The Food Chain

1. The Food Chain How do animals depend on each other?

2. Organisms are categorized into three groups based on their relationships with other organisms. • Predator • Prey • Decomposers Click on the pictures to learn about each category.

3. Predator • These creature hunt other animals for food. • They have adaptations to help catch food. • They help keep populations of other animals lower. Predator

4. Prey • Prey are hunted by other animals. • These animals provide food for others. • These animals usually have adaptations to help them escape predators. Prey

5. Decomposer • These organisms consume dead and rotting material. • Decomposers play an important role in recycling decaying material. • These organisms have special adaptations to break down rotting materials.

6. Predator, Prey or Decomposer Predict which role fits the following descriptions. 1. A mushroom ? 2. A Lion ? 3. A Rabbit ? 4. Has adaptations that help it escape. ? 5. Has adaptations for breaking down food. ? 6. Has adaptations to help it catch animals. ?

7. Food Chain Animals need energy to survive. Animals receive energy by consuming other animals. A food chain shows the path of energy and is used to describe the interactions between different animals. All energy in the food chain comes from the sun. Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Primary Consumer Producer

8. The Roles of Living Things Living things have different roles that play an important part in Keeping a balance in nature. Click on the picture to learn about each role. Sea Grass Producer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Small Fish Sea Lion Great White Shark

9. Producer • Producers are plants. • Plants are called producers because they produce their own food and food for other animals. • Plants get their energy from water air and the sun.

10. Primary Consumer • Primary consumers are animals that eat producers. • Primary consumers mainly get their energy from plants.

11. Secondary Consumer • Secondary consumers are animals that eat other animals. Secondary consumers mainly receive their energy from primary consumers.

12. Tertiary Consumer • Tertiary consumers are animals that eat both primary and secondary consumers these animals are usually the top animal in the food chain.

13. Create a Food Chain • Draw an accurate food chain using the animals below.

14. Create a Food Chain Producer

15. Create a Food Chain Primary Consumer Producer

16. Create a Food Chain Primary Consumer Producer Secondary Consumer

17. Create a Food Chain • Energy travels from the sun into the Cactus. The Kangaroo rat receives energy from the Cactus fruit. The Rattle Snake Eats the Kangaroo Rat. Finally the hawk receives energy from the snake. The energy from the plant eventually reaches the tertiary consumer. • Who would be affected if all the cactus were destroyed? Tertiary Consumer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Producer

18. Parasite/Host • Parasites are organisms that live on or inside another organism and feed off their energy. • A Host is an organism occupied by a parasite. The Lamprey is a parasite that hooks on to fish and drinks their blood.

19. Important Questions to study. • Can you describe the characteristics of the following roles of living things- • Producers • Primary Consumers • Secondary Consumers • Tertiary Consumers Are you able to describe what scientists use a food chain to describe? • Can you identify the source of all energy in the food chain.

20. Food Webs Food Chains are connected to each other.

21. Food Chains are very simple and do not tell the whole story of what happens in nature. This food chain is simple and easy to read, but are polar bears the only animals that eat the seals?

22. Food Web The food web combines multiple food chains to show how different animals interact with each other.

23. Food webs show where the energy travels between many different organisms. Use the food web to answer these questions. Which organisms receive energy that begins in the tree? Which organisms receive energy from the ant?

24. Food webs show how organisms are affected by each other. How do the fox and owl compete against each other? How would the food web be affected if all of the grass was removed?

25. Food webs help scientists determine what would happen to animals in an ecosystem if another animal was removed. What would happen to the food web if all the snakes were removed from the area?

26. Energy Pyramid Secondary/Tertiary Consumer Primary Consumer Producer In a food web energy is captured by the producers and eventually travels to the top carnivores. As energy is transferred from animal to animal some is lost. This happens because animals use that energy in their daily Activities, like hunting, cleaning, pooping. An energy pyramid shows the amount of energy available at each level of the food chain.

27. Which organisms have the most amount of energy in the food pyramid above? Which organisms have the least?

28. Animals fall into three categories based on what they eat. • Herbivore • Carnivore • Omnivore Click on the pictures to learn about each category.

29. Herbivore • These are animals that only eat plants. • They have smooth teeth to help chew plants. • These animals are often prey animals.

30. Carnivore • These animals only eat meat. • They have sharp teeth for cutting meat. • They are often the predator.

31. Omnivore • These animals eat both plants and animals. • They have both sharp and smooth teeth for chewing a variety of food. • Are sometimes the predator and other times the prey.

32. Carnivore, Herbivore, Omnivore • Predict which role fits the following descriptions. • A Jaguar only eats meat • A Chimpanzee eats plants and meat • A Wallaby only eats grass. • Smooth teeth • Sharp and Smooth teeth • Sharp teeth