{
  "about": "Reviewed food chains for Food Chain Builder. Every link (who eats what) quotes the 'food' section of a written Discovery animal profile (Content/Discovery/animals/<slug>.json) or a stage of the art library's food-web-ocean diagram. Producers are plants or algae; the Sun is where the energy starts. Reviewed by agent play, 2026-10-23.",
  "producers": {
    "grass": {
      "label": "Grass",
      "art": "grass"
    },
    "grass-sedges": {
      "label": "Grasses and sedges",
      "art": "grass"
    },
    "grass-water-plants": {
      "label": "Grasses and water plants",
      "art": "grass"
    },
    "willow-birch-aspen": {
      "label": "Willow, birch and aspen leaves",
      "art": "leaves"
    },
    "willow-aspen-bark": {
      "label": "Willow and aspen bark",
      "art": "bark"
    },
    "lichen": {
      "label": "Lichens",
      "art": "lichen"
    },
    "acacia": {
      "label": "Acacia leaves",
      "art": "leaves"
    },
    "eucalyptus": {
      "label": "Eucalyptus leaves",
      "art": "leaves"
    },
    "bamboo": {
      "label": "Bamboo",
      "art": "bamboo"
    },
    "phytoplankton": {
      "label": "Phytoplankton (tiny algae)",
      "diagram": "food-web-ocean",
      "stage": "phytoplankton"
    },
    "seeds-grain": {
      "label": "Seeds and grain",
      "art": "grass"
    }
  },
  "drawn": {
    "zooplankton": {
      "label": "Zooplankton (tiny drifting animals)",
      "diagram": "food-web-ocean",
      "stage": "zooplankton"
    },
    "small-fish": {
      "label": "Small fish",
      "diagram": "food-web-ocean",
      "stage": "small-fish"
    },
    "squid": {
      "label": "Squid",
      "diagram": "food-web-ocean",
      "stage": "squid"
    }
  },
  "chains": [
    {
      "id": "savanna-zebra",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass",
        "animal:plains-zebra",
        "animal:lion"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:plains-zebra",
          "food": "grass",
          "source": "animal:plains-zebra",
          "quote": "Zebras are grazers: they eat mostly grass"
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:lion",
          "food": "animal:plains-zebra",
          "source": "animal:lion",
          "quote": "Their usual prey are large grazing animals such as zebras, wildebeest and antelopes"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "savanna-wildebeest",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass",
        "animal:blue-wildebeest",
        "animal:lion"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:blue-wildebeest",
          "food": "grass",
          "source": "animal:plains-zebra",
          "quote": "That opens up the shorter, leafier grass below for wildebeest and gazelles that come after them."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:lion",
          "food": "animal:blue-wildebeest",
          "source": "animal:lion",
          "quote": "Their usual prey are large grazing animals such as zebras, wildebeest and antelopes"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "prairie-bison",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass-sedges",
        "animal:american-bison",
        "animal:gray-wolf"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:american-bison",
          "food": "grass-sedges",
          "source": "animal:american-bison",
          "quote": "grasses and grass-like plants called sedges make up more than 90 percent of what they eat"
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "food": "animal:american-bison",
          "source": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "quote": "a pack can catch animals much bigger than a single wolf, such as caribou, moose, deer, elk and bison"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "forest-moose",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "willow-birch-aspen",
        "animal:moose",
        "animal:gray-wolf"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:moose",
          "food": "willow-birch-aspen",
          "source": "animal:moose",
          "quote": "They eat leaves, buds, twigs and bark from shrubs and trees, especially willow, birch and aspen."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "food": "animal:moose",
          "source": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "quote": "a pack can catch animals much bigger than a single wolf, such as caribou, moose, deer, elk and bison"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "pond-beaver",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "willow-aspen-bark",
        "animal:north-american-beaver",
        "animal:gray-wolf"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:north-american-beaver",
          "food": "willow-aspen-bark",
          "source": "animal:north-american-beaver",
          "quote": "Their favorite food is the soft, juicy layer just under the bark of trees such as willows and aspens."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "food": "animal:north-american-beaver",
          "source": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "quote": "Wolves also catch smaller animals like beavers, rabbits and fish"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "tundra-reindeer",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "lichen",
        "animal:reindeer",
        "animal:gray-wolf"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:reindeer",
          "food": "lichen",
          "source": "animal:reindeer",
          "quote": "In winter, when snow covers everything, they eat lichens, especially one called reindeer moss."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "food": "animal:reindeer",
          "source": "animal:gray-wolf",
          "quote": "such as caribou, moose, deer, elk and bison",
          "note": "Reindeer, called caribou in North America"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "meadow-rabbit",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass",
        "animal:european-rabbit",
        "animal:golden-eagle"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:european-rabbit",
          "food": "grass",
          "source": "animal:european-rabbit",
          "quote": "They eat grasses, leaves, buds, roots and tree bark"
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:golden-eagle",
          "food": "animal:european-rabbit",
          "source": "animal:golden-eagle",
          "quote": "Golden eagles mainly hunt small and medium-sized mammals: rabbits, hares, ground squirrels, prairie dogs and marmots."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "wetland-capybara",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass-water-plants",
        "animal:capybara",
        "animal:jaguar"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:capybara",
          "food": "grass-water-plants",
          "source": "animal:capybara",
