Food Chains

What kind of things do we see when we walk through the woods? We might see: Plants Small animals and insects Nonliving things such as rocks, water, and soil

Living things depend on the environment and each other for survival.

How do plants get energy to make food? They absorb energy from the sun.

How do animals get energy to stay alive? Animals get energy from eating plants and other animals.

How do organisms depend on one another for energy? Some animals get energy from eating other animals. Some animals get energy from eating plants.

What is a Food Chain Let’s first think of a metal chain. What does this look like? It has individual links that are connected together. The plant and animal links in a food chain occur in a specific order and are connected.

Food chain A food chain is a model that shows the path of energy and nutrients in an ecosystem.

What is a producer? First let’s think of the term producer. What does a person who is a producer do? They produce, or make, something. This term in a food chain refers to organisms that produce, or make, their own food.

What is a consumer? The word consume means “to take up”. A consumer in a food chain is an animal that cannot make its own food and relies on plants or other animals to eat.

What is a decomposer? Let’s look at the word decomposer by breaking it apart. The prefix “de” means “to do the opposite of”. The word “compose” means “to build”. The word decomposer means “to do the opposite of to build”. A decomposer in a food chain breaks down dead or decaying plant and animal material.

What general pattern do all food chains follow? Producer consumer decomposer

How to read a food chain The arrows in a food chain represent the energy flow from one organism to another. An arrow pointing to an organism shows the living thing that the organism eats. An arrow pointing away from an organism shows the animal that eats that organism. Energy flows in only one direction.

The energy in a food chain starts with the Sun The energy in a food chain starts with the Sun. It is the energy source for almost all organisms on Earth.

What is the fewest number of links a food chain could have? Fewest: two – producer and consumer Greatest: unlimited – There could be numerous consumers and decomposers in the chain.

Producers Sunlight provides the initial energy source for nearly all food chains. Producers, plants, use the Sun’s energy to make food. They use some of the food energy and store the rest. Producers are at the beginning of the food chain. Other organisms get energy by eating producers. They get the energy from what the producers have made and stored.

What are herbivores? Herbivores are animals that eat only plants. Examples: Squirrels Rabbits Deer Crickets Cows Koala bears

Herbivores Another term used to name herbivores is “primary consumers”. They are the first consumers in a food chain. Herbivores are found in any environment where plants grow. Pretty much anywhere on Earth. They can live in deserts, forests, at the North Pole, even in the water.

Herbivores They are all different sizes. From very large to very small.

Herbivore adaptations Herbivores have special teeth that help them eat producers (plants). Some have flat-edged teeth to cut plant material. The back teeth can be flattened to help grind plants. Cows have special microorganisms living in their digestive tracts that help the animal digest plants.

Predators and Prey A herbivore can be food for other animals. A predator is an organism that hunts and kills other organisms for food. A prey is an organism that is eaten by a predator. Predators have an important role in a food chain. They limit the size of the prey populations.

How is energy from the Sun used by predators? Although predators do not get energy from the Sun, they get the Sun’s energy indirectly when they consume other organisms that ate plants. They use this energy to carry out their life processes.

If all the producers are removed from an ecosystem, what would happen to the herbivores? The main food source for herbivores is producers, such as plants. If all the producers were removed from an ecosystem, it is most likely that the herbivores will die.

Carnivores Food chains can end with an herbivore. If a food chain continues after a herbivore, it is eaten by a carnivore. Carnivores are consumers. They are animals that eat only other animals. They are also known as “secondary consumers”. They can eat herbivores or other carnivores. When they eat other carnivores (secondary consumers), they are called tertiary consumers. These type of carnivores are generally at the top of the food chain.

Carnivore adaptations Some carnivores have sharp claws that help it catch prey. Examples are eagles and hawks. Some carnivores have sharp teeth. Examples are lions and tigers.

Omnivores An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals. An example is a raccoon. They eat a variety of foods. They will eat berries, fish, insects, and small mammals.

Examples of Omnivores Bears Woodpeckers Mice Chickens Crabs People

How are herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores similar and different? All are consumers and they cannot make their own food. Differences: Herbivores eat producers directly. Carnivores are animals that eat other animals. Omnivores eat both plants and other animals.

What eats a primary consumer in a food chain? Secondary consumers, carnivores

Can an omnivore and a carnivore be in the same food chain? Explain. Yes, an omnivore may be food for a carnivore. In this case, an omnivore and a carnivore are both part of the same food chain.

Decomposers What happens to all the leaves that fall of the trees in the Fall? Where do they go by the time spring comes? Decomposers do the cleanup. They break down dead leaves and fallen trees, which keeps the forest floor clean. They break down substances that are no longer living into nutrients.

Decomposers The decomposers return nutrients to the soil. Plants use the nutrients in the soil. Animals then eat the nutrients by eating producers. Plants and animals die and the nutrients is returned to the soil by the decomposers breaking down their bodies. The food chain starts over again.

What do fungi and earthworms have in common? They both break down dead organisms.

Scavengers Scavengers are animals that feed on the remains of dead animals that they did not hunt or kill. Scavengers help remove dead organisms from the ecosystem. Examples are: jackals, vultures, raccoons, and some crabs.

How is a vulture different from a hawk or an eagle? Vultures are scavenging birds that feed primarily on the carcasses of dead animals. Hawks and eagles are generally predators, not scavengers.

Why does a food chain start again after a decomposer does its job? Decomposers break down dead organisms, in doing so, return the nutrients stored into these organisms’ bodies into the environment. Plants can use these nutrients, and the cycle starts again.

How do decomposers help an ecosystem? Decomposers get rid of waste in an environment and add nutrients to soil.

Examples of food chains found in Mississippi: Pond Algae Float on water and collect sunlight to make food. Stoneflies Swarm near the water’s surface and eat algae. Sunfish Eat stoneflies. Heron Eat the sunfish. decomposers Breakdown the soil. the heron’s body after it dies and returns the nutrients to

Examples of food chains in Mississippi: Ocean algae Shrimp Bottlenose dolphin decomposers

Examples of food chains in Mississippi: Forest trees Mice (eat the seeds and fruit from trees) Barred owl decomposers