals. They return materials stored in dead plants and animals to the soil, water, and air. Then green plants use the materials to make food.

This is a beach food chain Can you describe what is happening?

Can you show a different food chain?

What did each food chain begin with?

And where did this green plant gets it’s energy from? Green Plants you say? Yes! Almost every food chain starts with a green plant. And where did this green plant gets it’s energy from? The Sun

Shows more than one direction of flow of energy. Food Web: Shows more than one direction of flow of energy.

So what’s the difference? A food chain shows one feeding relationship. A food web shows many different feeding relationships. The arrows still mean the same thing… how the energy is flowing from one organism to another.

Energy flow Each animal in the food chain eats another animal or a plant in order to gain energy. The energy flow in the ecosystem keeps all of the animals alive.

Where did the other 90% of energy go? At each level only 10% of the original energy is transferred to the consumer. Where did the other 90% of energy go?

What affect does this have on a food chain? What people do Sometimes, humans cause problems for the plants and animals in an ecosystem. Oil spills pollute the sea and beaches. Forests are cut down to make way for roads, and so that land is available for cattle to graze. What affect does this have on a food chain?

Are these clips examples of food chains or food webs?

Match the words and phrases. A food chain shows producers Most food chains start with what is eaten by what Plants are predators Animals are prey Animals that hunt and eat others are called consumers Animals that are caught and eaten are called a green plant