What is a food chain?
A food chain shows how living things get energy from food, and how that energy moves from one living thing to another.
It starts with a producer such as a plant. Producers make their own food using sunlight, water and air.
Next, are consumers which are animals that eat plants or other animals to get energy. Some consumers eat plants, and others eat meat to get energy.
At the top of the food chain is the apex predator. An apex predator is an animal with no natural predators. It hunts other animals but is not hunted itself for food.
Watch: Apex Predator
Sing along as this song takes you from the bottom to the very top of a food chain.
VOICEOVER: Lunchtime on the African savannah, where a zebra is trying to avoid being on the menu.
ZEBRA: Oh! Oh!
Phew! I think I shook that lion off.
LION: Oh, hi.
LION: Well done.
You really made me work for it today. That bit where you hid in the long grass.
ZEBRA: Ah!
LION: Genius!
Now let's eat.
You I mean. In case that wasn't clear.
ZEBRA: Aaaah! Are you sure about this?
LION: Afraid so, it's what I do. You see, I'm going to have to eat you because I'm an apex predator, apex predator, apex predator.
ZEBRA: Oh. Ah ha. Ah ha.
LION: So let me explain, for your little brain, about the food chain.
ZEBRA: Oh. Ah ha. Ah ha.
LION: Living things you see. Just like you and me. We need energy.
ZEBRA: Oh. Ah ha. Ah ha.
LION: Energy, energy comes from the sun. It feeds the plants and makes them grow.
ANIMALS: They're producers.
LION: Then primary consumers they come along and eat those plants don't you know.
ANIMALS: They're herbivores.
LION: Secondary consumers, oh yeah there's more. They like to eat those herbivores.
ANIMALS: They're carnivores.
LION: Always sitting there at the top of the chain. They call us apex predators.
ZEBRA: Oh oh oooooh.
LION: Every living thing is in the food chain.
Gets its energy from what's below.
Grass to snail to rat - to rat eating snake.
Everything gets hunted except for the apex predator, apex predator.
Nothing eats us up.
ZEBRA: Oh, that must feel good.
LION: Apex predator. Apex predator. Lions, bears and such.
ZEBRA: Once more, if you could.
LION: A rabbit eats whatever grass it finds in the field.
Then gives the fox a tasty meal.
FOX: Yum yum yum yum.
LION: The seal eats the fish that has eaten algae.
SEAL: Aaaahhhh.
LION: Then an orca eats the seal.
ORCA: To fill my tum.
LION: You, my friend, are destined for my dinner.
That is just the way the food chain goes.
Apex predators we are the winners.
Nothing comes for us because…
LION: We are the apex predators. Lions, bears and such - here to eat you up.
ZEBRA: It's becoming clear.
LION: Surely you can see you are food for me. That's how it must be.
ZEBRA: Oh! My end is near.
LION: Hey, so now you know the chain. Are you ready? Cause I'm coming to eat ya, eat ya, eat ya!
ZEBRA: What eats what eats what?
That's a food chain.
Energy moves up through the food chain. Oh!
LION: Apex predator - lions, bears and such. Nothing eats us up.
ZEBRA: Yep, so now I know.
LION: You must have a hunch, it's come to the crunch. Time I had my lunch.
LION: Oh, where did he go?
What can teeth tell us about the food chain?
Teeth can tell us a lot about where an animal fits in the food chain.
Producers, such as plants, do not have teeth because they make their own food using sunlight.
Consumers do have teeth and the shape of their teeth shows what they eat.
Different animals have different teeth because they eat different foods. The shape of a consumer’s teeth shows the type of food they are adapted to eat:
Animals that eat plants are called herbivores. They have flat, wide teeth for grinding leaves and grass.
Animals that eat meat are called carnivores. They have sharp, pointed teeth for tearing flesh.
Omnivores, like humans, eat both plants and animals. They have a mix of sharp and flat teeth.
By looking at an animal’s teeth, we can often tell what it eats and where it belongs in the food chain. Just don’t get too close in case it bites!
Take a look at the teeth of some different animals below:
Horrible Science fact
Some apex predators have super senses. For example, sharks can smell a tiny drop of blood from far away, and eagles can see small animals on the ground from high in the sky. These amazing senses help them stay at the top of the food chain and sniff out their dinner.
Find out more about food chains.
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