FOOD CHAIN The process of eating and being

FOOD CHAIN The process of eating and being eaten…

All living things need food! Humans Animals

…and PLANTS BUT WHERE DO PLANTS GET THEIR FOOD?

plants can make or produce their own food

HOW?

plants make their own food through a process known as. . . PHOTOSYNTHESIS

For PHOTOSYNTHESIS to occur some things are needed. . .

SUNLIGHT CARBON DIOXIDE WATER

The sun (light energy), water, minerals and carbon dioxide are all absorbed by the plant. The plant then uses them to make glucose/sugar, which is the energy/food for the plant. Oxygen is also produced by the plant in this cycle, which is then let off into the air Have you noticed how clean and pure the air feels when there are plants around? They are filling the air with oxygen.

Animals cannot make their own food. . . �. . . they have to eat plants . . . and other animals

So what is a food chain? A food chain shows how plants are eaten by animals and animals are eaten by other animals.

FOOD CHAIN shows how each living thing. . . gets food. . . how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature FOOD CHAINS begin with plant-life and end with animal-life.

Do you know the PARTS of a FOOD CHAIN?

The first one is PRODUCER. PLANTS are PRODUCERS. This is because they produce their own food in the form of glucose or sugar through the process of photosynthesis that was explained in the first part of this discussion. .

FOOD CHAIN All plants are PRODUCERS. A food chain starts with a plant.

The second part are the“CONSUMERS” Animals are called consumers. This is because they cannot make their own food, so they need to consume (eat) plants and/or animals.

There are three types of consumers: Animals that eat only plants. . Animals that eat only animals. . Animals that eat both plants and animals…

What kind of consumer am I?

The last part of a food chain are the “DECOMPOSERS”. . . When I die, these organisms will feast on my flesh as if there is no more tomorrow. . .

Fungi and bacteria play an important role in nature. They break down the unused dead material and turn them into nutrients in the soil, which plants use to grow. They are an important part of the food chain.

Do you want to see an example of food chain?

Simple food chain( also called short food chain) could start with grass, which is eaten by rabbits. Then the rabbits are eaten by foxes.

Bigger Food Chains/ long food chains. Here's another food chain, with a few more animals. It starts with acorns, which are eaten by mice. The mice are eaten by snakes, and then finally the snakes are eaten by hawks. At each link in the chain, energy is being transferred from one animal to another.

There can be even more links to any food chain. Here another animal is added. It goes… Grass to grasshopper to mouse to snake to hawk. There is actually even more to this chain…

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS PICTURE?

There is actually even more to this chain. After a hawk dies, fungi (like mushrooms) and other decomposers break down the dead hawk, and turn the remains of the hawk into nutrients, which are released into the soil. The nutrients (plus sun and water) then cause the grass to grow. This becomes a nutrient cycle. It's a full circle of life and energy!!