SNC1D
Feeding Relationships
Food Chain
 step-by-step sequence linking organisms that feed on each other
 begins with a producer and includes one or more consumers
 the arrow means “eaten by” and points towards the organism that does
the eating
 the arrow also shows the direction in which energy flows through the food
chain
Example:
SNC1D
Food Web – A diagram that shows the interlocking food chains in an ecosystem.
SNC1D
Food Web Definitions
Producer (Autotroph) : An organism that makes its own food by the process of
photosynthesis.
E.g.
Consumer (Heterotroph): An organism that eats other organisms in a food chain.
E.g.
Primary Consumer: An organism that eats only producers.
E.g.
Secondary Consumer: An organism that eats a primary consumer.
E.g.
Herbivore: An animal that feeds chiefly on plants. Herbivores are primary
consumers.
E.g.
Carnivore: An animal that feeds on another animal.
E.g.
Omnivore: An organism that feeds on both animals and plants.
E.g.
Scavenger: A carnivore that feeds on the remains of dead animals.
E.g.
Decomposer or Detritivore: An organism, often a bacterium or fungus, that feeds
on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter. They get nutrients for their own
use, but they also release nutrients back into soil and water (recyclers!)
Note: detritus is waste from plants and animals, including their dead remains