Food Chains / Food Webs
The interrelationship between species in the river, wetland, grassland, and woodland habitats of the Platte River prairie ecosystem is a complex, dynamic food system. By exploring food chains and food webs, you will discover how energy is transferred from one organism to another. All living things are connected. Here is how it works:
A food chain follows one path as animals find food. For example, an owl eats a snake, which has eaten a mouse, which has eaten grass. A food chain consists of producers (green plants), consumers (animals), and decomposers (microorganisms).
A food web consists of many food chains that interconnect and form a complex web-like pattern. A food web is made up of producers and many different levels of consumers.
Activity: Build Food Chains & Food Webs
To learn more, try this food chain/food web activity. After completing the activities, study the plants and animals that live near you, discover the food chains that make up your neighborhood’s food web, keep field notes, take photographs, and make connections.
Click on the image below to launch the activity.