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. In the desert, as elsewhere, the food web consists of producers, consumers, and decomposers. The following shows how these three types of organisms transfer energy to create the food web within the desert.

Green plants are the primary producers. They produce organic materials from inorganic chemicals and outside sources of energy, primarily the Sun. Desert annuals and the hardy perennials, such as cacti and palms, turn energy into plant matter.

Animals are consumers. Plant-eating animals, such as locusts, gazelles, and rabbits, are the primary consumers in the desert food web. Secondary consumers eat plant-eaters. They would include the waterhole tadpoles that develop a taste for smaller family members who still eat only plant life...