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?
• Almost all Food Chains start with
• What do
the sun
food chains start
with?
• After the sun is an organism that
• What type of
can do photosynthesis. Like plants
organism is after
and
phytoplankton.
the sun?
• Describe
photosynthesis.
• 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
• THE ARROWS SHOW THE
DIRECTION THAT THE ENERGY
MOVES.
• 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.
• 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
• 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 food chains with energy roles labeled:
Sun →milkweed → aphid →ladybug →bird → mushroom
producer
1st consumer
herbivore
2nd consumer 3rd consumer
Carnivore
Omnivore
Sun → grass → zebra → lion → vulture
producer
1st consumer 2nd con.
herbivore
carnivore
3rd consumer
scavenger
Decomposer
• 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.
• In nature animals eat
more than just one
type of food
• 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 is lost as heat
at each level