KEY CONCEPT Food chains and food webs model the flow of energy in an ecosystem.

1. KEY CONCEPT Food chains and food webs model the flow of energy in an ecosystem.

2. GRAMA GRASS DESERT COTTONTAIL HARRIS’S HAWK A food chain is a model that shows a sequence of feeding relationships. • A food chain links species by their feeding relationships. • A food chain follows the connection between one producer and a single chain of consumers within an ecosystem.

3. carnivore decomposer • Herbivores eat only plants. • Carnivores eat only animals. • Omnivores eat both plants and animals. • Detritivores eat dead organic matter. • Decomposers are detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds. • Consumers are not all alike.

4. Specialists are consumers that primarily eat one specific organism or a very small number of organisms. • Generalists are consumers that have a varying diet.

5. Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers. • Secondary consumers are carnivores that eat herbivores. • Tertiary consumers are carnivores that eat secondary consumers. • Omnivores, such as humans that eat both plants and animals, may be listed at different trophic levels in different food chains. • Trophic levels are the nourishment levels in a food chain.

6. A food web shows a complex network of feeding relationships. • An organism may have multiple feeding relationships in an ecosystem. • A food web emphasizes complicated feeding relationships and energy flow in an ecosystem.

7. A model that shows a single sequence of feeding relationships is called a • Trophic level • Food chain • Food web • Feeding chain

8. Decomposers are important to ecosystems because they • Return vital nutrients to the environment • Are producers • Capture energy from the Sun • Can be omnivores

9. Giant pandas eat bamboo almost exclusively. For this reason giant pandas are an example of a(n) • carnivore • Omnivore • Generalist • Specialist

10. A food chain contains oak trees (producer), mice (herbivore), black snakes (carnivore), and bald eagle (carnivore). How many trophic levels does this food chain have? • One • Two • Three • Four

11. Food webs are models that show • One sequence of producer and consumer • Network of feeding relationships • Stored energy in food chains • Only primary consumers in an ecosystem