All ecosystems contain many food chains.

Each food chain contains both predators and prey.

Ecosystems

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.

Ecosystems

In order for animals to live they need energy.

Some animals get the energy they need from eating plants and other vegetation.

Some animals get their energy from eating other animals.

Some animals eat both plants and other animals.

Nearly all food webs start with a green plant.

Green plants are called producers because they produce their own food.

Primary, secondary, tertiary

Herbivore - plant eater

Carnivore - meat eater

Omnivore - mixed plant/animal diet

Animals that eat ONLY plants.

Herbivores have evolved to eat plants.

They need a lot of energy to stay alive.

Many have to eat all day long to get enough energy.

They have specialized teeth and stomachs to enable them to get the energy they need from plants.

Manatee•A manatee is a mammal that lives in the water.•They are herbivores.•They eat 150 pounds of plants each day!•Manatees live in ocean waters off the coast of Florida.

An animal that gets its food from eating other animals

Carnivores have evolved to eat meat.

They have specialized teeth and stomachs to enable them to get the energy they need from the bodies of other animals.

Animals that eat both plants and other animals

Many will eat the eggs of other animals

Omnivores have teeth and stomachs that enable them to eat and digest both plants and meat (animals).

Some omnivores are scavengers which means they eat dead animals.

Most will eat plants that produce fruit and vegetables and will eat both the fruit and vegetables.

Humans are omnivores

Food webs show what eats what in order to gain the energy it needs to live.

Food webs use arrows to show what eats what.

Eaten by: Eaten by:

Food chains that overlap are called FOOD WEBS.

Animals that are hunted and eaten by other animals

Some prey animals are herbivores.

Some omnivores and carnivores are also prey to other animals.

Animals that hunt and eat other animals

Some animals are predators and prey.

This means they eat some animals but are eaten by others.

The top predator that is prey to no other animal is called an apex predator.

The Biotic Components of Ecosystems

Producers(autotrophs)

- Photosynthesis

Consumers(heterotrophs)-Aerobic respiration

Decomposers

Producer to primaryconsumer

Primaryto secondaryconsumer

Secondary tohigher-levelconsumer

All producers andconsumers todecomposers

Fungi

Gambel'squail

Red-tailed hawk

Collaredlizard

Jackrabbit

Yucca

Kangaroo ratKangaroo rat

AgaveAgave

RoadrunnerRoadrunner

Diamondback rattlesnakeDiamondback rattlesnakeDarklingbeetleDarklingbeetle

BacteriaBacteria

Pricklypearcactus

Pricklypearcactus

Writing Activity

Write a paragraph describing how a food web works. Use the information you have learned in

this lesson. Be sure to tell about animals that are both

predators and prey.