Food Web

By Austin Kessler

Food Chain:

A series of organisms, each dependent on the next as a source of food.

Food Web:

A system of interlocking and independent food chains.

The Flow of Energy

The flow of energy shows how energy is passed from organism to organism. As seen in the picture below, the energy starts at the smallest thing and gets passed to the biggest thing. Only 50% of the energy gets passed to the second organism. 40% goes to the third and so on. Only 10% gets to the top predator.

Producers

Producers are organisms like plants, that can make their own food. They use photosynthesis to make their own food. They have a green pigment in their leaves called chlorophyll that helps them perform photosynthesis. They take the energy from the sun, water and carbon dioxide and mix it up in their leaves and produce food and oxygen as waste product.

Consumers

Consumers are organisms that con not make their own food. They use a process called respiration to make energy. The formula is exactly the opposite of photosynthesis. They eat the food, breathe in oxygen and the waste products are water, (sweat) carbon dioxide and energy that we use.

Types of Consumers

Herbivore: Eats only plants

Carnivore: Eats only Meat

Omnivore: Eats meat and plants

Predators

Predators are omnivores or carnivores. They naturally prey on other animals. They are animals like wolves, foxes and owls.

Prey

Prey can be omnivores, carnivores or herbivores. They get eaten by the predatorsand are animals like mice, birds aandmany other small or large animals.

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