Food Chains, Food Webs, and Ecological Pyramids

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What is a Food Chain?

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A linear sequence of organisms where each is eaten by the next in the chain, starting from producers and moving to various levels of consumers.

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What are Producers?

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Organisms that create their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, forming the base of the food chain.

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What are Primary Consumers?

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Organisms that eat producers; they are the first level of consumers in a food chain.

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What are Secondary Consumers?

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Organisms that eat primary consumers; they are the second level of consumers in a food chain.

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What is a Food Web?

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A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, showing how energy and nutrients flow between different organisms.

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What is an Ecological Pyramid?

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A graphical representation showing the distribution of energy, biomass, or numbers of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem.

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What is Trophic Level?

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Each step in a food chain or food web, representing the position of an organism in relation to the flow of energy.

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What is Biomass?

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The total mass of living matter in a given area or volume, often used to measure the amount of energy available at each trophic level.

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What is Energy Transfer in Food Chains?

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The process by which energy is passed from one trophic level to the next, typically decreasing by about 90% at each level.

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What is a Decomposer?

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Organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms, returning nutrients to the soil and completing the cycle of matter.