What is a food chain?

What is a food chain?

A food chain is a way of thinking about how plants and animals in an ecosystem are connected.

Food chains trace the flow of energy through an ecosystem

All energy comes from the Sun

In almost every food chain on Earth, the energy comes from the Sun

Producers

Green plants are producers. They use sunlight to make their own food.

Consumers

Consumers do not make their own food. They depend on other organisms to live.

Primary consumers

Some animals are primary consumers. They eat plants or parts of plants to survive.

A butterfly drinks nectar from flowers.

Primary consumers

Some animals are primary consumers. They eat plants to survive.

A sheep eats grass.

Can you think of any other primary consumers?

Primary consumers

Primary consumers that eat only plants are called herbivores.

Secondary consumers

Secondary consumers eat other animals.

They are predators!

Predators

Predators are animals that eat other animals. The other animals are their prey.

What predators and prey do you know?

Tertiary consumers

Tertiary consumers are predators that eat other predators

Animals that only eat meat are called carnivores

A pond food chain

The Sun

Duckweed

Mayfly nymph

Frog

Owl

Which is the producer? The consumers?

Think about it!

A frog eats insects. Is it a producer, or a consumer?

A frog is a consumer. It does not make its own food.

Think about it!

Lily pads make their own food. Are they producers, or consumers?

Lily pads are producers. They make their own food.

Think about it!

Which would you expect to find more of in an ecosystem—producers, or consumers?

You would find more producers, or green plants. All ecosystems must have more producers than consumers.

You are a part of the food chain!

Can you think of how you are a part of the food chain?

The Sun

Tomatoes

You!

Are people producers, or consumers?

What have you learned?

What have you learned about food chains?

By Emily Kissner