HABITATS UNIT 5 THE FOOD CHAIN Food chain

HABITATS UNIT 5

THE FOOD CHAIN Food chain: shows how organisms get food and how the food passes from one organism to another; Organism: a living thing, plant or animal; Producers: Plants: they make their own food, they get nutrients from the soil and energy from the sun; Consumers: most organisms dont produce their own food, they must consume/eat other organisms; Predators: is a consumer that eats another animal; a prey is the animal eaten by the predator. Decomposers: Worms, fungi and bacteria eat dead plants and animals; they release nutrients to the soil; plants use these nutrients to make their own food.

LAND HABITATS Habitat: is the place where an organism gets food, shelter, water and oxigen to live; Desert: very dry, little rainfall, very hot during day time, cold during night time, not many animals and plants live there; organisms: cacti, scorpions, camels, etc Rainforest: very wet, heavy rainfall, a lot of sun, warm air, thousands of plants and animals live there; organisms: frogs, lizards, monkeys, parrots, etc Arctic region: very low temperatures, low rainfall, a lot of snow; organisms: polar bear, arctic hares, arctic foxes, they are adapted to very cold weather. Grassland: low rainfall, hot summer, cold winter, very poor soil, few trees, grass is the main plant; organisms: zebra, lion, cheetah, antelope. Forest: a place for deciduous trees (loose their leaves in the autumn and they grow back in the spring); evergreen trees (have green leaves all year); organisms: oak tree, pine tree, fox, mice, owl, bear, rabbit.

WATER HABITATS Oceans and seas: have salty water; organisms: algae, fish, mammals, some birds and invertebrates. Pond: fresh water, small area of water, the water doesn’t move; organisms: fish, frog, turtle, birds, dragonflies, mosquitoes and many plants. Rivers: are streams of running/ flowing water; animals and plants are adapted to live in the fast flowing water, the river banks are habitats for mammals, bids, insects.

FOOD CHAINS Forest food chain: Producer: plant makes own food; Consumer: mouse eats plants and fruit; Consumer and predator: fox eats the mouse; Prey: mouse; Decomposer: fungi and bacteria, eat dead animals, release nutrients to the soil, plants get those nutrients to make their own food. Ocean food chain; Producer: phytoplankton, a microorganism (a very small organism), create energy using photosynthesis Consumers: shrimps and jellyfish eat phytoplankton; sardines eat shrimps and jelly fish; tuna eats sardines; Predator: Shark eats tuna, tuna is the prey.

ADAPTATIONS Adaptation: all organisms need to adapt/adjust to the environment which they live in. Physical adaptation: the body of an organism is made in a specific way that helps the organism finding food, defend itself and reproduce. Examples (on student’s book page 65) Behavioural adaptation: the way the organism lives and behaves in its environment is the necessary one to interact in its habitat. Examples (on student’s book page 65)

POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES Populations: groups of organisms of the same species that live together in the same place. Populations get bigger if they get enough food, water and shelter. Examples (student’s book page 66) Communities: in a community different species live together in the same place , interact with eachother, there are predators and preys, and they all depend on eachother to live. Examples (student’s book page 66) Groups of animals: flock of birds; flock of sheep; herd of elephants; pack of dogs/ wolves; school of fish; etc