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Web of Wildlife Food and Food Chains • All living things need food to survive. – Organisms obtain their food in different ways. − Some animals eat plants, some eat other animals. • The feeding relationships between animals and plants in a habitat can be described with a food chain. • Can you think what these words mean? PREDATOR Lion PREY Thomson’s gazelle • Can you think what these words mean? CARNIVORE Cheetah HERBIVORE Koala • What about this word? OMNIVORE What is a food chain? • Food chains show what eats what in a particular habitat. • All food chains start with a PRODUCER. Grass Rabbit Fox What is a food chain? PRODUCER: An organism, usually a green plant, that uses photosynthesis to turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into sugars (energy). AUTOTROPH Grass CONSUMER: an animal in a food chain that eats (consumes) a plant or another animal. HETEROTROPH Grass Rabbit Fox Decomposers • Can be fungi or bacteria •Eat dead organisms •They prevent too much decay and enrich the soil with nutrients, saprophyte • Break up bodies of dead organisms into smaller pieces • Help decomposers manage dead organisms, faster decomposition • Do not return nutrients to soil Scavengers What is a food chain? • The links between animals and plants in a habitat can be demonstrated by drawing a food chain. • Food chains show how energy found in food moves through a community. Grass What do you think the arrow means between the pictures? Rabbit Fox The arrow in a food chain means ‘is eaten by’ and ‘provides energy to’. Why do all organisms need energy? Growth Repair damaged parts Replace cells at end of life cycle Grass Rabbit PRIMARY CONSUMER Fox SECONDARY CONSUMER TERTIARY CONSUMER Coyote 10 C = PRIMARY CONSUMER: An animal at the second level in a food chain which feeds on the producer. Primary consumers are usually herbivores, feeding on plants and fungi. 20 C = SECONDARY CONSUMER: An animal at the third level in a food chain. Secondary consumers can be carnivores or omnivores. 30 C = TERTIARY CONSUMER: An animal at the fourth level of a food chain. This is usually the top level, and tertiary consumers are usually carnivores and prey on other animals. A simple British woodland food chain Food chains show how energy found in food moves through a community. CONSUMER 20 C CARNIVORE PREDATOR CONSUMER 10 C HERBIVORE PRODUCER PREY Sparrowhawk A Food Web is a series of food chains that represent energy flow through an ecosystem. Fox Lizard Hawfinch Rabbit Grasshopper Grass Sparrowhawk A British woodland ‘food web’ Fox Lizard Hawfinch Rabbit Grasshopper Grass Energy in an Ecosystem http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/27995-assignment-discovery-energy-flow-video.htm Food Chains - YouTube Energy Pyramid - Energy Flow in Ecosystem -Video for Kids by makemegenius.com - YouTube Changes to food chains • INTERDEPENDENCE • Animals and plants depend on each other for survival. Common toad eating young grass snake Grass snake eating common toad • If something changes at one level in a food chain, it can affect all other levels in the food chain too. If a pesticide killed all the grasshoppers…. Sparrowhawk Hawfinch Grasshopper Grass …what would happen to everything else in the food chain? Questions to think about… • What happens if the producer in a food chain dies? • What happens if one of the consumers in a food chain dies? – How does this affect the other species that prey on it? – How does this affect the other species that it preys on? Activity • Split into groups • You will be assigned a habitat – Arctic tundra, the Antarctic, British coastal waters, British woodland or African savanna. • Using the worksheet, describe your habitat, what the weather is like and the animals and plants you think might be found there. • You will then be given species information cards for your habitat, along with photographs of some of the species that are found there. • Using the information on the cards and the arrows provided, make the food chain for your habitat. • Rotate around the room - you will have the chance to build food chains for each different habitat. HERBIVORE: an animal which only eats plants. Koala Rabbit CARNIVORE: an animal which eats meat (other animals). Cheetah Fox OMNIVORE: an animal that feeds on both plants and other animals. Producer PRODUCERS Plants are called producers because they make (produce) their own food. Consumer CONSUMERS Animals are called consumers because they eat (consume) other plants and animals. • Can you think of any animals that eat plants? • Can you think of any animals that eat other animals? • How do plants get their food?
