Food Chains
• Food Chain
• A series of events in which one
organism eats another and obtains
energy.
• What do food • Food chains show the transfer of
chains show? energy in an ecosystem
• What do the
• The arrows represent the transfer
arrows
of energy.
represent?
• What do
food chains start
with?
• What type of
organism is
after the sun?
• Describe
photosynthesis.
• All Food Chains start with the
sun
• After the sun is an organism
that can do photosynthesis.
Like plants and phytoplankton.
• Sunlight + Carbon Dioxide +
Water = Energy This
process is called
Photosynthesis
• Sample food • Sun →milkweed → aphid →ladybug
chains:
→bird → mushroom
• Sun → grass → zebra → lion →
vulture
• Sun → seeds → grasshopper→ mouse
→ hawk
Video Clip
• Producers
Flowers
Phytoplankton
• An organism that can make
its own food . They use
carbon dioxide, water and
sunlight to make energy,
through a process called
photosynthesis. Producers are
the source of all food in an
ecosystem. Without
producers there is no food
chain.
Tree
• Decomposers
• Organisms that
break down wastes
and dead organisms
and return the raw
materials to the
environment.
• Two major groups
of decomposers are:
– Bacteria
– Fungi.
Decomposer Video Clip
• Consumers
• An organism that obtains
energy by feeding on
other organisms.
• Ex: Deer, Humans,
Snakes, Bat, Cat,
Hippopotamus, Cricket,
Rabbit
• 3 types of Consumers
• Herbivores, Omnivores
and Carnivores
• Food Chain Game
• Sample food • Sun →milkweed → aphid →ladybug
chains with
producer 1 consumer 2 consumer
energy roles
→bird → mushroom
labeled:
3 consumer Decomposer
• Sun → grass → zebra → lion → vulture
produce 1 consumer 2 consumer 3 con
• Sun → seeds → grasshopper→ mouse →
producer 1 consumer
hawk
3 consumer
Video Clip 2 /Prod/Cons Video
2 consumer
• 3 types of
consumers
• Carnivores
• Herbivores, Carnivores,
and Omnivores
• Consumers that eat ONLY
other consumers.
( Meat -Eaters)
• Ex: T-rex, Tigers, Lions,
Ladybugs, Spiders.
• Herbivores
• Herbivores are
consumers that eat only
producers. (plant
eaters)
• Ex: Butterflies, deer,
elephants, giraffes,
mice.
• Omnivores
• Consumers that eat
BOTH consumers and
producers. (both meat
eaters and plant eaters)
• Ex. Humans, Bearded
Dragons, Turtles, Bears.
• Sample • Sun →milkweed → aphid →ladybug
food
producer 1 consumer 2 consumer
chains
herbivore
Carnivore
with
→bird → mushroom
energy
3 consumer Decomposer
roles
Omnivore
labeled:
• Sun → grass → zebra → lion → vulture
produce 1 consumer 2 con 3 con
herbivore carnivore carnivore
• Food Webs
• A Food Webs consists
of many overlapping
food chains in an
ecosystem.
• It better represents the
transfer of energy than
a food chain.
• Energy Pyramid
• An Energy Pyramid
shows the amount of
energy that moves
from one feeding level
to another in a food
web. The most energy
is at the producer
level. At each level
there is less available
energy.
• Energy Pyramid Video
Clip