The food chain describes who eats whom in the wild. Every living thing—from one-celled algae to giant blue whales—needs food to survive. Each food chain is a possible pathway that energy and nutrients can follow through the ecosystem.
What is Producer in the Food Chain?
Producers, also known as autotrophs, make their own food. They make up the first level of every food chain. Plants, algae, and a few species of bacteria are examples of producers. They are at the bottom of the food chain because they are eaten by other organisms, and they don’t need to eat for energy.
Another name for producers is autotrophs, which means “self-nourishers.” There are two kinds of autotrophs. The most common are photoautotrophs—producers that carry out photosynthesis to create “food” (a nutrient called glucose) from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.
Trees, grasses, and shrubs are the most important terrestrial photoautotrophs. In most aquatic ecosystems, including lakes and oceans, algae are the most important photoautotrophs.
Ecosystems, where there is not enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur, are powered by chemoautotrophs—primary producers that do not use energy from the sun. Instead, they break apart inorganic chemical compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, and use the energy released to make organic molecules.
Only bacteria and certain other microorganisms are chemoautotrophs. They are much less abundant than photoautotrophs. Some live in soil, while others live deep in the ocean, around volcanic features called hydrothermal vents.
10 Examples of Producers in Food chain
Some examples of producer organisms include:
- Trees
- Grass
- Algae
- Cyanobacteria
- Phytoplankton
- Mosses
- Seagrass
- Cacti
- Sunflowers
- Flowers
How Do Producers Help in the Food Chain?
All energy pyramids, food chains, and food webs are based on producers. These organisms provide energy for all other trophic levels that come above them. These trophic levels consist of organisms called consumers that consume (eat) other organisms for energy.
The level-above producers is the primary consumers. Think of deer, insects, and rabbits. These animals eat plants, earning them the name “herbivore”. The next level up is the secondary consumers.
Secondary consumers eat and get energy from the primary consumers. Since these animals eat other animals and not plants, they are called “carnivores”. Next up, we have tertiary consumers. They receive energy by eating the secondary consumers.
As you can see, producers are the starting point of energy for other organisms. While there is energy transfer between these groups, a lot of energy is lost as you move up the levels. Most ecosystems can’t support a large number of tertiary consumers because they need so much energy to live.
However, producers don’t require as much energy. That is why you can see green plants everywhere when you’re walking through the woods.