Food Chain Game Online

This page features a food chain game online. Learn how in an ecosystem, organisms exhibit different feeding relationships depending on if they are producers, consumers or decomposers. In an ecosystem, the sun is the primary producer of energy. This energy is captured by green plants (called producers) during the process of photosynthesis. It is from here that energy is captured into plants and herbivores take over from here by eating the grass. Herbivores also have animals that prey on them. Check out this interactive game to learn about how food chains and food webs operate in ecosystems.

 

The Basics of the Food Chain

The food chain refers to the sequence of events in a given ecosystem. It begins with the primary source, such as sunlight or hydrothermal sources, and continues through consumers and top predators. A food chain represents the basic unit of an ecosystem and can connect to form a food web. Throughout the food chain, energy is transferred from one organism to the next, from higher organisms to lower ones and sometimes vice versa. This is the basic concept that ensures that plants and animals receive a steady supply of food and eat their share of it.

The second level of the food chain is called secondary consumers. This group feeds on plants and other smaller animals. Examples of secondary consumers include crabs, frogs, and bluefish. A higher predator consumes the primary and secondary consumers in order to survive. The higher the animal is in the food chain, the less energy it can get from the food it eats. 
The food chain has four links: the primary energy source for the first three trophic levels, followed by the middle and lower trophic levels. Each link in the chain is called a trophic level, and the species that feeds on the next one occupies a higher position in the food chain. For this reason, a single species may occupy different trophic levels in different food chains. As the chain continues, it can connect to form a food web. This type of food web includes the same species, but may take different paths or feed from multiple sources.

The food chain shows how plants and animals get energy from each other. Some animals eat other animals, while others eat plants. For example, a simple food chain might link trees and shrubs with giraffes and lions. The food chain starts with plants and continues up the food chain to the top level - predators. All living things must eat each other to survive. 
After plants, animals and humans come the decomposers. These organisms eat dead organic material and extract energy from it. They are sometimes considered a trophic level of their own. They also recycle nutrients and provide nutrients to the soil, oceans and producers. It is also important to remember that plants can be considered secondary consumers, as they can consume primary producers. They can be eaten by a number of other creatures, including owls and foxes.

In a biology lesson, the food chain is a diagram that shows how energy moves from one organism to another. It is an important concept in biology because it helps students understand how animals feed themselves. The food chain illustrates how nutrients and energy move through the different levels of the animal kingdom. A food chain begins with a producer and ends with a decomposer. The flow of energy through a food chain is the most efficient way to feed your family and keep them healthy. In your lesson, you will be asked to arrange arrows to represent food relationships. You may also be asked to classify organisms by their trophic level. 
Practice more about feeding relationships in the game above this page. There is also a worksheet you can use for more practice.