Herbivore  An organism that only eats plants (cow, caterpillar)  Are human vegetarians herbivores? Why or why not?

Carnivore  An organism that eats only meat (lion, eagle)  What are some other examples of carnivores?

Omnivore  An organisms that eats both plants and animals (chimpanzees, turtles)

Detrivore  An organism that eats dead plant and animal remains (snails, earthworms)  Can you think of any other examples?

Now, you are going to make your very own FOOD WEB!  List all the PLANTS in the bottom section.  Write all the names of the HERBIVORES in the next section, above the plants.  Write all the names of the OMNIVORES in the next section, above the herbivores  Write all the names of the CARNIVORES in the next section, above the omnivores  Leave the last section blank

It will look something like this:

Now, EXPAND your web!  After you have all the names of plants and animals organized, draw arrow from the organisms that provide energy to the organisms that receive energy  *they should show the DIRECTION OF ENERGY, not who was eaten*  Think of other organisms that might compete with you for your food. List them on a separate piece of paper. Then, add them to the appropriate level of your food web. Add correct arrows to and from these new organisms, in the direction of energy flow

Other Food Webs:

What do all the organisms in the bottom section of your food web have in common?  What kind of organisms are they?  What do they eat?  Where do they get their energy?

Autotrophs  Auto = Self-made  example: Automatic, Automobile  Troph = Eater / Food  Example: trophy (prizes in competitions used to be food!)  So, AUTOTROPHS make their own food  Plants make their own food by converting sunlight, CO2, and Water into Glucose.  Plants get ALL their energy from the sun, but all the plants on Earth use only about 1% of the sunlight that hits the planet

Producers  AUTOTROPHS are the same thing as PRODUCERS  Plants all also called PRODUCERS because they produce their own energy / food  They use photosynthesis to create food (Glucose) from Sunlight, CO2, and Water.  What would happen if there were no producers?

What do all the organisms in the second section of your food web have in common?  What do they eat?  Where do they get their energy?  Are they carnivores, herbivores or omnivores?

Heterotrophs  Hetero = differentTroph = food  HETEROTROPH is an animal that can’t make it’s own food and must eat another organism to survive  Heterotrophs are ALL organisms that eat other organisms  They are herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and detrivores. ALL of these animals cannot make their own food, and must eat someone else FOR food!

Consumers  CONSUMERS are the same thing as HETEROTROPHS  They consume energy (food) rather than produce it  Consumers are divided into groups:  PRIMARY CONSUMERS eat autotrophs (eat plants)  SECONDARY CONSUMERS eat primary consumers that eat producers (eat animals that eat plants)  TERTIARY (3 rd ) CONSUMERS eat heterotrophs that eat heterotrophs that eat autotrophs (animals that eat animals that eat plants)

Consumers  Are PRIMARY CONSUMERS herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores?  They are HERBIVORES  Looking at your food web, can you name a primary consumer?  Are SECONDARY CONSUMERS herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores?  They can be either CARNIVORES or OMNIVORES  Looking at your food web, can you name a secondary consumer?  How about TERTIARY CONSUMERS?  They can be either CARNIVORES or OMNIVORES  Do you have any tertiary consumers on your food web?

Decomposers  DECOMPOSERS are heterotrophs that eat dead things and in the process return nutrients to the soil.  DECOMPOSERS are always DETRIVORES  Detrivore specifies that they eat dead things  Decomposer specifies that they break down dead things and return nutrients to the soil  What are some examples of DECOMPOSERS?

DECOMPOSERS  Bacteria  Fungi  Flies  Maggots  Hyenas  Dung Beetles  Worms  Mold