Food Chains Food Chain Order in which animals

Food Chains

Food Chain • Order in which animals eat plants and other animals. • Each part of a food chain is a link connected to other links.

Herbivores • Herbivores are animals that only eat plants.

Carnivores • Carnivores are animals that eat meat. • Carnivores will also eat animals that eat plants.

Omnivores • Omnivores will eat both plants and animals. • Some animals eat both plants and meat. • People are omnivores

Detrivore • An organism that feeds on large bits of dead and decaying organic matter. What detrivores leave behind is used by decomposers. • Crabs and seabirds are examples of detrivores.

Decomposer • (or saprotrophs) are organisms that break down the dead or decaying organisms, and in doing so carry out the natural process of decomposition. Like herbivores and predators, decomposers are heterotrophic, meaning that they use organic substrates to get their energy, carbon and nutrients for growth and development. Decomposers use deceased organisms and non-living organic compounds as their food source. The primary examples are bacteria and fungi.

Insects eat plants • Insects eat plants. • Fish, frogs, and birds eat the insects that eat the plants. • This begins the food chain.

Birds, Animals and People Eat Fish • Birds and other animals eat the fish. The fish eat the plants and insects. • People eat fish too.

A Food Chain Plant Frog Insects Bear Fish People