Exploring the relationships between species of the sea using food chains and webs

Food chains and food webs

A food chain shows how particular living things get their food, as well as how energy and nutrients are passed from species to species. 

A food web is a series of interacting food chains, meaning many food chains put together. In a food web, species can be Producers, Consumers or Decomposers. 

Take a look at the video below to have a better understanding of what these mean:  

Once you have watched the short video, try to match the following terms to their definition


Producer              Consumers                Primary Consumer        Secondary consumer 

          Decomposer                  Carnivore         Herbivore          Omnivore 


Definitions:

• An animal that eats plants and/or animals
• An animal that only eats plants
• A bacteria or fungus that eats decaying matter- dead animals or plants, which leads to mineral and nutrients being placed back into the soil (to be used by plants) 
• An animal that eats plants and animals
• An animal that consumes only plant matter and is a herbivore e.g. a cow
• An animal that only eats other animals
•  Usually a plant that produces their own food using energy from the sun
• An animal that eats herbivores

An example of a  a simple food web: 

Here is a simple food web that shows how some consumers eat producers and consumers eat other consumers. However, you may have noticed there is something missing... what is missing? 

... yes there is no decomposer in this food web. Students may or may not wish to put this in their food web.