Effects of the food chain

There are many endangered species right now. This is causing the food chain to fall out of order. First, all the animals eating that animal would die off, because there would be no food left for them to eat. Second, the animals or plants that the extincted animal was suppose to eat would multiply rapidly. Third, if animals become extinct, part of the environment would die with it. For example, several years back, there were some men. They were exploring some land. They found it inhabited by several animals and alligators. The birds would sing and there would be a pleasant sound. Alligators would kill some birds or deer to eat, and the men thought that this was destroying the environment. As a result , they started killing the alligators. These men thought that they were doing the birds a favor, but instead of that, the bird population lowered. The men were speechless. If there were no alligators, how come the population deceased instead of increased. They found out that the alligator, even though they kill birds, in the winter, they would make ponds because the water would stop coming in. This helped many species of animals in the forest. In this way, the animals could get water even though the water didn't come though.Without the alligators to make the little ponds for the animals, they didn't have a source of water. As a result, their population lowered. These people were shocked of how much a secondary consumer could help scavengers and primary consumers alike. Let's say that spiders were extinct (even though I doubt that would ever happen). As a result, flies and all those bugs that spiders eat would multiply. Each animal makes sure that the animals that they eat don't multiply that quickly. Another example is that if one species of animals were extinct, then the animals eating that wouldn't get much food. For example, if seals become extinct, then the polar bears wouldn't be getting much food. Even though they also eat fish, they wouldn't be getting as much as they use to.

Rainforest Food Chain

(Yes, this picture does not have a sun in it, but just picture it in your own head)

The sun is the ultimate source of energy, therefore making it a huge provider for a rainforest and many different biomes on this planet. The sun gives energy to a producer, such as a banana plant, which takes in that energy and allows it to make food for itself. Then, a primary consumer comes along, a monkey or an herbivore, and eats the producer as food. That animal uses that energy, and then gets eaten by a secondary consumer. A leopard eats the monkey and uses that energy until it dies sadly. Its dead carcass will get eaten by a scavenger or a decomposer, like bacteria. Scavengers will eat that body, but then it will die and get decomposed by a decomposer.

Rainforest Scavenger

The decomposer may be the last organism in a food change but the scavenger may also be added because they are a bit similer to them. Scavengers eat dead meat but not waste and they do not turn the food into soil for the producers. They are also very important because if they did not eat the dead organisms the rainforest would be covered in them and it would spread diseases. Some examples of scavengers are king vultures and loctomokeys.

Rainforest Decomposer

And the last organism in a food chain is the decomposer. Decomposers are organisms that break things down. This category includes earthworms, mushrooms, bacteria, fungus, and so on and a very well known one that lives in the rainforest is the banana slug. Bacteria and other decomposers break dead things down. If a jaguar dies, some decomposers will come and start breaking down the body. This makes the soil richer and allows plants to grow. The producer then uses this rich soil to grow and thus starts the food chain all over again. And now the cycle goes like this: the sun gives energy to the producer, which gives energy to the primary consumer, which gives energy to the secondary consumer, which gives energy to the decomposer, which starts the cycle over again.

Rainforest Secondary Consumers

So this food chain we are talking about still goes on and the next organism is called secondary consumer. They are usually carnivores but they can also be omnivores and they get their energy from feeding on the primary consumers. In the rain forest some of the secondary consumers are anaconda, jaguar, and ocelot. The primary consumers they feed on are the three toed sloth and the howler monkeys. Now the food chain is that the sun gives energy to the producer, which gives energy to the primary consumer, which gives energy to the secondary. But wait there is still one last organism in the food chain.

Quiz

This is a quiz to test you to see if you have been paying attention in our blog.

1.What is the range of temperature in Celsius?
a) 48-3074 degrees
b)20-34 degrees
c) 10-30 degrees
d)There is no range

2.How much oxygen does the rainforest produce in the world?
a) 60%
b) 38%
c)40%
d)-40%

3. How many layers are there in the rain forest?
a) There are no layers
b)8
c)6
d)4

4.Which river is in the Amazon Rainforest?
a)Amazon river
b)Colorado River
c)Mississippi River
d)Snake River

5. What is the organism called if it produces in the food chain?
a)primary consumer
b)producer
c)insects
d)brownies

6.About how many species of animals are founds in 2.5 acres of a tropical rainforest?
a)60-80
b)10-90
c)50-500
d)40-100

7.What is the typical climate in the rainforest?
a)hot and humid
b)cold and dry
c)cold and humid
d)hot and dry

8.What is the average amount of rainfall in the rainforest yearly?
a)100-150"
b)20-709"
c)50-260"
d)58-92"

~Answers~
2.C
3.D
4.A
5.B
6.D
7.A
8.C


Here are some videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUoyx2U_viA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4fRUwJNzB0&feature=related