This page features a feeding relationships game online. It is an interactive game that examines the relationship between organisms in an ecosystem. These linkages are called food chains and at higher levels food webs. In this quiz you will learn about producers, consumers and decomposers. You will also learn about primary and secondary consumers. This game is suitable for homeschooling and classrooms for students in 3rd to 7th grades.
Food Chains and Feeding Relationships Food chains and feeding relationships show levels of organization in ecosystems. Producers produce food by converting solar energy into glucose, which then feeds the rest of the food chain. Consumers, in turn, consume plant matter as food. Together, these interactions form the habitat food web. This article describes what food chains and food relationships are and how they work. To better understand the structure of a food web, consider what each species does for its community. Using an ecological pyramid, you can see how different organisms feed each other. At the bottom of the pyramid are the producers, followed by the secondary consumers, the third-level consumers, and so on. The top layer is the apex predator. Let's consider an example; in the intertidal zone, feeding relationships begin with phytoplankton, which produce energy through photosynthesis. This energy is then used by zooplankton, a class of organisms that feed on phytoplankton. These in turn feed on bivalves, barnacles and invertebrates. The feeding relationship between an infant and a parent is a complex process of interaction. From food selection to food intake to regulatory behavior, feeding relationships are an essential part of development. Hence, the food web can be used to explain the feeding relationship between parent and child. This is important because it teaches children how to feed themselves. If these rules are followed, the feeding relationships between children and parents can promote good nutrition and healthy development. If we want to better understand the complex interactions between animals and children, we need to better understand the role of nutrition in ecosystems. There are five types of feeding relationships: Mutualism, commensalism, symbiosis, and parasitism. Each of these relationships has different characteristics, but they all relate to interactions between organisms. E.g. Parasitism is when an organism (called a parasite) feeds on another organism and offers no benefit to that organism in turn. A good example is a lice or tick that sticks on the body of a host and sucks its blood throughout its existence. Feeding relationships are an important part of ecosystems. You can see them by looking at the food webs in the Everglades ecosystem. The current quiz compares the differences and similarities between food chains and food webs and shows you how the two systems work. In a food web, primary producers feed consumer organisms. At the same time, there are also secondary consumers. These organisms feed the autotrophic organisms in the food chain. The process of ecological succession refers to changes in the structure of an ecological community over time. After disturbance, colonization, or a change in species, ecosystems change. They feed on each other.