The
Food
Chain
What is a Food Chain?
• The food chain is the transfer of energy from
one species to another.
• All living things need energy to grow.
What do food chains always start
with?
Plants?
Water?
The Sun?
Worms?
If you said the Sun, you got it right!
A food chain is all about energy.
Where do you get your energy from each day?
You get your energy from your breakfast! (and later from your
lunch and dinner)
What did you eat for breakfast today?
Let's see if we can make a food chain for some of those things.
Bacon: Sun . vegetables . pig . human
Egg: Sun . grain . chicken . human
Toast: Sun . grain . human
Cereal: Sun . grain . human
Milk: Sun . grass . cow . human
All animals and plants need energy to live.
Where does this energy come from?
-Animals get their energy by eating
plants or other animals.
-Plants get their energy from the sun.
For example: energy from the sun is passed to
the grass; that energy is passed to the rabbit
who eats the grass; and it is then passed to
the fox, who eats the rabbit.
OR…
The fox eats the rabbit, who eats the grass,
which grows because of the sun.
Can you think of another example?
Producers
• Organisms that use the sun for producing food
are called PRODUCERS.
Algae, grass, trees, and vegetables are all
producers.
Consumers
• Organisms that get energy by eating other
organisms are called CONSUMERS.
Consumers must eat producers or other
consumers for their energy.
This transfer of energy creates a food chain.
There are FOUR different kinds of consumers in
an ecosystem.
Can you name them?
Herbivores
• Animals that eat ONLY PLANTS are called
herbivores ( or primary consumers)
Can you name any?
Carnivores
• Animals that eat OTHER ANIMALS (MEAT) are called carnivores.
• Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.
• Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.
Can you name any?
Omnivores
• Animals who eat BOTH plants and animals are
called omnivores.
• Can you name any?
Decomposers
• Decomposers feed on decaying matter.
Examples include fungi and bacteria.
Predator – Prey
• What is a Predator?
A predator is an organism that eats another
organism.
• What is Prey?
Prey is the organism which the predator eats.
Examples
• Lion and Zebra
• Bear and Fish
• Fox and Rabbit
• Can you think of any others?