The passage of energy (in the form of food) from producers to the organisms that feed upon them. The number of links in a food chain varies (from producer to top predator), but seldom exceeds five. Most communities contain food webs, i.e., food chains that are interlinked. Trees are producers. Their seeds, fallen leaves, live leaves, bark, and so on are consumed by insects and animals.

An abstraction describing the network of feeding relationships – the Sequence of organisms in which each is food for the next member in the sequence.

Movement of energy through the trophic levels of organisms. In most ecosystems, this process begins with photosynthetic autotrophs (plants) and ends with carnivores and detritivores.

Dependence of a series of organisms, one upon the other, for food. The chain begins with plants and ends with the largest carnivores.

A succession of organisms starting with algae or other plants, followed by the animals that feed on them. Next come the animals that feed on the animals that feed on plants, and so forth. A simplified example would be algae followed by tiny floating animals that eat the algae; larger floating animals (still small) that eat the tiny animals; small fish that eat the larger animals; big fish that eat the little fish; and humans who eat the big fish.

A portion of a food web, most commonly a simple sequence of prey species and the predators that consume them.

a sequence of organisms in a community where each member of the chain feeds on the member below it. The chain moves from plants that make their own food to herbivores to carnivores.

the sequence in which energy as food is transferred from one group of organisms to another.

simplest ecological feeding relationship, in which one species eats only one species of prey and is eaten by only one species of predator.

An ordered list of who or what eats who or what! A shark eats a fish which eats a smaller fish which eats phytoplankton which absorbs nutrients. This is one food chain.

The food chain is a series of organisms, each feeding upon the previous one. Defined as key term in Introduction to Biology 2.5.2 Ecosystems have a characteristic energy flow

A sequence of species in which each species serves as a food source for the next species. Food chains usually begin with species which consume detritus or plant material (herbivores) and proceed to larger and larger carnivores. Ex: grasshopper eaten by snake eaten by owl.

a producer and a series of animals through which energy is transferred when one individual eats another. Food chains really are snapshots in both space and time since eating habits vary.

An abstract representation of the links between consumers and consumed populations, e.g. plant - herbivore - carnivore.

is the sequence in which each organism is the food of the next member in the chain.  Green plants are at the beginning of the chain, followed by herbivores, smaller carnivores, and finally larger carnivores.

the transfer of food energy from producers to consumers.

a series of plants and animals linked by their food relationships; for example: a plant, a plant-eating insect, and an insect-eating bat would form a simple food chain.

The transfer of energy and material through a series of organisms as each one is fed upon by the next.

a specific nutrient and energy pathway in ecosystems proceeding from producer to consumers; along the pathway, organisms in higher trophic levels gain energy and nutrients by consuming organisms at lower trophic levels

Series of organisms in which each eats or decomposes the preceding one. Compare food web.

a series of organisms in which each uses the next, usually the lower member of the series, as a food source

A linear path that food energy takes in passing from producer to consumers to decomposers in an ecosystem.

the transfer of food energy from organisms in one nutritional level to those in another.

the pathway along which food is transferred from food producers to food consumers

A sequence of organisms including plants, herbivores (plant-eating animals) and carnivores (meat-eating animals), through which energy and materials move within an ecosystem.

A linear relationship of predators and prey.

n. The hierarchical line of management (as in: "He is too low in the food chain to affect this.").

Sequence of species within a community, each member of which serves as food for the species next higher in the chain e.g. plants, herbivores, carnivores.

a lineup of organisms from producers (plants) to consumers (other plants, animals and fungi), with each organism feeding on or getting nutrients from the previous organism.

A sequence of organisms in which plants are the primary food source for herbivores, which are in turn the food source for carnivores, etc., until the top carnivore level is reached.

The feeding relationships among organisms. A hierarchy or pecking order of different living things, each of which feeds on the one below. For instance, a jaguar eats a bird which eats an ant which eats a berry from a tree. Eating lower on the food chain (i.e. eating a plant-based diet versus an animal based diet) is good for our health and the environment. fossil fuels Another name for the gasoline and fuel oils that come from petroleum. So named because they came from the fossils of dinosaurs and plants that lived on Earth millions of years ago.

A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal. (e.g. grasshopper eats plants like corn, shrews eat grasshoppers, hawks eat shrews.)

The sequence of algae being eaten by small aquatic animals (zooplankton) which in turn are eaten by small fish which are then eaten by larger fish and eventually by people or predators. Certain chemicals, such as PCBS, mercury, and some pesticides, can be concentrated from very low levels in the water to toxic levels in animals through this process. Page - 19

The movement of energy, in the form of food, from producers to consumers.

