Brainlag PlusProducers and consumers, predator and prey cycles, the carbon, water and nitrogen cycles, what speeds up decay, and the milk and lipase decay practical with rate = 1000 ÷ time (Biology only).
Food chains and predator-prey cycles
Every chain starts with a producer (a plant or alga that photosynthesises), then the primary consumer (herbivore), secondary and tertiary consumers.
The arrows point the way the biomass goes. The top carnivore is the apex predator.
Predator and prey numbers rise and fall in cycles. Plenty of prey means the predators breed and increase; then they eat more prey, the prey fall, and the predators fall soon after. The predator peaks come after the prey peaks.
The rest of this lesson and its 15 practice questions are in Plus.
Screen 1 of 5, free to read.
- 15 exam-style questions, marked as you go, each with a worked solution
- Anything you get wrong is saved to your flashcards