Food Chains

And
Cycles
 Lettu
SUN
Rabb
Haw it ce
k
 Lettu
SUN Rabb Haw
ce it k
 Lizard Hawk Sun
Snake

Plant

Grasshopp
er
 Grasshopp
Sun Plant Lizard Snake Hawk
er
Food Chains
shows the feeding relationships between living
things.
shows what eats what in a particular habitat.
1.Produce
rs
2.Primary
consumers
3.Secondary
consumers
4.
Predators
5.Prey
6.Scaveng
ers
7.Decompo
HOME

Green plants - they

make food by
photosynthesis.
HOME

Usually eat plant

material
- they are herbivores.
For example rabbits,
caterpillars, cows and
HOME

Usually eat animal

material
- they are carnivores.
For example cats,
dogs and lions.
HOME

Kill for food.

They are either
secondary or tertiary
consumers
HOME

The animals that

predators feed on.
HOME

Feed on dead animals.

For example, crows,
vultures and hyenas
are scavengers
HOME

Feed on dead and

decaying organisms,
and on the undigested
parts of plant and
animal matter in
 Take Note!
The Sun is the ultimate source of energy
for most communities of living things.

Green plants absorb some of the Suns

light energy to make their own food by
photosynthesis.
 Energy transfer!
Energy is transferred along food chains
from one stage to the next. But not all of
the energy available to organisms at one
stage can be absorbed by organisms at
the next one. The amount of available
energy decreases from one stage to the
next..
 Most of the available
energy is used up in

other ways:
energy released by respiration is
used for movement and other life
processes, and is eventually lost as
heat to the surroundings.
energy is lost in waste materials,
such as feces.
 Ten Percent Law
Law of transfer of energy from one trophic level to
the next.
It was introduced by Raymond Lindeman (1942).
During the transfer of energy from organic food
from one trophic level to the next, only about ten
percent of the energy from organic matter is stored
as flesh. The remaining is lost during transfer,
broken down in respiration, or lost to incomplete
digestion by higher trophic level.
 Notice that at
each level of the
food chain, about
90% of the
energy is lost in
the form of heat.
The total energy
passed from one
level to the next
is only about
one-tenth of the
energy received
from the previous
organism.
 Pyramids of
biomass
Biomassmeans the mass of living
material at a stage in a food chain.
The biomass goes down as you go
from one stage to the next, just like
the amount of energy.
 Pyramids of
biomass
A pyramid of biomass is a chart,
drawn to scale, showing the
biomass at each stage in a food
chain. The bars become
narrower as you reach the top.
 This pyramid of
biomass is for the food
chain:

oak tree caterpillar

blue tit sparrow
hawk
 It shows the feeding relationships
between living organisms.

A. Food Chain
B. Energy Pyramid
C. Food Consumption
 It shows the feeding relationships
between living organisms.

A. Food Chain
B. Energy Pyramid
C. Food Consumption
NEXT
 It shows the feeding relationships
between living organisms.

A. Food Chain
B. Energy Pyramid
C. Food Consumption
Try Again
 It shows the feeding relationships
between living organisms.

A. Food Chain
B. Energy Pyramid
C. Food Consumption
Try Again
How many percent of energy is lost
in the form of heat in each level of
the food chain?
A. 10%
B. 90%
C. 1%
How many percent of energy is lost
in the form of heat in each level of
the food chain?
A. 10%
B. 90%
C. 1%
Try Again
How many percent of energy is lost
in the form of heat in each level of
the food chain?
A. 10%
B. 90%
C. 1%
Next
How many percent of energy is lost
in the form of heat in each level of
the food chain?
A. 10%
B. 90%
C. 1%
Try Again
 They were the MAJOR source of all
foods in the food chain.

A. Producers
B. Green Plants
C. Both A and B
 They were the MAJOR source of all
foods in the food chain.

A. Producers
B. Green Plants
C. Both A and B
Try Again
 They were the MAJOR source of all
foods in the food chain.

A. Producers
B. Green Plants
C. Both A and B
Try Again
 They were the MAJOR source of all
foods in the food chain.

A. Producers
B. Green Plants
C. Both A and B
END