3.6 Predators and Prey NC

A. I'm Hungry

Part of what makes a healthy ecosystem is finding enough food for every living thing in the ecosystem. Living things eat different things. In fact, you can tell what animals eat based on their teeth!

Can you guess which animal below mostly eats plants and which mostly eats animals based on their teeth?

Horse (Herbivore):

Horses eat plants like grass and hay, and their wide, flat teeth are shaped for grinding tough plants over and over. Animals that only eat plants are called herbivores. 

Stop The Invasion_ 3.3 Herbivore

Tiger (Carnivore):

Tigers eat meat, such as deer and wild pigs, and their sharp, pointed teeth help them grab prey and tear meat easily. Animals that only eat meat are called carnivores. 

Stop The Invasion_ 3.3 Carnivore

Bear (Omnivore):

Bears eat both plants and animals, such as berries, fish, and small mammals, and their teeth include sharp canines and flat molars to handle many kinds of food. Animals that eat both plants and meat are called omnivores. Notice how the bear has sharp teeth to tear meat and flat teeth in the back for plants? 

Stop The Invasion_ 3.3 Omnivore

A. Predators and Prey

The horse eats plants. The tiger eats other animals in the ecosystem. The tiger is a predator. A small horse might be food for a tiger. That would make it prey.

  • Predator: A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals to get energy and survive.
  • Prey: Prey are animals that are hunted and eaten by predators.

Simple Way to Remember

Predators hunt.
Prey are hunted.

Think About It:

Can an animal be both predator and prey?

Aquatic Ecosystems

YES!

Example: In the Everglades, a raccoon is a predator when it eats insects, eggs, or small animals, but it is also prey because it can be eaten by larger animals like alligators or Burmese pythons.

Check Your Answer

B. Who Eats Who in the Everglades

A food chain is a drawing that shows the flow of energy in an ecosystem. A food chain shows the flow of energy from one living thing to another. The flow of energy is the energy that comes from food.

Directions: Before you learn about food webs, let’s make a simple food chain. Below are five living organisms from the Everglades: a frog, an alligator, a mosquito, an orchid, and a raccoon. Drag and drop each organism to figure out who eats whom. The arrow should be pointing away from the animal that is getting eaten, and toward the animal that is doing the eating. It’s like a puzzle!

C. Read

What makes an ecosystem healthy?

Fact Finder: Now we’ll read more about how all of the organisms in an ecosystem work together to keep the ecosystem healthy. As you read, write down any important information in the “Fact Finder” section of your Mission Log.

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