A food chain is a very simple diagram to show how energy flows through an ecosystem. This food chain shows energy from the sun is used by grass, the cow gets its energy by eating the grass, and then we get energy by eating the cow or drinking its milk. A food web diagram lets you predict what will happen to one animal population if another population gets bigger or smaller. Providing the prey species reproduces as fast as it is predated, its population will stay at a constant size. If the rabbits in a grassland ecosystem reproduce faster than the foxes predate them, the rabbit population will increase.
Predators are consumers.
Return to Index Grazing Grazers are also consumers. These are primary consumers because they are eating plants. Cows, rabbit, deer, goats and zebra are all grazers. If there are too many grazers, the plants will become over-grazed and this can be a problem because the plants may be protecting the soil from erosion. The atmosphere contains a pool of Carbon Dioxide which is used by plants in photosynthesis to make carbohydrates e.g. starch.