Relationships in Ecology: Food Chains and Webs

1. Relationships in Ecology:Food Chains and Webs 8SCIENCE

2. Different types of consumers • REVIEW: What is a consumer? • Consumer is any organism that eats other organisms for energy • Herbivore • Eats plants only • Carnivore • Eats other animals only • Omnivore • Eats plants and animals

3. Food Chains • How energy (food) passes from one organism to another • Usually have 3 – 4 links • Many food chains in any ecosystems

4. Food Chains • First link is a producer • Gets energy from the sun • Second link of a food chain is usually a herbivore • Eats producers • Third link of a food chain is usually a carnivore • Animal that eats other animals

5. Food Chains continued… • Fourth link is a top carnivore • Eats other carnivores • When an organism dies in an ecosystem, decomposers feed on the dead organism • Returns nutrients to the soil • Ex: bacteria and fungi

6. Food Webs • Includes many groups of food chains that overlap • Shows how energy moves through an ecosystem