The Food Chain                         A living community that each member depends on each other and its surrounding environment is called ecosystem. The living part of an ecosystem is called a food chain too.

Every participant in an ecosystem has an important part to play and if one becomes more dominant than the others, the ecosystem can develop problems.  We'll start with the producers. These are living things which take the non living matter from the environment, such as minerals and gases and uses them to support life. Green plants are considered producers and the are at the beginning of the food chain.  Next are the consumers. These living things need the producers to be their food.    Animals that eat plants are called herbivores and animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. They are considered consumers and other parts of ecosystem. Carnivores have a strongest dependence on the food chain since they need the herbivores for their food.  In an ecosystem animals and people who eat both animals and plants are called omnivores. They are considered as a part of the consumer piece of the ecosystem too.  Decomposers are the last part of the ecosystem. These living things feed off dead plants and animals and turn their remains to minerals and gases again. Examples  of decomposers are fungi, like mushrooms, and bacteria.