Our Interdependent Ecosystem A LOOK AT THE FOOD WEB

WHAT is an ECOSYSTEM? The plants and animals that are found in a particular location are referred to as an ecosystem. These plants and animals depend on each other to survive. In a delicate balance, these life forms help to sustain one another in regular patterns. Disruptions to an ecosystem can be disastrous to all organisms within the ecosystem.

How plants and animals depend on each other to survive A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. Some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals. For example, a simple food chain links the trees & shrubs, the giraffes (that eat trees & shrubs), and the lions (that eat the giraffes). Each link in this chain is food for the next link. A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal.

Organisms in a food chain The organisms in a food chain can be either producers, consumers, or decomposers. Producers are green plants capable of making their own food using energy from the sun in a process called photosynthesis. Consumers are animals that cannot make their own food. They get their energy from other plants and animals. A food chain can have as many as three to four consumers. Decomposers are also unable to make their own food. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers. They break down waste products and dead organisms for food. These broken down materials are returned to the soil to be recycled and used by plants again.

the food web Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food in order to meet their food and energy requirements. These interconnected food chains form a food web.

Food chains Vs. Food webs FOOD CHAINS FOLLOW A SINGLE PATH AS ANIMALS EAT EACH OTHER. EXAMPLE: THE SUN provides food for GRASS The GRASS is eaten by a GRASSHOPPER The GRASSHOPPER is eaten by a FROG The FROG is eaten by a SNAKE The SNAKE is eaten by a HAWK. FOOD WEBS SHOW HOW PLANTS & ANIMALS ARE INTERCONNECTED BY DIFFERENT PATHS. EXAMPLE: TREES produce ACORNS which act as food for many MICE and INSECTS. Because there are many MICE, WEASELS and SNAKES have food. The insects and the acorns also attract BIRDS, SKUNKS, and OPOSSUMS. With the SKUNKS, OPPOSUMS, WEASELS and MICE around, HAWKS, FOXES, and OWLS can find food. They are all connected! Like a spiders web, if one part is removed, it can affect the whole web. FOOD CHAINS follow just one path of energy as animals find food. FOOD WEBS show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to help them all survive.