All living things need energy. Reef plants get it from the sun. Animals on the reef eat plants and other animals.

A food chain shows how energy moves from plants to animals. Each living link in the chain eats the one before it.

Plant plankton and sea grass are producers. They are the first link in the coral reef food chain. These plants use the sun’s energy to make their own food.

Small fish and green sea turtles eat the plants. They are the next link in the chain. They are consumers.

Large fish, octopuses, and sharks eat consumers. They are predators, the next link in the chain.

Sharks are a top predator. They eat smaller predators.

When an animal dies, decomposers such as bacteria break down its body. They change the dead matter into nutrients. The nutrients return to the sea floor.



Question 1
Part A

Which inference can be made based on the information in the excerpt?


Producers use the sun’s energy to live and grow.

Decomposers are the most important link in reef food chains.

Consumers depend on predators for food.

Only living animals contribute to reef food chains.
Question 2
Part B

Which detail from the excerpt best supports the answer to Part A?


“These plants use the sun's energy to make their own food.”

“Small fish and green sea turtles eat the plants.”

“They are the first link in the coral reef food chain.”

“They change the dead matter into nutrients.”