Food Chain

Food chain  Process that allows energy to move throughout organisms  Less and less energy each chain  4 parts to a food chain  Sun  Producer  Consumer  Decomposer

Sun  Provides energy to producers  Photosynthesis

Producer  Make their own food for energy  Produce food (sugar) from carbon dioxide and water.  Plants and microorganisms  Examples- plants, plankton, algae

Consumer  Cannot produce their own food  Eat other organisms to get energy and stay alive

Types of Consumers  Herbivore-primary consumer  Eats only plants  Carnivore -  Secondary consumer-eats herbivores  Tertiary consumer-eats other carnivores  Omnivore  Eats plants and animals

Decomposer  Type of consumer  Eat waste and dead organisms  Provides nutrients to producers

Review  Sun-provides energy  Producer-produces food for energy  Consumer-eats organisms for energy  Herbivore-primary consumer  Carnivore-secondary consumer, eats herbivores  Carnivore-tertiary consumer, eats other carnivores  Decomposer-provides nutrients

How will population change affect a food chain? The animals and plants depend on each of the other members of their food chain. For example, when there are too many giraffes; there won’t be enough trees and shrubs for all of them to eat. Many giraffes will starve and die. Fewer giraffes means more time for the trees and shrubs to grow and multiply. Fewer giraffes also means less food is available for the lions to eat and some lions will starve to death. When there are fewer lions, the giraffe population will increase.