Introduction to ENERGY FLOW ECOSYSTEMS and FOOD CHAINS.
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Transcript of Introduction to ENERGY FLOW ECOSYSTEMS and FOOD CHAINS.
Introduction to ENERGY FLOW
ECOSYSTEMS and
FOOD CHAINS
Habitat – place where an organism lives.
Population – group of organisms from the same species.
Community – group of organisms from several species.
Ecosystem – a community and all of the physical aspects of a habitat.
What is an ecosystem?
Organism
Community
Population
Ecosystem
Ecology
The scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments.
Biotic Factors
All living organisms that inhabit an environment.
Ex: animals, plants, protists…
Abiotic Factors
All nonliving factors in the environment.
Ex: air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil
sun eclipse with palm
the ultimate energy source is the SUN!!!
Energy FlowHow does the sun’s energy
enter the biological world?
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Energy FlowThe sun’s energy flows into
organisms that can change the sunlight into food then into organisms that eat them.
This flow is:
sunlight producer consumer 1 consumer 2
PRODUCERS
Producers make their own food. They can also be called autotrophs.
Ex. Plants, algae and some bacteria
sunlight producer consumer 1 consumer 2
CONSUMERS
Consumers eat something else. They also are called
heterotrophs. Examples: deer, rabbits, cows,
mice, lions, humans, hawks, snakes
sunlight producer consumer 1 consumer 2
HERBIVORES
Herbivores eat plants.
They can be called primary consumers
Ex. Cows, caterpillars, bunnies
sunlight producer consumer 1Or primary consumer
consumer 2Or secondary consumer
CARNIVORES
Carnivores eat meat and can be called secondary consumers.
Ex. tigers, wolves, snakes, hawks
sunlight producer consumer 1 consumer 2
TOP CARNIVORES A “top” carnivore is a tertiary
consumer. They are at the top of the food chain.
Ex. whale eating a sea lion or hawk eating a snake.
sunlight producer consumer 1 consumer 2
consumer 3
OMNIVORES Omnivores eat meat and
plants. They are considered
secondary consumers. Ex. bears and humans
Where do allthe dead things go?
They are eaten. YUMMMM!
They decay. SMELLY!
What’s the difference?Is it just a matter of taste?
decomposerdetri
tivore
Detritivore vs Decomposers
DETRIVORES: feed on the remains of dead
plants and animals and other dead matter (detritus)
Crabs, mites, earthworms, snails
Detritivore vs Decomposers
DECOMPOSERS:break down dead organic matter
Bacteria & fungi
“RECYCLERS”They break down and release nutrients from dead matter back into the environment
Detritivores and Decomposers
Why would they be called the environmental “recyclers”?
sunlight producer consumer 1 consumer 2
consumer 3
decomposer
Food Chains & Food Webs Organisms in ecosystems transfer
energy from organism to organism in a graphic organizer known as trophic levels.
producer consumer 1 consumer 2 consumer 3
1 2 3 4
The Path of Energy
ARROWS on a food chain describe this path of energy.
Notice that the arrows point from the organism being eaten to the organism that is eating it.
producer consumer 1 consumer 2 consumer 3
Food Chains & Food Webs Energy is “lost” at each trophic
level as a result of the activities of the organisms such as metabolism.
Only 10% of the energy is actually passed on to the next level.
producer consumer 1 consumer 2 consumer 3
Food Chains & Food Webs What vital “recycler” is not shown
in this food chain?
producer consumer 1 consumer 2 consumer 3
Food Chains & Food Webs If all of the snakes in this chain died,
what would happen to the hawk? To the decomposers?
producer consumer 1 consumer 2 consumer 3
decomposer