Food chains and food webs
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| food chain/fuːd tʃeɪn/ | A sequence showing how energy and matter pass through feeding relationships from one organism to another. |
| food web/fuːd web/ | A network of interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem. |
| herbivore/ˈhɜːbɪvɔː/ | An animal that obtains its food mainly from plants or other photosynthetic organisms. |
| decomposers/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzəz/ | Organisms that break down dead organic matter and waste, recycling nutrients. |
Who eats whom
- In any habitat, organisms are linked by what they eat.
- These feeding links form food chains 食物链 and, joined together, food webs 食物网.
Food web energy route
Move energy from producer to consumers and see why each link loses energy.
In a food chain, the arrows show the direction of:
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Arrows point from the eaten to the eater.
Food chains
- A food chain shows the flow of energy from one organism to the next.
- The arrows point in the direction the energy flows (from the eaten to the eater).
A coral reef: a rich ecosystem where many food chains link into a food web
A food web is:
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Food webs link multiple chains.
Food webs
- Most organisms eat more than one thing, so chains link into a food web.
- A food web shows all the feeding relationships in a habitat.
Arrows point from each organism to the one that eats it — the direction energy flows.
A primary consumer is an organism that eats:
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Primary consumers eat producers.
Decomposers break down dead matter and recycle nutrients.
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Bacteria and fungi recycle nutrients back to the soil.
The first organism in every food chain is a ______.
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Producers capture the Sun's energy.
Feeding levels
- Producer → primary consumer (herbivore 食草动物) → secondary consumer → and so on.
- Decomposers 分解者 (bacteria, fungi) break down dead matter and recycle nutrients.
The arrow points TO the eater. In a food chain, the arrow shows the direction energy moves — from the food to the consumer. "Grass → rabbit" means the rabbit eats the grass.
A food web is several food chains linked together
You've got it
- a food chain shows energy flow; arrows point to the eater
- linked chains form a food web (most organisms eat several things)
- levels: producer → primary → secondary consumer; decomposers recycle nutrients