Food Chains
⭐ MasteredA food chain shows who eats whom. It starts with a plant (producer), then herbivores, then carnivores.
Some food chains start in the deep sea with tiny bacteria.
All about Food Chains
A food chain shows the path energy takes as one living thing eats another. It starts with a producer, usually a plant that makes food from sunlight. Next come the consumers: herbivores that eat plants, then carnivores that eat other animals.
Food chains are joined together into food webs. If one link disappears, such as a drop in the number of insects, the animals that eat them can struggle too.
Next comes a herbivore that eats the plant, then a carnivore that eats the herbivore. Each link in the chain is a step in the flow of energy.
If one part of a chain disappears, the others are affected. For example, if there are fewer plants, the herbivores may starve, and the carnivores that eat them will have less to eat too.
🎮 Try it yourself!
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👀 What the animation shows
This animation shows a food chain from a plant to a small animal to a bigger predator. Watch the energy pass along the chain as each animal eats the one below it.
Real-life uses of Food Chains
- Understanding how pollution can move up a food chain
- Planning a fishery so that fish stocks can recover
- Explaining why removing one predator can change a whole habitat
Frequently asked questions about Food Chains
What is the first link in a food chain?
A producer, usually a green plant or alga that makes its own food using sunlight.
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain is one path of energy. A food web links many food chains together.
What are decomposers?
Organisms such as fungi and bacteria that break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil.