Natural Sciences and Technology Grade 6 Term 1: Life and Living Ecosystems and Food Webs

Topic 5 Ecosystems and Food Webs Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

A Simple Food Chain Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

A Simple Food Chain A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature. Food chains begin with plant-life, and end with animal-life. Some animals eat plants (herbivores). Some animals eat other animals (carnivores). Some animals eat plants and other animals (omnivores). Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

Food Web When we join many different food chains in an ecosystem together, we get a food web. A food web consists of many thousands and thousands of food chains that are connected to each other. Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

Components of the Food Web In an ecosystem the plants and animals are connected by their feeding relationships: Producers = plants Consumers = animals herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat the animals that eat the plants, omnivores eat plants and animals. Decomposers = microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi) eat and break up the dead animals, and put the chemicals from their bodies (carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen) back into the soil to feed the plants. Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

Food Web Levels Level 1: Plants (producers) Level 2: Animals that eat plants or herbivores (primary consumers) Level 3: Animals that eat herbivores (secondary consumers, carnivores/omnivores) Level 4: Animals that eat carnivores (tertiary consumers, other carnivores) Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5

Gr 6 Natural Sciences and Technology – Term 1, Topic 5