A Food Chain is a model that shows the complex feeding relationships among organisms in a community. In a food chain there are different types of organisms; Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers. Producers giver energy for plants and grasses for photosynthesis. The Consumers eat the producers because of they are not able to use photosynthesis. When the Producers die, Decomposers are there to help break down the nutrients from the body, those nutrients are a huge help to the plants and grasses. Thus starting over of the food chain.
An example of a Food Chain:
This shows that the sun makes food and energy for plants, which the cricket eats, which the frogs eat, which snakes eat; and when the snake dies, the decomposer ( the mushroom) takes the nurtients from the snakes carcass.
Food Web
A system of interlocking and independent food chains. Basically a food web is a bunch of food chains put together.
As you can see in this example, the Foxes, Hawks, Owls, an Snakes are the main predators. Next come the Insectivores Birds, and the Toads. After them is some of the insects, Spiders, Predaceous insects, and herbivorous insects. In this example some of the other animals such as the rabbits, seed eating birds, mice, and the squirrels are shown at the bottom, they usually eat plants and small insects.
Animals in this food web example:
Carnivores:
- Hawks and Owls
- Snakes
- Insectivorous Birds
- Predaceous insects
- Herbivorous Insects
- Rabbits
- Seed eating birds
- Foxes
- Toads
- Squirrels
- Mice
- Spiders
Animal Page
Ecology