Food chain definition

A food web consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem. Each living thing in an ecosystem is part of multiplefood chains. Each food chain is one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem. All of the interconnected and overlapping food chains in an ecosystem make up a food web. Trophic Levels Organisms in food webs are grouped into categories called trophic levels. Roughly speaking, these levels are divided into producers (first trophic level), consumers, and decomposers (last trophic level). Producers Producers make up the first trophic level. Producers, also known as autotrophs, make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition. Most autotrophs use a process called photosynthesis to create food (a nutrient called glucose) from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. Plants are the most familiar type of autotroph, but there are many other kinds. Algae, whose larger forms are known as seaweed, are autotrophic. Phytoplankton, tiny organisms that live in the ocean, are also autotrophs. Some types of bacteria are autotrophs. For example, bacteria living in active volcanoes use sulfur, not carbon dioxide, to produce their own food. This process is called chemosynthesis. Consumers The next trophic levels are made up of animals that eat producers. These organisms are called consumers. Consumers can be carnivores (animals that eat other animals) or omnivores (animals that eat both plants and animals). Omnivor...

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An Overview of Food Chain Table of Contents • • • • • Food Chain: Introduction A food chain explains which organism eats another organism in the environment. The food chain is a linear sequence of organisms where nutrients and energy is transferred from one organism to the other. This occurs when one organism consumes another organism. It begins with the producer organism, follows the chain and ends with the decomposer organism. After understanding the food chain, we realise how one organism is dependent upon another organism for survival. Now, let’s look at the other aspects of a food chain, to get a better understanding. What is a Food Chain? A food chain refers to the order of events in an ecosystem, where one living organism eats another organism, and later that organism is consumed by another larger organism. The flow of nutrients and energy from one organism to another at different trophic levels forms a food chain. The food chain also explains the feeding pattern or relationship between living organisms. Trophic level refers to the sequential stages in a food chain, starting with producers at the bottom, followed by primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Every level in a food chain is known as a trophic level. The food chain consists of four major parts, namely: • The Sun: The sun is the initial source of energy, which provides energy for everything on the planet. • Producers: The producers in a food chain include all autotrophs such as phytoplankton, cyanobac...

The term food chain describes the order in which organisms, or Most food chains start with organisms that make their own food, such as plants. Scientists call them producers. Organisms that eat other living things are known as consumers. A squirrel that feeds on plants is called a primary consumer. A hawk that eats the squirrel and other primary consumers is called a secondary consumer. Decomposers are often the final link in a food chain. Decomposers are bacteria and other organisms that cause decay. When plants and animals die, decomposers break down their tissues. This adds nutrients to the soil so that new plants may grow. Then the food chain begins again. A food web is a group of food chains within an ecosystem. Most living things eat more than one type of animal or plant. So their food chains overlap and connect. For example, the hawk that ate the squirrel also may eat fish. This makes the hawk a part of two food chains, or a food web.

Kimberly Uptmor Kimberly has a Bachelor's degree from Lewis Clark State College in Secondary Education Science and has a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. She has taught a variety of subjects in the last 7 years, from Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, Life Science, Geology, Educational Assessment, and Educational Psychology to high school, college, and online. • Instructor Do you ever wonder what you are going to eat for lunch or dinner at the beginning of the day? Food is very important for us and for all animals and plants to survive. However, most animals in our world don't plan their next meal. Rather, they know that they are dependent on a basic type of food source to provide them. Birds depend on eating insects, while insects are dependent on plants. This line-up of living plants and animals can be seen as a diagram that shows one dependent on another for energy, which is known as a food chain. Ocean Food Chain Food chains can be quite different depending on the type of organism and environment. For example, the ocean food chain, or marine food chain, is a food chain that is based on organisms living in the ocean. Animals and plants are quite different within this environment because they are located underwater. An example of an ocean food chain is predator fish eating other small fish, while those small fish eat Link in the Chain You sit down to eat a meal with your family, when you look down at your plate and notice that y...

What is sustainable food value chain development? This platform is based on FAO’s sustainable food value chain (SFVC) framework. The SFVC framework integrates two concepts that have become popular in development thinking and practice over the last decade: sustainability and value chains. These concepts are not always well understood and may be interpreted differently by different people. By being specific about the concepts and how they fit together, the SFVC framework aims to promote a better understanding of their fundamental nature, to facilitate more effective knowledge exchange and implementation. This section summarizes the main elements of the framework. More details can be found Defining a sustainable food value chain A food value chain (FVC) consists of all the stakeholders who participate in the coordinated production and value-adding activities that are needed to make food products. A sustainable food value chain is a food value chain that: • is profitable throughout all of its stages (economic sustainability); • has broad-based benefits for society (social sustainability); • has a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment (environmental sustainability) The SFVC concept recognizes that value chains are dynamic, market-driven systems in which vertical coordination (governance) is the central dimension and for which value added and sustainability are explicit, multidimensional performance measures, assessed at the aggregate level. When talking about va...

A food chain outlines who eats whom. A food web is all of the food chains in an ecosystem. Each organism in an ecosystem occupies a specific trophic level or position in the food chain or web. Producers, who make their own food using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, make up the bottom of the trophic pyramid. Primary consumers, mostly herbivores, exist at the next level, and secondary and tertiary consumers, omnivores and carnivores, follow. At the top of the system are the apex predators: animals who have no predators other than humans. Help your class explore food chains and webs with these resources.