Producers, Consumers and Decomposers

1. Producers, Consumers and Decomposers All organisms in an ecosystem need energy to live. Organisms can be grouped by how they get energy. Organisms in an ecosystem are grouped as producers, consumers, or decomposers.

2. Producers Producers are organisms that use energy from the Sun to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis. You can think of a producer as an organism that produces its own food. Most producers are plants. However, algae and some bacteria are producers, too. The grasses, shrubs, and trees in a meadow are examples of producers. These types of producers are common in grasslands and forest ecosystems. Algae are common producers in estuaries and marine ecosystems.

3. Consumers Some organisms must get energy by eating other organisms. These organisms are called consumers. Consumers can be organized into three groups: herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

4. Herbivores Herbivores are consumers that eat only plants. Since plants, trees , and shrubs make their own food, herbivores get energy from eating these producers. In a forest ecosystem, deer and rabbits are common herbivores. In a savannah ecosystem in Africa, zebras and elephants are common herbivores.

5. Carnivores Carnivores are consumers that eat only other animals. In marine ecosystems, sharks, walruses, seals, and octopuses are common carnivores. In land ecosystems, lions, wolves, hawks, and eagles are common carnivores. Some carnivores are called scavengers. These carnivores eat animals that are already dead. Most of the time, scavengers eat leftovers from other carnivores. One example of a scavenger is a vulture.

6. Omnivores Omnivores are consumers that eat both plants and animals. Since they can eat a variety of organisms, omnivores can easily adapt to changing environments. Pigs, bears, raccoons, and humans are examples of omnivores.

7. Decomposers • Organisms such as fungi and bacteria get energy in a different way than producers or consumers. These organisms, called decomposers, get energy by breaking down nutrients in dead organisms. As they break down the nutrients, decomposers produce simple products such as water and carbon dioxide. These products are returned to the ecosystem for other organisms to use. Decomposers are very important because they return nutrients and products to the ecosystem. One way to think of decomposers is as recyclers. Termites and earthworms are examples of decomposers.