food chain & food web

• Organisms need food in order to survive
• Some organisms make their own food, while others eat other organisms for food
• We can describe the relationships between organisms based on the food they eat
• The Sun is the main source of energy for all plants, which can trap light from the Sun directly
• All other organisms get energy from the Sun indirectly
• Plants trap light from the Sun to make food during photosynthesis
• Energy from the food made by plants may be used by the plants or stored in parts of the plants
• The rabbit is a plant-eater, it gets energy from the plants it eats
• The bear is a plant-and-animal eater, it gets energy from the plants and other animals it eats
• The falcon is an animal-eater, it gets energy from the other animals it eats
• Producers


  Plants that can make their own food using chlorophyll and sunlight
• Consumers


  Organisms that cannot make their own food and eat plants or other animals
• If there were no producers, there would be no food for consumers
• Predators


  Animals that hunt and kill other animals for food
• Prey


  Animals that are killed and eaten by predators
• Predators help to control the number of prey in a community
• Food chain


  A series of organisms where each consumes the one below it
• Food chains always begin with a producer
• Energy is transferred from one organism to another in food chains and food webs
• Food web


  Interconnected food chains in a community
• Organisms in a community depend on one another
• When the population of one organism increases or decreases


  The populations of other organisms in the community are affected
• Types of organisms


  • Plant-eater
  • Animal-eater
  • Plant-and-animal eater
  • Producer
  • Consumer
  • Predator
  • Prey