Food Chain

What is a Food Chain? A food chain shows us how living things get their food.

Role of the Plants Plants are called “Producers” because they get energy from the sun to produce their own food.

Role of Animals Animals are called “Consumers”, they can’t make their own food, so they have to eat plants and other animals to get their energy. There are 3 types of animals: Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores

3 Types of Animals Herbivores: only eat plants Carnivores: only eat meat Omnivores: eat BOTH plants and meat There are more herbivores than carnivores because plants give more energy than animals.

What happens when the animal or plant dies? When a plant or animal dies, there is another important part to the food chain….the Decomposers. The decomposers are bacteria and fungi that feed on the decaying matter. Meaning they eat the dead plant or animal.

Why do we need the Decomposers? Without the decomposers helping to get rid of the dead plants and animals, we would have all these dead plants and animals just laying around. They take the nutrients from the dead, and return it to the soil to create new plants which gives us food.

Desert Food Chain

Evergreen Forest Food Chain

Temperate Forest Food Chain

Rainforest Food Chain

What are some changes that can affect a food chain? A change in the size of one population in a food chain will affect other populations. If a habitat is destroyed by people or a natural disaster such as flood, fire, hurricane, or tornado.

The further along the food chain you go, the less food (and hence energy) remains available.