Spotlight 7 Food Chain

Food Chain

7 th Grade

Vocabulary

• Consumer - [kən'sjuːmə] потребитель
• Herbivore – ['həːbɪvɔː] травоядное животное
• Carnivore – ['kɑːnɪvɔː] плотоядное животное
• Predator - ['predətə] хищник
• Prey – [preɪ] добыча, жертва
• Variety – [və'raɪətɪ] разновидность, сорт
• Tertiary - ['təːʃ(ə)rɪ] относящийся к 3-й ступени
• Quaternary - [kwəˈtəːn(ə)ri] относящийся к 4-й ступени
• Vertebrate - ['vɜːtɪbreɪt] позвоночное животное
• Invertebrate – беспозвоночное животное
• Scavenger - ['skævɪnʤə] животное-падальщик

Herbivores

What are herbivores?

• Herbivores are animals that only feed on plants.

Omnivores

What are omnivores?

• Omnivores are animals that eat a variety of food of both plant and animal origin.

Top Predators

What are top predators?

• Top predators are animals that usually consume all lower levels and are not consumed by any other animals until they die.

Prey

What are preys?

• Prey is an animal that a predator feeds on. For example, a lion feeds on a zebra. The zebra is the prey of the lion. 

Primary Consumers

• Primary consumers are the second link of a food chain. They are usually  herbivores   that eat green plants or sometime  omnivores   that eat both plants and animals.
•   The green plants are the food of all herbivores that are primary consumers.

Secondary Consumers

• Secondary consumers are the third link of a food chain. They can be either omnivores or carnivores .
• The herbivores are the food for carnivores that are secondary, tertiary or quaternary consumers.

Tertiary and Quaternary Consumers

• Tertiary consumers are the fourth link of a food chain while quaternary consumers are the fifth link of a food chain. They are usually the carnivores that are  top predators .
•   Secondary consumers are the food for carnivores or top predators that are tertiary or quaternary consumers. 

Example of food chain with 5 links

• Sometimes tertiary consumers can be the food for quaternary consumers.

Direct and Indirect Consumers

Scavengers and Decomposers

• Dead organisms are eaten by scavengers . crows, vultures, ants, worms and crabs and broken down by  decomposers   (mostly bacteria and fungi), and the exchange of energy continues in the environment.

Vertebrate and Invertebrate Scavengers

• Crows ,  vultures  and hyenas [haɪ'iːnə] are the best examples of vertebrate scavengers while ants are good invertebrate scavengers in the environment. They eat dead bodies of animals and plants.

Food Chain

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Questions

What are herbivores?

• Herbivores are animals that only feed on plants.

What are omnivores?

• Omnivores are animals that eat a variety of food of both plant and animal origin.

What are top predators?

• Top predators are animals that usually consume all lower levels and are not consumed by any other animals until they die.

What are preys?

• Preys are animals that predators feed on

Questions

• What is food chain?

A food chain is a flow of energy from a green plant (producer) to an animal (consumer) and to another animal (another consumer) and so on.

• What does a food chain show us?

1) A food chain shows us a series of living things that depend on each other for food energy.

  2) A food chain shows us the relationship between the animals and plants in a habitat.

  3) A food chain shows us the way energy flows through a habitat.

Questions

What are the features of a food chain?

1) There are usually three or four organisms in a food chain:

Each of these organisms in a food chain is called a link. These links make a food chain.

2) Food chains usually start with a producer or a green plant :

This is the link where energy from the sun enters the food chain.

Food Web

['paɪθ(ə)n]

A type of a food network with several inter-linked food chains in a habitat is called a food web.

['læv(ə)ndə]