Food Chains and Web (L5) Flashcards
Which way does the arrow point?
From the energy source. For example: The flea sucks blood from the rabbit who eats grass. Thus:
Grass - rabbit - fleas. The energy source stems from grass, gets passed on the rabbit and then the fleas.
IN A FOOD CHAIN, WE ALWAYS START WITH THE PRODUCER.
Define Decomposer.
An organism that feeds on dead and decomposing organic matter.
Omnivore
An organism that eats a variety of food both plant and animal origin.
Heterotroph
Organisms in the food chain which receive energy by consuming other organisms.
Carnivore
Meaning ‘meat eater’, an organism that gets energy and nutrient requirements from animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging
Trophic level
A hierarchical level in an ecosystem consisting of organisms sharing the same function in the food chain and same relationship to the producer.
Autotroph
An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from using light or chemical energy. For example, green plants, algae and certain bacteria.
Secondary consumer
Organisms that eat primary consumers. They are carnivores and omnivores.
Producer
Any green plant or microorganism that can convert light energy or chemical energy into organic matter.
Food chain
Shows how each living thing gets food and energy is passed from creature to creature. This begins with plantlife and ends with animal life.
Food Web
A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
Consumer
An animal that can’t make its own food supply, so needs other things like plants or other animals to survive.
Herbivore
An animal that feeds om plants
Tertiary consumer
A carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers.
Fox, clover, frogs and snails in a biomass pyramid:
Clover at the bottom, snails afterwards, frogs third and fox on the top.
