0508-ABED_1: Lesson 4 Introduction

The “job” of an organism in a food chain is described as producer, consumer, or decomposer. Each role is important for the recycling of energy and matter in any ecosystem. The survival of every ecosystem depends on a careful balance of the producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Producers usually are plants that make their own food using energy from the sun. Because producers can make their own food, they do not need to eat other organisms. Producers are at the bottom of every food chain because they provide the food source for all other organisms.

Consumers are living things that cannot make their own food but must eat plants and/or animals to get energy to survive.

Pixabay- Consumers that eat plants are called herbivores.

Pixabay - Consumers that eat animals are called carnivores.

Consumers that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.

Decomposers are living things that break down and consume the remains and waste products of plants and animals. They recycle nutrients back into the soil and water so that they can be used again. Decomposers are usually fungi and bacteria.

As you research, focus on these questions:

Who are the producers, consumers, and decomposers?
What role does each have in making the ecosystem work?