ENERGY ROLES IN AN ECOSYSTEM

• All living things are classified based on shared characteristics, hereditary (genetic) information, development and their (evolutionary history).– They are also classified based on how they get

their food. are organism that can make their

own food and will have chloroplast to absorb energy from the sun to help make their food. Producers are also known as .

autotrophs

Producer

phylogeny

• are organisms that cannot make their own food and have to get their food from their environment.•They are also known as heterotrophs.

Consumers

Examples: Animals, some protists, fungi and some bacteria

• http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/tdc02/sci/life/oate/decompose/assets/tdc02_vid_decompose/tdc02_vid_decompose_56_mov.html

Decomposer – Fungus and Bacteria A decomposer is an organism that breaks

down organic matter. Some bacteria and fungi decomposers. What they leave behind is used by primary producers as fertilizers.

• VOUR- MEANING TO DEVOUR

• ANIMALS are consumers that are also characterized by what they eat and their type of teeth and beaks.

CARNIVORE

Carnivores are animals that eat meat. animals often have sharp canine teeth and powerful jaws. They also have incisors and molars.

Carnivorous

HERBIVORE

Herbivores are animals that eat plants. Herbivores are also called primary consumers. Most animals are herbivores. Herbivores types of teeth are incisors for cutting and molars for chewing.

• OMNIVORE

• Omnivores are animals that eat both animals and plants. Some omonivores include people, many monkeys and marmosets, lion tamarins, chimpanzees, and most bears.

• Omnivore have canine teeth that are not as prominent most of the time, incisors and molars.

Detritivore A detritivore is an organism that feeds on detritus, dead and decomposing organisms. What they leave behind is used by decomposers. Dung bettles and crabs are detritivores.detritus -- Accumulated organic debris from dead organisms, often an important source of nutrients in a food web

Detritivores: consume litter, debris, and dung

Scavengers: clean-up dead carcassesDecomposers: microorganisms that complete final

breakdown of organic matter

Energy Flow in Ecosystems:

Energy is transferred in a system from one organism to another.

How does Energy flow through an Ecosystem?

• Energy flows through an ecosystem in ONE direction, – sun or chemicals

– Autotrophs

– heterotrophs

Feeding Relationships• Food Chain – steps of

organisms transferring energy by eating & being eaten

• What’s wrong in this food chain?

• Food Web – network of all the food chains in an ecosystem

Food ChainsThe organisms involved in an ecosystem make up a food chain.

At the bottom of the food chain are the photosynthetic producers which range from single-celled bacteria to redwood trees.

Next come the primary consumers who are eaten by the secondary consumers who are eaten by… you get the idea.

All consumers and producers are eventually eaten by decomposers.

Each level of consumption is called a trophic level. Primary producers are therefore in the first trophic level.

LINKS IN FOOD CHAINSUsually no more than 5 links in a food chain. Why?

There cannot be too many links in a single food chain because the animals at the end of the chain would not get enough food (and hence energy) to stay alive.

LAST LINK IN FOOD CHAINS ARE: Detritivores, scavengers, and decomposers

Example Food

Chains

Food Web

fish

• ALWAYS DRAW THE ARROW FROM TOWARDS THE ANIMAL THAT THE FOOD’S ENERGY GOES INTO AND READ IT LIKE:

• Sun marsh grass ribbed mussel heron• You would say the suns energy goes into the marsh grass, the marsh grass energy

goes into the ribbed mussel, the ribbed mussel energy goes into the heron

• Sun algae zooplankton plankton eating fish heron (microscopic animals)• You would say the sun’s energy goes into the algae, the algae’s energy goes into

zooplankton, the zooplankton’s energy goes into plankton eating fish and the plankton eating fish goes into the heron

Energy Pyramids

Energy Pyramid

Biomass PyramidPyramid of Numbers

• Shows the relationship of organisms in a food chain as the biomass (numbers) decrease as you go up the pyramid representing energy that is lost.

• Trophic Level – each step in a food chain or food web

BIOMASS PYRAMIDPYRAMID OF NUMBERSENERGY PYRAMID

• Energy is used by the organisms for life processes

• Some of the energy is lost as

heat

• Only 10% of the energy from each trophic level is passed on to the next level

Energy and the Food Chain• If 10% of the energy

can be transfered from one trophic level to the one above it, each trophic level must have 10x the energy as the one above it.

• The number of trophic levels depends upon the primary producers

Energy Pyramid