Created by Mr. Hemmert

L5.3: Tracing the flow of energy through a food chainExample: producer, first-level consumer,

second-level consumer, and third-level consumer

Turn and talk to your partner about this picture. What do you think is happening here? Is energy being transferred?

Energy transfer always begins with the Sun. Actually, most of the living things on Earth get the energy they need to live from sunlight. Green plants and algae use energy in sunlight, plus water, and carbon dioxide to make their own food. This process is called Photosynthesis.

Any living thing that can produce its own food is called a producer.

Can you name some producers? Green plants, trees, moss, algae…etc

An animal that eats plants or other animals is called a consumer.

Consumers cannot make their own food. Can you name some consumers?

Some animals, such as deer and cattle, get the energy they need to live by eating plants. When these animals eat, the energy stored in plants moves (transfers) into the animals bodies.

Consumers that eat only plants (producers) are called herbivores.

Consumers

Not all animals eat plants. Lions and hawks, for example , get the energy they need by eating other animals.

An animal that eats only other animals is called a carnivore.

Who is the carnivore in these pictures?

An animal that eats both plants (producers) and other animals (consumers) is called and omnivore.

Example of an omnivore: BearBears eat both producers (plants) and consumers

(other animals)

What do we call animals you make their own food?

ProducersCan you name some examples?

Animals who cannot make their own food and have to eat other plants or animals are called?

ConsumersCan you name some examples?

Consumers that eat only plants are called?HerbivoresCan you name some examples of herbivores?

Consumers that eat only other animals are called?

Carnivores Can you name some examples of Carnivores?

Consumers that eat both plants and animals are called?

OmnivoresCan you name some examples of omnivores?

What is the difference between a producer and a consumer? Can you give two examples of each? Discuss your answer with your partner.

A producer is a living thing and makes its own food. An example could be any living plant. A consumer is a living thing that gets its energy by eating producers or other consumers. Examples include any animal.

Consumers that eat other consumers that have already died are called scavengers.

An example is a vultures and hyenas.

Bacteria and fungi that break down dead and decaying plant and animal matter and enrich the soil.

Examples: mushrooms, bacteria, Yeasts, mildew

Mold is a decomposer. It is breaking down the bread.

Maggots decomposing meat.

 Maggots are useful in treating deep wounds without increasing the risk of further infection. Maggots work because they eat dead tissue within the wound, which can promote infection. This treatment seems to help reduce the risk of infection after surgery because the larvae are thought to secrete substances that fight infection.

Some animals eat dead animals or carrion. They are called scavengers. They help break down or reduce organic material into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces are then eaten by decomposers. Decomposers eat dead materials and break them down into chemical parts. Nitrogen, carbon and other nutrients can then be used again by plants and animals.

Without decomposers and scavengers, the world would be covered with dead plants and animals!

Science WB p. RS 34-RS35