The transfer of energy from organism to organism forms a series called a food chain. All the possible feeding relationships that exist in a biome make up its food web. On the grasslands, as elsewhere, the food web consists of producers, consumers, and decomposers. An analysis of the food web shows how energy is transferred within a biome.

Green plants are the primary producers in the grassland. They produce organic (matter derived from living organisms) materials from inorganic chemicals and outside sources of energy, primarily the Sun.

Animals are consumers. Primary consumers eat plants and include grazing animals, such as zebras, buffaloes, and antelopes. In the savannas, where trees are more common, tall plant-eaters, such as giraffes and elephants, browse on the leaves of trees or bushes.

Plant-eaters become food for predators, which are secondary consumers, which include coyotes and lions. Tertiary consumers eat...