Learning Goal: How is energy

transferred among organisms in an

ecosystem??

All energy in an ecosystem comes from…….

Nutrition is all about the transfer of energy…..

2 ways

Making food Eating food

Autotrophs Heterotrophs

Producers• Producers- (autotrophs) make their own food

(photosynthesis)• Turn the suns energy into a form other organisms can obtain• Ex. plants, some bacteria, algae

Consumers• Consumers- (heterotrophs) get energy from other organisms• Get energy through eating or absorption • Ex. animals and fungi

Herbivores• Eat only plants

• Ex. millipedes, rabbits, elephants, sloths, pandas, bees, grasshoppers

Carnivores• Eat meat

• Ex. cats, dogs, centipedes, sharks, seals, hawks

Omnivores• Omni- all

• Can eat plants, animals, fungi

• Ex. Bears, raccoons, crows, primates

Decomposers / Detritivores• They eat decaying/ decomposing matter (detritus)

• Ex. mushrooms and other fungi, crabs, maggots, dung beetle, bacteria

Scavengers

• They eat dead organisms

• Examples: Catfish, vultures, flies, coyote, polar bears, red ants

Food Chain• Graphic display of who eats who in an ecosystem• Arrows represent the direction of energy flow

Where does a food chain start?

• Food chains always start with a producer!

Primary consumers

• A primary consumer eats the producer.

• Primary consumers are ALWAYS herbivores!

Secondary consumers

• Secondary consumers eat the primary consumer

• They are always a carnivore!

Tertiary consumers

• Tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers.

• Most tertiary consumers are omnivores!

Quaternary consumers

• Quaternary consumers eat the tertiary consumers!

• Quaternary consumers are not in all food chains

Apex Predator

• The top predator of a food chain is called the apex predator

• (No one can eat the apex!)

Food Web• Animals feed on more than one species

• A food web is a display of interconnected food chains

Trophic Level• A group of animals that get their energy from the

same source (the sun, plants, rodents, snakes, bugs etc).

• Describes an organisms position in the food web

Quaternary consumer

Energy Pyramid • Only 10% of the energy an organism stores is passed up to

the next trophic level. Therefore, 90% is “lost” or used for heat and growth

B: no producers = EVERYTHING DIES

Examine the food web shown in Figure 5-4. The disappearance of which of the following pair of species would result in the total collapse of the food web?

A. algae and dragonflies C. dragonflies and foxes

B. algae and elm trees D. elm trees and bass

What would most likely happen to the organisms in this food web if the robin began to disappear?

a. The hawk would be forced to start eating the dragonfly.

b. Most of the organisms in the ecosystem would starve and die.

c. The terrestrial organisms would starve, but the aquatic organisms would survive.

d. There would be an overpopulation of caterpillars, which would kill many elm trees.

What would most likely happen to the organisms in this ecosystem if the algae began to disappear?

a. The bass population would increase.

b. All of the aquatic organisms would become overpopulated.

c. The minnow population would likewise begin to disappear.

d. The fox would begin to starve and be forced to emigrate to another area.

Learning Target

What are the relationships between organisms?

Relationships between Organisms

• Relationships between organisms is called symbiosis

• 4 major types– Mutualism– Commensalism– Parasitism– Predation

Mutualism

• two organisms of different species "work together," each benefiting from the relationship.

• Example: Crocodile and

a bird

Commensalism

•  relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits from the other without affecting it.

• Example: whale and

barnacles

Parasitism

• non-mutual symbiotic relationship between species, where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host

• Example: Human and mosquito

Predation

• a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds/kills its prey

• Example: Tiger feeding

on deer