Charles Ener Hunter Meredith Matthew Moerbe Nicholas Crabtree Tony Nguyen

 A food chain is a term used to show how energy and nutrients flow through nature.  The energy and nutrients pass from an organism when it is eaten or otherwise taken by another organism.

 Every different environment holds its own series of different food chains, many of which will overlap with each other at some point.  A rainforest for example, will have a large number of food chains, each involving many different animals.  The food chains in the Arctic Circle, on the other hand, will be shorter, and less in number. And of course, they will involve different animals.

 The Producers make up the first part of any food chain.  Producers are generally plants.  To some extent, everything in the food chain gets energy from a Producer.

 Producers create their own energy through the process of photosynthesis, using only soil and sunlight.  Producers will be eaten at some point by herbivores or omnivores.  These animals –known as Consumers- will then gain a portion of their energy.

 There are two kinds of Consumers:  Primary Consumers  Secondary Consumers

 These are the first of the Consumers.  Primary Consumers are either herbivores or omnivores.  As animals, they are incapable of producing their own energy in the way that plants do.  So, they eat plants.

 Part of the energy that is absorbed from the plants travels on to fuel the activities of the animal that ate them.  The rest is lost.  The Primary Consumers must keep eating plants to gain energy.

 A mouse (Consumer) will eat grass (Producer) in order to keep up its energy.

 These animals may not necessarily be present in a given food chain.  These animals are either omnivores or carnivores.  They gain their energy by feeding off of the Primary Consumers.

 Secondary Consumers will hunt consumers, or scavenge ones that have recently died for sustenance.  The amount of energy they receive from their prey is slightly less than what the prey had gotten from the plants it had eaten.  There may be still more Consumers in a food chain, which will feed off of the Secondary Consumers

 A snake (Secondary Consumer) will eat a mouse (Primary Consumer) for energy.

 But sometimes even Secondary Consumers can become prey.  This is the case with this snake becoming food for this predatory bird.

 The Decomposers are the last official step in the food chain.  Decomposers can not typically be seen by the naked eye.  They consist of tiny, microscopic bacteria and fungi.

 Decomposers have a disgusting, but incredibly vital role in the food chain.  When a Consumer dies, the bacteria eat away at the remains of its body.  The remains are disposed of, and the bacteria move on.  But, the nutrients they eat are released back into the soil.

 This allows the Producers (plants) to take the nutrients in through their roots.  With this, the entire food chain starts over again from the first step.  This means that the nutrients and potential for energy always remain in the environment for organisms to partake in.

 Food chains are an essential part of our ecosystem.  They ensure that energy and nutrients are properly distributed throughout the environment.  Things remain organized so that nothing goes hungry.

 1) What is a food chain?  2) What is a Producer’s role in the food chain?  3) What kind of organism is a Producer?  4) How many varieties of Consumers are there?  5) What is a Consumer’s role in the food chain?

 6) What is the diet of a Primary Consumer?  7) What is the diet of a Secondary Consumer?  8) What is a Decomposer’s role in the food chain?  9) Generally, what kind of organism is a Decomposer?  10) What is the overall purpose of a food chain?