Understanding food webs and food chains

Front

What is a food chain?

Back

A food chain is a linear sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another in an ecosystem, starting from producers to various levels of consumers.

Front

What is a food web?

Back

A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, showing how different organisms are related through feeding relationships.

Front

What are producers?

Back

Producers are organisms, like plants, that create their own food through photosynthesis and form the base of the food chain.

Front

What are primary consumers?

Back

Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers (plants) and are the second level in a food chain.

Front

What are secondary consumers?

Back

Secondary consumers are organisms that eat primary consumers; they can be carnivores or omnivores.

Front

What are tertiary consumers?

Back

Tertiary consumers are predators that eat secondary consumers and are at the top of the food chain.

Front

What is an example of a primary consumer?

Back

An example of a primary consumer is a rabbit that eats grass.

Front

What is an example of a secondary consumer?

Back

An example of a secondary consumer is a snake that eats a rabbit.

Front

What is an example of a tertiary consumer?

Back

An example of a tertiary consumer is an eagle that eats a snake.

Front

What role do decomposers play in a food web?

Back

Decomposers break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil and completing the cycle of energy flow.