2.2. FOOD CHAIN

Organisms in the ecosystem are related to each other through feeding mechanism or trophic levels, i.e. one organism becomes food for the other. A sequence of organisms that feed on one another, form a food chain. A food chain starts with producers and ends with top carnivores.

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Bear hibernation is different than most hibernating animals. True hibernation (like we see in ground squirrels) involves a drastic drop in body temperature but the hibernating animal will awaken occasionally to eat and defecate before resuming hibernation. When a bear ‘hibernates’ it is really in a deep sleep. It’s body temperature drops but not drastically and it does not wake up. The one exception is that a mother bear will wake up to give birth in January or February. Since food is scarce in the winter bears figure that if you can’t eat you might as well sleep. Bears like the Asiatic Bear live in warmer climates where food is readily available all year long and there is no need to hibernate.

The sequence of eaten and being eaten, produces transfer of food energy and it is known as food chain. The plant converts solar energy into chemical energy by photosynthesis.

Small herbivores consume the plant matter and convert them into animal matter. These herbivores are eaten by large carnivores.