Food Chain Levels in Ecosystem
When one organism is eaten by another, majority of the energy is wasted and only a small amount of energy is transferred to the consumer. The levels of food chain are mentioned below:
- The food chain starts with the producers or autotrophs. They use energy from sunlight to synthesize their own food through the process of photosynthesis.
- The second link in the food chain are the consumers. They get their energy from the food they eat. The primary consumers or herbivores such as rabbits or insects, eat plants.
- The next layer in the food chain comprise of animals that eat other animals. The first group consists of carnivores, such as snakes, who eat herbivores. The other group comprises of omnivores, who eat both plants and other animals. Usually, there are several levels, such as secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and quaternary consumers, that all occupy this sector. Apex predators are the consumers at the top of the food chain.
- The last step of a chain are the decomposers, such as fungi, that use the remains of organisms to grow.
Diagram of Food Chain
The diagram of food chain shows the flow of energy and nutrients through various organisms in an ecosystem in a linear fashion. The food chain starts with producers and ends with decomposers. A food chain diagram shows how energy passes within an ecosystem through organisms eating and being eaten. The diagram of the food chain class 6 and 7 is an important topic in the biology syllabus and is often asked in the examinations.
The food chain diagram with labels is given below:
Table of Content
- What is Food Chain?
- Food Chain Levels in Ecosystem
- Conclusion- Diagram of Food chain
- FAQs- Diagram of Food chain