BIOLOGY - food chains and webs Flashcards
(31 cards)
What do food chains show?
Different organisms and which organisms eat other organisms.
What do food chains start with?
A producer
What is a producer?
An organism that makes food
Green plants are usually …?
Producers
How do plants make their food?
Using photosynthesis
What do food chains end with?
A consumer
What is a consumer?
An animal which eats plants or other animals
What do the arrows point to in the food chain?
The arrows point to the organism doing the eating
eg;
Cow -> Human
Producer Consumer
What is a herbivore?
An organism that only eats plants
What is a carnivore?
An organism that only eat meat
What is an omnivore?
An organism that eat both plants and meat
What is a primary consumer?
The first organism to eat a producer
What is a secondary consumer?
The organism that eats the primary consumer
What is passed onto the consumers?
Energy
What is a predator?
Predators are that hunt other animals ( prey)
What is prey?
An animal that is hunted by a predator
What (as well as energy) can be passed along the food chain?
Toxic materials
Name two toxic materials that have been known to be passed along food chains.
Mercury and DDT
How is mercury inserted into the food chain?
Plant plankton absorb mercury compounds and when they get eaten, the mercury is passed onto the consumer.
What happens to the mercury concentration going higher into the food chain?
The concentration gets higher
What do some toxic materials do in early stages?
Break down into harmful substance
What is a persistent substance?
A substance that doesn’t break down meaning if it is passed on in the food chain if consumed.
What type of toxic materials are mercury and DDT?
Persistant toxic materials.
What was mercury used in?
Pesticides and special paint used to stop barnacles from growing on ships