The order or organisms that feed upon each other, from lowest plant life forms, to fish and animals, to humans. Toxins present in lower forms tend to become more concentrated as they climb the food chain.

a series of organisms connected by their feeding habits; each link in the food chain is eaten by a larger one, which is eaten by a still larger one.

The transfer of energy from a plant through a series of consumers

encompasses the whole process of food production, from the fields of the farmer and the food their animals eat, through to food manufacturing, processing and distribution, all the way to your home.

A sequence of steps through which food and energy move through the environment from the primary source (plants), through the animals that consume plants, up to the animals which consume other animals.

The natural order of animal life and survival. For example: a dead leaf is eaten by an earthworm, that is eaten by a small bird, that is eaten by an owl.

movement of energy and nutrients from one feeding group of organisms to another in a series that begins with plants and ends with carnivores, detrital feeders and decomposers.

a linear sequence of organisms in which each is food for the next member in the sequence

the sequence of organisms in which each is food for the next organism in the sequence (i.e., grass-mouse-snake-hawk).

a feeding sequence which depicts the flow of food, energy and materials in an ecosystem

transfer of energy cycle from one organism to the next. This chain starts with the Sun's energy, then to the plants, then to animals.

(ecology) a community of organisms where each member is eaten in turn by another member

a chain of eating and being eaten that connects large and carnivorous animals to their ultimate plant food

a diagram that illustrates how one animal eats another

a feeding relationship between organisms through which energy is transferred

a food pathway that links different species in a community

a food pathway that links different species in a The longest chains usually involve aquatic animals

a food pathway that links different species in trophic level

a hierarchy where some creatures eat others and are eaten by others

a model of feeding relationships in an ecosystem

a model that shows how energy is passed, in the form of food , crayons Test your knowledge of food by drawing some of your own

a model that shows how energy is passed, in the form of food, from one organism to another

an ordered list of who eats whom

a picture or chart-type line that shows energy not have enough food either

a picture or model that shows the flow of energy in an environment

a sequence by which smaller animals and plants are eaten by larger, stronger animals that are then eaten by even stronger animals

a sequence of feeding relationships between organisms living within the same community

a sequence of organisms beginning with green plants ( producers ), which are food for higher and often more complex organisms, animals ( consumers )

a sequence of organisms, in which each is food for higher and more complex organisms

a series of organisms each feeding on the one preceding it

a series of organisms that transfer food between different levels of an ecosystem

a simple drawing to illustrate how each animal eats some things and is eaten by others

a simple feeding sequence that follows the transfer of energy as one organism eats or consumes another

a simple straight lined diagram that shows where an organism gets its energy

a simple way to show how energy and matter flow through an ecosystem, but most organisms eat more than one type of food

a simplified look at how that energy is transferred from one living thing to another

a simplified look at how that energy is transferred In the Grassland

a simplified look at the feeding relationships in an ecosystem

a simplified way to show the relationship of organisms that feed on each other

a single series of organisms in which each plant or animal depends on the organism above or below it

a very simple diagram to show how energy flows through an ecosystem

a way of showing food relationships between organisms in a community

a way of showing how nutrients and energy pass from producers through the various trophic levels in an ecosystem at any given time, moving from producers up the food web to top-level consumers

link between food sources. A simple food chain may start with plants, then herbivores, and then carnivores. If any part of the food chain is damaged, the entire chain would collapse

Interrelations of organisms that feed upon each other, transferring energy and nutrients. Typically solar energy is processed by plants who are eaten by herbivores which in turn are eaten by carnivores: sun - grass - mouse - owl

The transfer of food energy through a series of organisms, beginning with the consumption of green plants (producers) by herbivores (plant eaters), and later consumption of the herbivores by carnivores (meat eaters)

a series of living things in which each member feeds on the one before and is in time eaten by the one after.

food chain is a simple way of thinking about energy moves through a community of living things. The sun's energy is transferred from plants (producers) through animals (consumers) and finally returned to the soil by decomposers that feed on the dead and waste products. An example from Sabino Canyon is: grass, cottontail rabbit, coyote, dead coyote eaten by maggots (fly larvae).

Members of plant and animal communities (ecosystems) whose relationship includes dependence on each other as sources of food.

A number of organisms forming a series through which energy is passed. At the base of the chain (the producer, or first trophic level) there is always a green plant or other autotrophy that traps energy, almost always from light, and produces food substances, thereby making energy available for the other (consumer) levels. Any natural community will have many interlinked food chains that make up a food web or food cycle.

the pathways through which nutrients added to a pond are converted into fish flesh.

the transfer of food energy from the source in plants through a series of animals, with repeated eating and being eaten. For example, a green plant, a leaf-eating insect, and an insect-eating bird would form a simple food chain.

a linear depiction of energy flow; each organism feeds on and derives energy from the preceding organism

Transfers of matter and energy in the form of food between living organisms within an environment.

