Who’s Who in a Food Chain?

Food Chain

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

What is an ecosystem?What is an ecosystem? An An ecosystemecosystem is all the is all the

animals and the plants animals and the plants in a habitat, together in a habitat, together with their environment.with their environment.

An ecosystem provides An ecosystem provides everything that the everything that the animals and plantsanimals and plants that live there that live there needneed..

A A rock poolrock pool is an is an ecosystem, and so is a ecosystem, and so is a forest or a lakeforest 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.

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.

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 chainCan 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. IT has to have chlorophyl to get energy from the sun.

The Sun

Food Web:

Shows more than one

direction of flow of energy.

Energy flowEnergy flow

Each animal in the Each animal in the food chain eats food chain eats another animal or a another animal or a plant in order to gain plant in order to gain energy.energy.

The energy flow in The energy flow in the ecosystem keeps the ecosystem keeps all of the animals all of the animals alive.alive.

At each level only 10% of the original energy is transferred to the consumer.

Where did the other 90% of energy go?It became heat and mechanical energy!

Example of Energy Transfer in Joules.

• Producer to primary consumer: 16% transferred

• Primary to Secondary Consumer: 8% transferred

• Secondary to Tertiary Consumer: 10% transferred

10, 000 algae

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?

Destroys plants and animals in the Food web so populations can’t come back.

Match the words and phrases.A food chain showsMost food chains

start with

Plants are

Animals are

Animals that hunt and eat others are calledAnimals that are caught and

eaten are called

producers

consumers

predatorsprey

a green plant

what is eaten by what