Pond Food Chain Chat
This is a fictional classroom discussion, not a transcript. Ready to chat about the school pond?
Leo
Quick question: do the food-chain arrows point towards the food?
Not quite! The arrows point from the organism being eaten to the organism that eats it.
Sam
And they show the direction energy is transferred, right?
Exactly. Algae are eaten by water fleas; water fleas are eaten by small fish; and a heron can eat the fish.
Leo
So algae are the producers because they use sunlight to make their own food.
Sam
And water fleas, fish and herons are consumers.
The reading also says bacteria and fungi break down dead organisms.
Leo
They release nutrients that plants and algae can use again. Cool!
Sam
Using the PDF, can you explain what one arrow in this food chain shows?