A series of organisms linked together in the order in which they feed on each other

A sequence of organisms in which each uses the next, usually lower, member of the sequence as a food source.

diagram showing what animal eat

A series of plants and animals linked by their feeding relationships. The smallest organisms in the chain are eaten by the larger organisms, which are eaten by still larger organisms.

in an ecosystem, the sequence of prey species and the predators that consume them; a part of the food web.

The relationship between who eats whom among plants and animals.

the transfer of food energy from one organism to the next. As one example of a simple food chain, an insect consumes a plant and is then consumed by a bird.

representation of the passage of energy (food) from producers to the organisms that feed on them.

transfer of food energy from one organism to another. It begins with a plant species, which is eaten by an animal species; it continues with a second animal species, which eats the first, and so on.

the chain of living things in an ecosystem in which each link in the chain feeds on a link below it and is fed upon by the one above it.

A pathway that links different species in a community. In a food chain, energy and nutrients are passed from one organism to another along the direction of an arrow.

a pattern of large animals eating smaller animals, which in turn eat plants; plants are always at the bottom of the food chain

The linear relationship of species that eat each other. 859

Simplified representation of the relationship of organisms that feed on each other.

A series of plants and animals linked together by their food relationships. Grass eaten by a rabbit which is then eaten by a fox is a three-part food chain. In nature, food chains rarely exceed four or five members.

the flow of energy and nutrients from sunlight to plants to predators.(back)

a sequence of living things that describes feeding relationships

the sequence of who eats whom within an ecosystem

The transfer of food energy from plants through herbivores to carnivores. An example: the sequence of algae being eaten by zooplankton (grazers; herbivores) which in turn are eaten by small fish (planktivores; predators) which in turn are eaten by larger fish (piscivores; fish eating predators) and eventually by people or other predators (fish-eating birds, mammals, and reptiles).

a series of organisms in a community where one feeds on another in the chain and is eaten, in turn, by another.

A chain of organisms, linked together because each is food for the next in line. Energy passes from one level to the next. All the food chains in an ecosystem are connected together in a complex food web.

consists of three levels; plant, plant-eater and meat-eater (there may be more than one level of meat-eater)

The transfer of food, energy, and certain chemicals when one organism is eaten by another.

the transfer of energy when one living thing consumes another

linear scheme of feeding relationships, which unites members of a biological community. The number of stages in a chain does not usually exceed five, and usually involve plants, herbivores and one or two successive sets of predators.

A series of plants and animals linked by their food relationships; the passage of energy and materials from producer through a succession of consumers. Green plants, plant-eating insects, and an insect-eating bat would form a simple food chain. See also Food web.

series of animals that eat one another

the pathway of energy and nutrients from the nonliving parts of the ecosystem, through the living parts, and back to the nonliving environment.

The transfer of energy as one living thing eats another and is in turn eaten. A food chain typically begins with the energy first created by a living thing that makes food through photosynthesis.

The way each living creature depends on another living thing as a source of food. Humans eat animals, bigger animals eat smaller animals, smaller animals eat even smaller ones, and so on, down to the tiniest living creatures. See 'Web of life' term this list.

The simplest representation of energy þow in a community. At the base is energy stored in plants, which are eaten by small organisms, which in turn are eaten by progressively larger organisms; the food chain is an oversimpliÞcation in that most animals do not eat only one type of organism.

The straight-line sequence in which energy (food) is transferred from one organism to another.

A 'chain' of organisms through which energy is transferred. Each organism in this chain feeds on and obtains energy from another organism preceding it, and in turn is eaten by, and provides energy for, the one following it (e.g. plant eaten by herbivore, then herbivore eaten by carnivore).

A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community (an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition. A food chain starts with plants or other autotrophs (organisms that make their own food from light and/or chemical energy) that are eaten by herbivores (plant-eaters). The herbivores are eaten by carnivores (meat-eaters). These are eaten by other carnivores. When any organism dies, it is eaten by dettrivores and then broken down by tiny microbes (detrivores) and the exchange of energy continues.

refers to a series of plants and animals that depend upon each other as food sources (i.e., a plant is eaten by a small fish, which is eaten by a larger fish, which is eaten by a bird, and so on).

transfer of food energy from plants to one or more animals; a series of plants and animals linked by their food relationships

The transfer of energy from the primary producers (green plants) through a series of organisms that eat and are eaten, assuming that each organism feeds on one other type of organism.

an arrangement that shows how energy flows from one organism to another in an ecosystem

The transfer of energy that occurs when a series of organisms eat (or decompose) the following one. An example: insect-fish-bear or the sequence of algae being eaten by zooplankton (grazers; herbivores) which in turn are eaten by small fish (planktivores; predators) which are then eaten by larger fish (piscivores; fish eating predators) and eventually by people or other predators (fish-eating birds, mammals, and reptiles).

