food chain
Who devours whom
A food chain is the sequence of organisms in which each serves as food for the next: plants are eaten by insects, insects by small birds, small birds by hawks.
The concept illustrates how energy flows through ecosystems.
Figuratively, the food chain describes any hierarchy of power or status: In Hollywood, screenwriters are low on the food chain.
Organism that consumes others
- preyAnimal being hunted
- producersThose who create goods
- consumersThose who buy goods
- decomposersOrganisms breaking down dead material
apex predator · herbivores · carnivores · omnivores · secondary consumers · detritivores · scavengers · keystone species
Pursuit of quarry
ambush · stalking · pursuit · forage · scavenge · feed · camouflage · defense
Social dominance arrangement
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- rankPosition in hierarchy
- apexUppermost point or culmination
- bottom feedersCreatures eating from below
position · levels · tiers · order · structure · competition · survival of the fittest · natural order
Sudden structural failure
- imbalanceLack of proportion
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- invasive speciesHarmful non-native organism
- overfishingUnsustainable marine harvest
habitat loss · pollution · bioaccumulation · pesticides · DDT · endangered · decline · ripple effect
Movement of power through systems
- energy transferPower moving between systems
- sunlightRadiance from our star
- photosynthesisLight-to-sugar conversion in plants
- caloriesMeasures of food energy
biomass · productivity · energy pyramid · glucose · ATP · metabolism · chemical energy · conversion
predator
Organism that consumes others
decomposers · apex predator · herbivores · carnivores · omnivores · secondary consumers · detritivores · scavengers · keystone species · bioaccumulation
hunt
Pursuit of quarry
predator · ambush · stalking · pursuit · forage · scavenge · feed · camouflage · defense · escape
pecking order
Social dominance arrangement
bottom feeders · position · levels · tiers · order · structure · competition · survival of the fittest · natural order · stratification
collapse
Sudden structural failure
- imbalanceLack of proportion
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- invasive speciesHarmful non-native organism
overfishing · habitat loss · pollution · bioaccumulation · pesticides · DDT · endangered · decline · ripple effect · ecosystem collapse
energy flow
Movement of power through systems
- energy transferPower moving between systems
- sunlightRadiance from our star
- photosynthesisLight-to-sugar conversion in plants
calories · biomass · productivity · energy pyramid · glucose · ATP · metabolism · chemical energy · conversion · efficiency
- biology topicsanimals, plants, insects, dinosaurs, fish
- conservationconservation, wildlife, endangered, habitat, sanctuary
- ecologyhabitat, ecosystem, balance, niche, water quality
- ecosystemecosystem, ecosystems, biome, habitat, producer
- environmental scienceecology, air quality, ecosystem, water quality, ecosystems
- food systemshunger relief, farm-to-table, farm to table, sustainable farming, organic farming