Nature connections: Food
Every living thing needs energy. Plants get their energy from the sun, while animals get theirs from eating plants, or other animals.
We’re all connected by the food we eat. This is one of the reasons why it’s important that we think about other species when we develop the land around us.
Producers: plants
Plants use the sun’s energy to grow, instead of eating food like we do. This is called photosynthesis.
Plants are called producers, because they can grow without eating other living things.
There’s more information on Montserrat’s plants here.
Consumers
Consumers are living things who get their energy by eating other living things. All animals are consumers.
Animals who only eat plants are called herbivores. We can say that a red-rumped Agouti is herbivorous, because it only eats plants.
Animals who only eat other animals are called carnivores. Cats are carnivorous. There are different kinds of carnivorous animals. For example, animals who only eat insects are insectivores. Animals who only eat fish are piscivorous.
Animals who eat both plants and other animals are omnivores. Pearly-eyed Thrashers are omnivorous, as they eat fruit and invertebrates.
Mango's day
Do you have a Mango tree in your garden, or near your school? If you watch carefully, you’ll see that lots of animals feed from it.
We enjoy Mango fruit, and so do other animals. Some also feed on Mango flowers and leaves.
Some animals eat others which are attracted to the Mango.
Activity: Colouring sheet
Montserrat Ameiva
Activity: Colouring sheet
Polka-dot Wasp Moth
Activity: Colouring sheet
Red-rumped Agouti
Food chains and food webs
We’re all connected by the food we eat. Plants get their energy from the sun, then animals in turn get energy by eating plants. Other animals get their energy by eating the plant-eating animals.
The way that energy moves between plants and animals can be shown in a food chain. For instance, a fly feeding on a fallen mango fruit may be eaten by a Cattle Egret.
You can show this in a food chain:
A moth may feed from a mango flower’s nectar, then get eaten by a Gray Kingbird. Several food chains can link together to form a food web.
Food chains and food webs connect lots of different species on Montserrat, including people. It’s important to take care of our biodiversity; if one species is lost, many others are affected.
Activity: Food chains (simple)
Make your own food chain (Grade 2)
Activity: Food chains (detailed)
Make your own food chain (Grade 4)