Plants and animals can be linked together in feeding relationships called food chains. At the bottom of food chains are green plants that convert sunlight into food energy for the rest of the chain. Animals that eat the plants are then eaten by another animal, and so on up the chain. The number of animals involved can vary. For example, in the North, the lichen-caribou-human food chain has fewer feeding links, and is much shorter than the algae (a small plant that lives in water but needs sunlight)-fish- seal-polar bear-human food chain. In nature, food chains overlap to form food webs.

A diagram that shows the flow of food and energy from producers to consumers. The original food source for all organisms in a food chain can be traced to plants. "Food chain" and "food web" are often used interchangeably, but a food chain shows just one thing that each animal eats and is eaten by; while a food web shows all the things an animal eats and is eaten by.

a representation of the flow of energy between producers, consumers, and decomposers.

A series of feeding relationships where organisms at one level serve as food for a higher level of organisms.

Includes all businesses involved in the transformation of raw materials into food. It can be short e.g eggs purchased straight from the farm, or long and complex. eg transport/slaughterhouse/transport/processor/cannery/transport/retailer/consumer chain which beef destined for tinned casseroles may follow

Path of energy tranfer that connects various members of an ecosystem from one organism to another.

An arrangement of the organisms of an ecological community according to the order of predation in which each uses the next, usually lower, member as a food source.

A sequence of organisms directly dependent on one another for food.

The transfer of food energy from the initial source in plants through a series of organisms by repeated eating and being eaten.

consists of a series of animals that eat plants and other animals

A hierachy of food relationships from the simplest to most complex.

An interconnected chain of organisms that indicate which are predators and which are prey in relation to one another.

Energy transfer / feeding interactions within a habitat

A metaphor for the hierarchical interrelationship among organisms in an ecosystem that describes the uptake and transfer of mass and energy (nutrients) from primary producers, to herbivores, to carnivores, omnivores, and scavengers/carrion eaters, to decomposers which close the nutrient cycle.

a sequence of feeding relationships by which energy is transferred from primary producers to consumers. | | | | | | | | | | N | O | | | | | | | X | Y | Z

The plants and animals through which energy flows. Plants make up the base of the chain, by converting energy from the sun into food. Animals make up the next steps in the chain, by eating plants or other animals to get energy.

The transfer of stored (potential chemical) energy through a series of organisms, each eating or decomposing the previous one.

the trophic interrelationship of species within an ecosystem.

is a transfer of food which moves through a sequence of organisms, each feeding on the previous one

An arrangement of the organisms of an ecological community according to the order in which they eat each other, with each organism using the next lower organism in the food chain as prey. Green plants are usually at the bottom of the food chain.

the transfer of food energy from plants through herbivores to carnivores. An example: insect-fish-bear or the sequence of algae being eaten by small aquatic animals (zooplankton) which in turn are eaten by small fish which are then eaten by larger fish and eventually by people or predators.

sequence of organisms through which food energy is passed e.g. plants - mice - owls; plants - hares - lynx

The simplest representation of energy flow in a community.

The relationship between plants and animals that shows who eats what. Energy is transferred from one organism to another through the food chain.

A sequence of organisms on successive tropic levels within a community, through which energy is transferred by feeding.

Depicts a sequence of organisms arranged in such a way that demonstrates the transfer of energy from one trophic level to another

Sequence of transfer of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism in ascending or descending trophic levels. WHO, 1979

a sequence or organism, including producers, herbivores, and carnivores, through which energy and materials move within an ecosystem.

A series of interconnected feeding relationships; the process of energy capture (by green plants) and successive transfer to grazers (primary consumers) and predators (secondary consumers and above).

n: Figure of speech describing the dependence of heterotrophs on other organisms for food, progressing in a series beginning with primary producers (plants) and ending with the largest carnivores. The food chain is used as a figurative image for educational purposes only... real trophic systems resemble webs rather than chains. See food web .

The interconnecting links whereby green plants are eaten by animals, which in turn are eaten by other animals.

A sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next, lower member of the sequence as a food source.

Food chains, food webs and/or food networks describe the feeding relationships between species in a biotic community. Food webs graphically represent the transfer of material and energy from one species to another within an ecosystem. Typically a food web refers to a graph where only connections are recorded, and a food network or ecosystem network refers to a network where the connections are given weights representing the quantity of nutrients or energy being transferred.

Food Chain is a trade paperback collecting comic stories based on the Buffy television series.