Food Chains Food Webs

Food Chains A food chain shows what is eaten by what… The arrows show which way the energy is going in the chain

Food webs contain many interlinking food chains… Food webs

1)The flat winkles would not get eaten, so their population would…? 2)The herring gulls would have less food, so their population would probably…? What would happen if an animal or organism was “taken out”? e.g take out the crab: increase decrease

Top carnivore Secondary consumer Primary consumer Producer

Important facts about food chains Plants are called producers because they create their own food through photosynthesis 3 Examples of primary producers include algae, phytoplankton, and large plants. Primary producers are eaten by primary consumers (herbivores)

Consumers Animals are consumers because they cannot create their own food, they must eat plants or other animals to get the energy that they need

Four types of consumer Herbivores: organisms that eat only plants 3 Carnivores: organisms that eat only other animals 3. Omnivores: organisms that eat animals and plants 3. Detritivores: organisms that eat dead materials and organic wastes

Other Ways to Classify Consumers 1.Primary Consumers: Herbivores 3. 2.Secondary Consumers: Carnivores that eat herbivores 3. 3.Tertiary Consumers: Carnivores that eat other carnivores 3. 4.Top Carnivore: not eaten by anyone

Primary Consumers (Herbivores) Muskrat (eats mostly Cattails)

Primary Consumers in Marshes Wood Duck eats seeds like those of the Swamp Marsh Mallow and Blue Flag Iris

Primary Consumers in Marshes Glassy-winged Toothpick Grasshopper – eats leaves of plants like cattail and pickerelweed

Secondary Consumers Black Rat Snake eats eggs of animals like wood duck

Secondary Consumers Swamp Sparrow eats seeds but also insects like the toothpick grasshopper

Tertiary Consumers Eat other animals in marsh including snake and sparrow Osprey

Omnivore Racoon eats seeds, fruits, insects, worms, fish, and frogs… and pretty much anything else they can get their paws on!

Detritivore Worms are common detritivores in many ecosystems including marshes

Producer fgfg Herbivore Consumer Primary consumer Secondary consumer Tertiary consumer Carnivore Top carnivore Omnivore Detritivore Decomposer Trophic Level Usually plants. Anything that takes energy from the sun. Animals that only eat plants An animal that eats producers An animal that eats primary consumers An animal that eats secondary consumers Eats only animals Not eaten by anything else Eats both animals and plants Feed on bodies of smaller dead animals, plants and dung Feed on all remaining dead plants and animals. (Ex: bacteria, fungi) Feeding level

A “Pyramid of Numbers” A pyramid of numbers shows how many animals or organisms we are talking about. For example, consider the following food chain:

A pyramid of numbers for this food chain would look like this: Lots of grass One owl Some voles

Another example: Consider the food chain: Grass Rabbit Fox Fleas Lots of grass One fox Some rabbits Lots of fleas