Feeding Relationship

When organisms of an ecosystem interact by eating

each other

Your ChallengeYour Challenge• Carefully read organism cards• Organize cards on the table

showing feeding relationships– Use arrows to show relationship– If organisms is involved in more than

one feeding relationship, all the relationships should be indicated with arrows

Arrow points away from the thing being eaten

because the food value of the fly is going into

the spider.

Food Chain

The path that food takes from one

organism to another organism

Planktonic Algae

Brine Shrimp

California

Gull

CoyoteSample Food Chain

What do we do What do we do about organisms about organisms

that are eaten by that are eaten by many organisms?many organisms?

Food Web

Shows ALL the feeding relationships

in an ecosystem

Producers• Members of the food web

that make their own food• Producers produce the food

that is used in an ecosystem

Consumer

• Organisms that eat other organisms

• 1st level or primary consumer eats producers

• Secondary consumers eat primary consumers

Decomposer• Break down and consume dead

organisms• Everything that is not eaten by

a consumer is eventually eaten by decomposers

PRODUCERS

PRIMARY CONSUMERS

SECONDARY CONSUMERS

THIRD-LEVEL

CONSUMERS

Planktonic

algae

Benthic

algae

Brine

Shrimp

Brine

fly

Red-necked

phalarope

Wilson’s

phalarope

Eared

grebe

Caspian

tern

Snowy

plover

Coyote

California

gull

PRODUCERS

PRIMARY CONSUMERS

SECONDARY CONSUMERS

THIRD-LEVEL

CONSUMERS

Planktonic

algae

Benthic

algae

Brine

Shrimp

Brine

fly

Red-necked

phalarope

Wilson’s

phalaropeEared

grebe

Caspian

tern

Snowy

plover

Coyote

California

gull

Reflection page 32

What if the brine shrimp no longer existed at Mono Lake? Predict what would happen to the producers, consumers and

decomposers in the ecosystem.