Food ChainsFood ChainsFood WebsFood Webs

Food ChainsFood ChainsA food chain shows what is eaten by what…

The arrows show which way the energy is going in the

chain

Food webs contain many interlinking food chains…

Food websFood webs

1) The flat winkles would not get eaten, so their population would…?

2) The herring gulls would have less food, so their population would probably…?

What would happen if an animal or organism was “taken out”?

e.g take out the crab:

increase

decrease

Top carnivore

Secondary consumer

Primary consumer

Producer

Important facts about food chains• Plants are called producers because they

create their own food through photosynthesis3

• Examples of primary producers include algae, phytoplankton, and large plants.

• Primary producers are eaten by primary consumers (herbivores)

Consumers• Animals are consumers because they cannot

create their own food, they must eat plants or other animals to get the energy that they need

Four types of consumer• Herbivores: organisms that eat only plants3

• Carnivores: organisms that eat only other animals3.

• Omnivores: organisms that eat animals and plants3.

• Detritivores: organisms that eat dead materials and organic wastes

Other Ways to Classify Consumers

1. Primary Consumers: Herbivores3.

2. Secondary Consumers: Carnivores that eat herbivores3.

3. Tertiary Consumers: Carnivores that eat other carnivores3.

4. Top Carnivore: not eaten by anyone

Primary Consumers (Herbivores)

Muskrat (eats mostly Cattails)

http://www.advancedwildlifecontrolllc.com/images/muskrat.jpg

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/graphics/muskrat1.jpg

Primary Consumers in Marshes

• Wood Duck eats seeds like those of the Swamp Marsh Mallow and Blue Flag Iris

http://dsf.chesco.org/ccparks/lib/ccparks/wood_duck_pair.jpg

Primary Consumers in Marshes

• Glassy-winged Toothpick Grasshopper – eats leaves of plants like cattail and pickerelweed

http://bugguide.net/node/view/41662

Secondary Consumers

• Black Rat Snake eats eggs of animals like wood duck

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/tate/Terms.htm

Secondary Consumers

• Swamp Sparrow eats seeds but also insects like the toothpick grasshopper

http://www.jeaniron.ca/2007/SwampSparrow6645.jpg

Tertiary Consumers

• Eat other animals in marsh including snake and sparrow

www.audubon.org www.montereybay.com

Osprey

Omnivore• Racoon eats seeds, fruits, insects, worms, fish,

and frogs… and pretty much anything else they can get their paws on!

http://abouttitusville.com/BobPaty/Animals/images/Racoon.jpg

Detritivore

• Worms are common detritivores in many ecosystems including marshes

Producer fgfg

HerbivoreConsumerPrimary consumerSecondary consumerTertiary consumerCarnivoreTop carnivoreOmnivoreDetritivore

Decomposer

Trophic Level

Usually plants. Anything that takes energy from the sun.Animals that only eat plantsAn animal that eats producersAn animal that eats primary consumers

An animal that eats secondary consumers

An animal that eats secondary consumers

Eats only animalsNot eaten by anything elseEats both animals and plantsFeed on bodies of smaller dead animals, plants and dungFeed on all remaining dead plants and animals. (Ex: bacteria, fungi)Feeding level

A “Pyramid of A “Pyramid of Numbers”Numbers”

A pyramid of numbers shows how many animals or organisms we are talking about.

For example, consider the following food chain:

A pyramid of numbers for this food chain would look

like this:

Lots of grass

One owl

Some voles

Another example:

Consider the food chain:

Grass Rabbit Fox Fleas

Lots of grass

One fox

Some rabbits

Lots of fleas