Every food chain starts with a producer.

Producer is a green plant.

Producers – extremely important. Because they are the source of all the biomass in the community.

Synthesis complex molecules

Plants make glucose by photosynthesis, which uses energy through sunlight.

Scientists call molecules such as glucose biomass.

These molecules are passed down the food chain to other organisms.

Primary consumers – eat the producers

Secondary consumers – eats the primary consumer

Tertiary consumer - eats a secondary consumer

Predators – consumers that kill and eat other animals.

Prey – animal that is eaten

The numbers of predator and prey rise and fall in cycles.

Explaining a predator-prey cycle from a graph:

- Prey has a lot of food

- More prey survives and reproduce
- More prey = more predators
- More predators = more prey killed
- Fewer prey = fewer predators
- Few predators = more prey
- More prey = survive and reproduce
- Prey increases
- Predators increase

Only true for a stable community

If something changed, predator-prey cycles would change.