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Think, Speak, Write Scratch Presentation: The Food Chain. Charles Ener Hunter Meredith Matthew Moerbe Nicholas Crabtree Tony Nguyen. What is a Food Chain?. A food chain is a term used to show how energy and nutrients flow through nature.
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Think, Speak, Write Scratch Presentation:The Food Chain Charles Ener Hunter Meredith Matthew Moerbe Nicholas Crabtree Tony Nguyen
What is a Food Chain? • A food chain is a term used to show how energy and nutrients flow through nature. • The energy and nutrients pass from an organism when it is eaten or otherwise taken by another organism.
Kinds of Food Chains • Every different environment holds its own series of different food chains, many of which will overlap with each other at some point. • A rainforest for example, will have a large number of food chains, each involving many different animals. • The food chains in the Arctic Circle, on the other hand, will be shorter, and less in number. And of course, they will involve different animals.
Producers • The Producers make up the first part of any food chain. • Producers are generally plants. • To some extent, everything in the food chain gets energy from a Producer.
Producers • Producers create their own energy through the process of photosynthesis, using only soil and sunlight. • Producers will be eaten at some point by herbivores or omnivores. • These animals –known as Consumers- will then gain a portion of their energy.
Consumers • There are two kinds of Consumers: • Primary Consumers • Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers • These are the first of the Consumers. • Primary Consumers are either herbivores or omnivores. • As animals, they are incapable of producing their own energy in the way that plants do. • So, they eat plants.
Primary Consumers • Part of the energy that is absorbed from the plants travels on to fuel the activities of the animal that ate them. • The rest is lost. • The Primary Consumers must keep eating plants to gain energy.
Example • A mouse (Consumer) will eat grass (Producer) in order to keep up its energy.
Secondary Consumers • These animals may not necessarily be present in a given food chain. • These animals are either omnivores or carnivores. • They gain their energy by feeding off of the Primary Consumers.
Secondary Consumers • Secondary Consumers will hunt consumers, or scavenge ones that have recently died for sustenance. • The amount of energy they receive from their prey is slightly less than what the prey had gotten from the plants it had eaten. • There may be still more Consumers in a food chain, which will feed off of the Secondary Consumers
Example • A snake (Secondary Consumer) will eat a mouse (Primary Consumer) for energy.
Example • But sometimes even Secondary Consumers can become prey. • This is the case with this snake becoming food for this predatory bird.
Decomposers • The Decomposers are the last official step in the food chain. • Decomposers can not typically be seen by the naked eye. • They consist of tiny, microscopic bacteria and fungi.
Decomposers • Decomposers have a disgusting, but incredibly vital role in the food chain. • When a Consumer dies, the bacteria eat away at the remains of its body. • The remains are disposed of, and the bacteria move on. • But, the nutrients they eat are released back into the soil.
Decomposers • This allows the Producers (plants) to take the nutrients in through their roots. • With this, the entire food chain starts over again from the first step. • This means that the nutrients and potential for energy always remain in the environment for organisms to partake in.
In Conclusion… • Food chains are an essential part of our ecosystem. • They ensure that energy and nutrients are properly distributed throughout the environment. • Things remain organized so that nothing goes hungry.
Pop Quiz! • 1) What is a food chain? • 2) What is a Producer’s role in the food chain? • 3) What kind of organism is a Producer? • 4) How many varieties of Consumers are there? • 5) What is a Consumer’s role in the food chain?
Pop Quiz! (cont.) • 6) What is the diet of a Primary Consumer? • 7) What is the diet of a Secondary Consumer? • 8) What is a Decomposer’s role in the food chain? • 9) Generally, what kind of organism is a Decomposer? • 10) What is the overall purpose of a food chain?