Food Chain | Ecology and Environment | Biology FuseSchool

Food Chain | Ecology and Environment | Biology FuseSchool

In this video, we are going to look at a food chain and the different roles within that. So we will discover exactly what each of these words mean: food web, food chain, trophic level, producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, insectivore, decomposer.

A food chain shows the sequence of organisms in a habitat that are dependent on the one before as a source of food. So in a woodland, one food chain would be grass at the bottom, which is eaten by rabbits, which are then eaten by foxes. The arrows represent the energy flow through the chain.

A food web shows all of the interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, and are much more complex.

In every food chain, there are trophic levels. All organisms in a particular trophic level are the same number of energy transfers away from the producers - or base of the food chain.

At the base of all food chains are producers. Producers are autotrophs. This means they are able to manufacture their own food. Usually plants by photosynthesis.

Primary consumers are the second organisms in the food chain, in the second trophic levels. These consume producers and are nearly all herbivores - they only feed on plants.

Then there are secondary consumers. These are either carnivores - so they only feed on other animals. Or like the mouse, they could be omnivores. They eat a variety of plants and animals. Most humans are omnivores: we eat meat but we also eat vegetables and grains. Or they could just be insectivores, like the ladybird and frog. They only feed on insects, worms and other invertebrates.

Decomposers break down dead plants and animals, and waste, and return nutrients back to the soil. Decomposers are very important for any ecosystem. If they weren't there, the plants would not get essential nutrients, and dead matter and waste would pile up. Many kinds of decomposers are microscopic, meaning you need a microscope to see them - like bacteria. Others, like fungi, can be seen.

Ecology: Producer Consumer Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Insectivore Decomposer

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