Lesson 5:
Food chains
Become an ocean explorer (ages 7-11)
Key terms
carnivore
producer
consumer
food web
predator
herbivore
food chain
prey
Getting energy from the sun…
What kind of living thing gets
its energy from the sun?
What is the process of getting
food from the sun called?
Some of the
photosynthesis in the
ocean is performed by
plants, such as this
sea grass.
Getting energy from the sun on
50% of
the
reef…
photosynthesis
takes place in the
ocean and it’s not
just plants!!!
Plankton (algae)
Zooxanthellae
(algae)
Sea grass (plant)
Blue green algae
(bacteria)
Seaweed (algae)
Making a food chain
?
?
?
Making a food chain
Making a food chain
Parrotfish
The parrotfish
eats coral and
some types of
algae. It is eaten
by large
predators like
the tiger shark.
Tiger shark
The tiger shark
is an apex
predator
meaning that it
is at the top of
the food chain. It
feeds on fish
such as the
Sea grass
Sea grass
receives its
energy from the
sun. It is the
favourite food of
the green turtle.
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton is
the scientific
name for the tiny
algae in the
ocean. It
provides food for
small animals
such as
Triton’s trumpet
Manta ray
The manta ray is
a filter feeder,
sieving tiny
algae and
animals from the
sea water. It is
sometimes
eaten by larger
sharks.
One of the most
poisonous
animals on the
reef, the triton’s
trumpet feeds on
starfish and sea
urchins.
Crown of thorns
starfish is a
starfish This
specialist
corallivore. It
has few natural
predators except
for the triton’s
trumpet
Copepod
The copepod is
a small marine
animal related to
crabs and
lobsters. It eats
phytoplankton
and is eaten by
a range of
Green turtle
The green turtle
eats sea grass.
It can be eaten
by large
predators such
as the tiger
shark.
Coral
Coral gets its
energy from
small animals
such as
copepods as
well as the algae
inside its polyps.
It is eaten by
parrotfish and
the crown of
thorns starfish.
The mobile…
What happens if you cut the
string?
If all the algae died, what would happen to the
rest of the food web?
Think about the importance of the different
living things.
What do you think is the most important living
thing on the coral reef?
Has your idea about this changed?
Photo credits
Slide
Photo
Credit
4, 12
Sea grass meadow
NOAA
5
Blue green algae
leecanl
5
Zooxanthellae
Emma Kennedy / University of Exeter
5, 9
Sea grass
NOAA
5, 8, 9, 12Plankton
NOAA
5
Digital Explorer
Seaweed
8, 10, 12 Copepod
10, 12
Triton’s trumpet
NOAA
NOAA
All other images and photos Catlin Seaview Survey