Food webs and interdependence
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Explainer Video
Tutor: Holly
Summary
Food webs and interdependence
In a nutshell
Food webs show the links between many different food chains. Each organism in a food web has a specific name related to its role and how they get energy.
Food webs
Definition
Food webs show how organisms are linked together in different ways. Food webs contain many interlinked food chains. All organisms in a food web are interdependent, so a change in one organism can affect many others.
Example
1. Producer, 2. Primary consumer, 3. Secondary consumer, 4. Tertiary consumer, 5. Top carnivore.
Definitions
There are nine key pieces of terminology you must learn.
Producer | All plants are producers as they use energy from the Sun to produce food. |
Herbivore | An animal that only eats plants. |
Consumer | All animals are consumers (they consume their energy, they can't produce it like plants). |
Primary consumer | An animal that eats producers. |
Secondary consumer | An animal that eats primary consumers. |
Tertiary consumer | An animal that eats secondary consumers. |
Carnivore | An animal that eats only other animals, never plants. |
Top carnivore | An animal that is not eaten by anything else. |
Omnivore | An animal that eats both plants and animals. |
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FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
What do primary consumers eat?
Primary consumers eat producers.
What is the difference between a producer and a consumer?
All plants are producers as they use energy from the Sun to produce food. All animals are consumers (they consume their energy they can't produce it like plants).
What is a food web?
Food webs show how organisms are linked together in different ways. Food webs contain many interlinked food chains.