Food chains and food webs We Are Learning

Food chains and food webs

We Are Learning To… …use words correctly to describe feeding relationships between animals and plants. …show energy flows through food chains …interlink food chains to form food webs

What I’m Looking For: 1. Construct your own food chain 2. Spot at least two food chains from a food web 3. Point arrows in the right direction in a food chain 4. Construct a food web

Kingfisher Trout Pondweed Minnow (little fish) Insect larvae Heron

Pondweed Insect larvae Minnow (little fish) http: //www. riverlee. org. uk/science/scie-02 a. htm Kingfisher

Your turn • Write down one food chain. • Perhaps one of the organisms in it could be you! • (Hopefully not being eaten by a wolf ) • Draw in arrows pointing from the thing being eaten to the thing eating it. Pondweed Insect larvae Minnow (little fish) Kingfisher

Energy Flow Which way does the energy flow? • Which way do the sun’s rays go? What is it used for?

How is the sun’s energy used?

Plankton & Algae • Micro-organisms (very small living things) and plants absorb the sunlight and convert this to energy. When they are eaten they pass this energy on. These are known as Producers, in food chains.

Food chain: a flow of energy in a habitat Sun allows grass to grow Grass is eaten by Rabbits which are eaten by Owls

Food chain: a flow of energy in a habitat Grass is eaten by Rabbits which are eaten by Owls

Food chain: a flow of energy in a habitat Grass is eaten by Rabbits which are eaten by Owls Grass Rabbit Owl The arrow means ‘is eaten by’ and always goes towards the consumer

Except that Owls also eat Shrews as well as Rabbits Shrew Grass Rabbit Owl

Shrews also eat other plant matter as well as Grass Plant matter Shrew Grass Rabbit Owl

Shrews also have to watch out for weasels that might eat them Plant matter Grass Weasel Shrew Rabbit Owl

And snails and worms eat the plant matter too. Weasel Plant matter Grass Worm Snail Shrew Rabbit Owl

Food Chain to Food Web Let’s complete ours with hedgehogs (that eat snails & worms) and foxes (that eat pretty much anything that moves!)

Weasel Plant matter Grass Worm Snail Shrew Rabbit Hedgehog Owl Fox

How many food chains are there now? Weasel Plant matter Grass Worm Snail Shrew Rabbit Owl Hedgehog Write down as many as you can in 3 minutes! Fox

Plant matter Shrew Weasel Fox Grass Shrew Plant matter Weasel Fox Shrew Owl Grass Shrew Owl Plant matter Worm Hedgehog Fox Plant matter Snail Hedgehog Fox Grass Rabbit Fox

Food Chain to Food Web The original food chain has expanded into a food web with 8 interlinked chains as more organisms have been added Food webs are normal in natural habitats as there is nearly always more than one organism that eats something else.

Some Key Words • Producer • Consumer – Herbivore – Carnivore – Omnivore

CARNIVORES PRODUCERS OMNIVORES HERBIVORES

Your turn • Start off with individual food chains • Then try to link them together to make a food web. • Draw in some arrows – the right way round!

CARNIVORE HERBIVORE PRODUCER Kingfisher Oak Plankton Squirrel Daffodil Mouse Snail Fox Tree Well Done Everyone!

What We Have Done: 1. Constructed food chains 2. Spotted at least two food chains from a food web 3. Point arrows in the right direction in a food chain 4. Constructed a food web

HERBIVORES CARNIVORES Caterpillar Mouse Woodlouse Owl Snake Insect larvae Plankton Snail Pondweed Dead material Beetles Spiders Fish Greenfly Hawthorn Dead material Woodlouse Small bird Hawk Weasel PRODUCERS Woodland Pond Hedgerow Oak Grass Small plants Dead material