What are food chains and food webs?

Targets

At the end of this Unit you should be able to answer the following questions 

1. What is a wetland ecosystem?

1.1 What are various types of wetlands, and why do they matter?

1.2 What plants and animals may live in a wetland site?

1.3 What adaptations improve plant and animal suitability for life in a wetland?

2. What are the roles of various organisms in a food web?

2.1 Who are the producers, consumers, and decomposers in a wetlands habitat?

2.2 What are food chains and food webs?

What human actions affect wetland ecosystems?

3.1 How do changes in one environment affect other environments?

3.2 What human actions have positive effects or negative effects on wetland habitats?

targets

All living things are connected. A food chain or food web is one way to see how the producers, consumers, and decomposers are linked in an ecosystem. Food webs also provide a way for scientists to predict how changes to an ecosystem may affect the various organisms that are connected.

Every food chain starts with a producer. A plant is needed to use the energy from the Sun to make food for itself. This plant becomes food for a consumer.

 
Other animals may eat the first consumer and then be eaten themselves.  Eventually, the waste and remains from these plants and animals is broken down by a decomposer.  The nutrients are returned to the soil where they can be used again by plants. This cycle is an important part of any balanced ecosystem.