Food Chains and Food Webs

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Food Chains and Food Webs
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Animals In Barnegat Bay Estuary

• Thousands of species of plants and animals live
  in the Barnegat Bay, including
• Fish like flounder and seahorses
• Reptiles like mud turtles and terapins
• Molluscs like scallops and clams
• Crustaceans like crabs and shrimp
• Birds like herons, ospreys and egrets

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What is a food chain?

• A food chain is a sequence of organisms, each of
  which uses the next, lower member of the sequence
  as a food source1

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What is a producer?

• An organism that creates its own food through
  photosynthesis
• What can you think of that might be the most
  common energy source for all producers?
• The SUN

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Important facts about food chains

• In a food chain, each organism obtains energy
  from the one at the level below.
• Plants are called producers because they create
  their own food through photosynthesis
• Animals are consumers because they cannot create
  their own food, they must eat (consume) plants or
  other animals to get the energy they need.

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Primary Producers

• Primary producers are organisms capable of
  producing their own food
• We can also say that they are photosynthetic, use
  light energy.
• Examples of primary producers include algae,
  phytoplankton, and large plants.
• Primary producers are eaten by primary consumers
  (herbivores)

http//i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4729
527/sun-plant_Full.jpg
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Primary Producers of Barnegat Bay
Eelgrass
Diatoms
http//photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfi
les/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/Cont
ent/diatom-shapes-527153-sw.jpg
http//weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archi
ves/eelgrass.jpg
Dinoflagellates
Microflagellates
http//www.vattenkikaren.gu.se/fakta/arter/algae/m
ikroalg/ceraspp/cerasp.jpeg
http//www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/imgsep03/013.j
pg
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Four types of consumer

• Herbivores animals that eat only plants
• Carnivores animals that eat only other animals
• Omnivores animals that eat animals and plants
• Detritivores Animals that eat dead materials
  and organic wastes (aka decomposers)

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http//www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/ki
dscorner/animaldiet/herbivore.htm
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http//www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/ki
dscorner/animaldiet/carnivore.htm
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http//www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/ki
dscorner/animaldiet/omnivore.htm
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http//www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/ki
dscorner/foodchain/decomposers.htm
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Other Ways to Classify Consumers

1. Primary Consumers Herbivores
2. Secondary Consumers Carnivores that eat
   herbivores
3. Tertiary Consumers Carnivores that eat other
   carnivores

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Primary Consumers in Barnegat Bay

• Grass Cerith (a type of snail eats mostly
  Eelgrass)

http//www.jaxshells.org/bitt.jpg
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Primary Consumers in Barnegat Bay

• Eelgrass Pill Bug (eats Eelgrass)

http//4.bp.blogspot.com/_ODUGlGhaapI/SKP-k__HmDI/
AAAAAAAAE5Y/4Ifc_8nzmeA/s400/pillbug.JPG
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Secondary Consumers

• Blue Crab (eats worms, snails, etc.)

http//www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/all
igatorgar/bluecrab.JPG
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Tertiary Consumers

• Eat other animals in marsh including voles, fish,
  and other types of birds

Osprey
Sandpiper
http//bkpass.tripod.com/LeastSandpiper.jpg
www.montereybay.com
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Omnivore

• Mallard ducks eats invertebrates, fish,
  amphibians, plants

http//ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/m
allard_duck.jpg
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Detritivore

• Worms are common detritivores in many ecosystems
  including Barnegat Bay

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What is a food web?
A food web is an interlocking pattern of food
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