Food Chains and Webs

A new plant sprouts from the soil. One day a rabbit munches on the plant’s leaves. A food chain has begun. Every time an animal eats a plant or another animal, they form a food chain. Food chains begin with producers. Producers, such as plants, make their own food. The next link in a food chain is made by the consumers. Consumers cannot make their own food. They must eat plants or other animals. Consumers that eat plants are called herbivores. Rabbits are herbivores. Meat-eating consumers are called carnivores. Wolves are carnivores. Some animals, called scavengers, eat the bodies of dead plants and animals. Scavengers are also consumers. Every food chain ends with decomposers. Decomposers break down the bodies of dead plants and animals. Decomposers are a very important part of the food chain.

Decomposers break down dead plants and animals, like the dead leaves shown here. Decomposers make it possible for new plants to grow and new food chains to begin.View Larger Image

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