          "quote": "They graze on grasses and water plants"
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:jaguar",
          "food": "animal:capybara",
          "source": "animal:jaguar",
          "quote": "Their favorite prey are capybaras, the world's biggest rodents"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ocean-krill",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "phytoplankton",
        "animal:antarctic-krill",
        "animal:blue-whale"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:antarctic-krill",
          "food": "phytoplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Krill are small shrimp-like animals that eat phytoplankton."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:blue-whale",
          "food": "animal:antarctic-krill",
          "source": "animal:blue-whale",
          "quote": "The biggest animal on Earth eats some of the smallest: krill"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ocean-herring",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "phytoplankton",
        "zooplankton",
        "animal:atlantic-herring",
        "animal:beluga"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "zooplankton",
          "food": "phytoplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Tiny drifting animals, such as copepods, eat phytoplankton."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:atlantic-herring",
          "food": "zooplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Small fish such as herring eat zooplankton and krill."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:beluga",
          "food": "animal:atlantic-herring",
          "source": "animal:beluga",
          "quote": "Fish such as salmon, cod, herring and smelt are favorites"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ocean-squid",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "phytoplankton",
        "zooplankton",
        "small-fish",
        "squid",
        "animal:sperm-whale"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "zooplankton",
          "food": "phytoplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Tiny drifting animals, such as copepods, eat phytoplankton."
        },
        {
          "eater": "small-fish",
          "food": "zooplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Small fish such as herring eat zooplankton and krill."
        },
        {
          "eater": "squid",
          "food": "small-fish",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Squid catch small fish."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:sperm-whale",
          "food": "squid",
          "source": "animal:sperm-whale",
          "quote": "Sperm whales are carnivores that hunt mostly squid"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "acacia-giraffe",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "acacia",
        "animal:giraffe"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:giraffe",
          "food": "acacia",
          "source": "animal:giraffe",
          "quote": "Their favorite trees are acacias, which are covered in long, sharp thorns."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "eucalyptus-koala",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "eucalyptus",
        "animal:koala"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:koala",
          "food": "eucalyptus",
          "source": "animal:koala",
          "quote": "Koalas eat almost only the leaves of eucalyptus trees"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "bamboo-panda",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "bamboo",
        "animal:giant-panda"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:giant-panda",
          "food": "bamboo",
          "source": "animal:giant-panda",
          "quote": "About 99 percent of a giant panda's food is bamboo."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "grass-rhino",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass",
        "animal:white-rhinoceros"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:white-rhinoceros",
          "food": "grass",
          "source": "animal:white-rhinoceros",
          "quote": "White rhinos are grazers: they eat grass"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "city-pigeon",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "seeds-grain",
        "animal:rock-pigeon",
        "animal:peregrine-falcon"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:rock-pigeon",
          "food": "seeds-grain",
          "source": "animal:rock-pigeon",
          "quote": "Rock pigeons are mostly seed eaters."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:peregrine-falcon",
          "food": "animal:rock-pigeon",
          "source": "animal:peregrine-falcon",
          "quote": "In cities they are expert pigeon hunters."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "meadow-fox",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "grass",
        "animal:european-rabbit",
        "animal:red-fox"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:european-rabbit",
          "food": "grass",
          "source": "animal:european-rabbit",
          "quote": "They eat grasses, leaves, buds, roots and tree bark"
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:red-fox",
          "food": "animal:european-rabbit",
          "source": "animal:red-fox",
          "quote": "Most of their food is mice, voles and rabbits"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ocean-humpback",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "phytoplankton",
        "animal:antarctic-krill",
        "animal:humpback-whale"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:antarctic-krill",
          "food": "phytoplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Krill are small shrimp-like animals that eat phytoplankton."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:humpback-whale",
          "food": "animal:antarctic-krill",
          "source": "animal:humpback-whale",
          "quote": "They gulp huge mouthfuls of water full of krill and small fish such as anchovies and herring"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "antarctic-penguin",
      "links": [
        "sun",
        "phytoplankton",
        "animal:antarctic-krill",
        "animal:emperor-penguin"
      ],
      "why": [
        {
          "eater": "animal:antarctic-krill",
          "food": "phytoplankton",
          "source": "diagram:food-web-ocean",
          "quote": "Krill are small shrimp-like animals that eat phytoplankton."
        },
        {
          "eater": "animal:emperor-penguin",
          "food": "animal:antarctic-krill",
          "source": "animal:emperor-penguin",
          "quote": "they also catch other fish, shrimp-like krill and squid"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}