Shoreline Food Chain: From Producers to Top Predators

Primary Producers

• Eelgrass (Zostera)
• Sea lettuce (Ulva)
• Diatoms (microscopic algae)

Primary Consumers (Herbivores)

• Copepods
• Amphipods
• Isopods

Secondary Consumers (Small Carnivores/Omnivores)

• Small fish – silversides, mummichogs, killifish
• Crabs – fiddler, blue, hermit
• Mollusks – snails, mussels

Tertiary Consumers (Top Predators)

• Large fish – striped bass, bluefish, weakfish
• Seabirds – herons, egrets, terns, ospreys
• Marine mammals – harbor seals, dolphins (seasonal)

Energy flows from photosynthetic producers up through increasingly larger predators, with detritus and decomposers recycling nutrients at every level.