Food Chains and Food Webs

What is a food chain?• A food chain shows the path or flow of

energy from organism to organism• The amount of available energy for each level

decreases so most food chains are fairly short.

Arrows

• The arrows in a food chain show the direction that the energy flows.

• When you see the arrows – think “the energy from ___________ goes to the __________.”

• OR “the __________ is eaten by the ________.”

The mouse

is eaten by

the hawk.

Follow the arrows …

Sometimes the Sun is not shown in a food chain.

Important facts about food chains

• The original source of energy for all food chains is the Sun.

• Plants are called producers because they create their own food through photosynthesis using energy from the Sun.

• Animals are consumers because they cannot create their own food, they must eat plants or other animals to get the energy that they need.

Producers

• Producers are plants that use sunlight for energy.

• They form the basis for food webs and chains.

Types of consumer

• Herbivores: animals that eat only plants

• Carnivores: animals that eat only other animals.

• Omnivores: animals that eat animals and plants.

Producer Primary Secondary Top level

consumer consumer consumer

Primary Consumers are Herbivores

Did you know these are carnivores?

Top Level Consumers

Omnivores• Raccoons and bears eat seeds, fruits, insects,

worms, fish, and frogs… and pretty much anything else they can get their paws on!

Decomposers

What is a food web?A food web is a network of many food chains that are interconnected and show the feeding connections found in an ecosystem.

What happens if you remove one organism in a FOOD WEB?

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