Food Chain Hide & Seek An Introduction to Food Webs Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research ProgramMichele Kissinger

A food chain is a series of plants and animals connected by the food they eat. Here is a simple food chain: The Lion The Grass The Zebra which is eaten by: is eaten by:

Another way to think about it: The Lion The Grass The Zebra which gives energy to: gives energy to:

Can you draw a food chain based on the Food Chain Hide & Seek game? The Emperor The Plankton The Damselfish The Squirrelfish is eaten by: gives energy to: is eaten by: gives energy to: is eaten by: gives energy to:

Food chains are made up of Producers and Consumers Producer: An organism that can make its own food –Ex. A tree can make energy using the sun through photosynthesis Consumer: An organism that must eat others for food –We have to eat food to get energy, we cannot make energy from the sun

Can you name the Producer in our Hide & Seek game? The Phytoplankton! (plant plankton) Phytoplankton use sunlight to make their own food. Note: There are two types of plankton, phytoplankton (plant plankton) and zooplankton (animal plankton)

Can you name the Consumer(s) in our Hide & Seek game? They all need to eat (consume) other plants or animals to survive! The Zooplankton The Damselfish The Squirrelfish The Emperor

There are many types of consumers: Herbivores: Eat plants Carnivores: Eat meat Omnivores: Eat both meat and plants Decomposers: Consume waste and dead materials

What types are the Consumers in our game? Herbivores Zooplankton eat phytoplankton Carnivores Squirrelfish Emperors Omnivores Damselfish eat phytoplankton and zooplankton Decomposers Bacteria this one is extra bacteria recycle dead plants and animals into nutrients phytoplankton can use

Have you noticed: All organisms need energy to live! Life is a complicated race to find food.

Events that effect one organism effect all other organisms connected to them in a food chain Let’s look at how this works in our game…

What would happen to our food chain if there were more yellowtail dascyllus? (Will the squirrelfish and emperor arrows point up or down?) The number of squirrelfish could go up because there is more food (damselfish). –Then the number of emperors could go up because there are more squirrelfish to eat.

What would happen if there were more smallmouth squirrelfish? The number of emperors could go up because there is more food. But the number of damselfish could go down because there are more predators.

What would happen if there were less longnose emperors? The number of squirrelfish could go up because there are less predators. »But what else?! Then the number of damselfish could do down because there are more squirrelfish predators!

And last, what would happen if there was less coral? The number of damselfish could go down because there are less places to hide. –Then the number of squirrelfish could go down because there are less damselfish to eat. –Then the number of emperors could go down because there are less squirrelfish to eat.

Why might the population of coral decrease? Pollution can directly hurt coral and fish. Pollution can also hurt fish by taking away their coral habitat or making them sick. Remember Pollution?

This lesson covers California State Science Content Standards: 4 th Grade Life Science 2a –plants are the primary source of matter and energy entering most food chains 2b –producers and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers) are related in food chains and food webs and may compete with each other for resources in an ecosystem 2c –Decomposers recycle matter from dead plants and animals

Credits This Lesson Was Developed By: Michele Kissinger Education and Outreach Coordinator Moorea Coral Reef LTER Funding By: