I am the sun. I give off energy.

1. I am the sun. I give off energy. radiant

2. radiant My energy is transferred to Earth.

3. phytoplankton. I am The prefix phyto means plant. Plankton is any organism that floats or drifts in fresh or salt water.

4. I take theradiantenergy from the sun and transform it into chemical energy.

5. This transformation of energy occurs during the process of photosynthesis. Photo means light and synthesis means putting together.

6. Photosynthesis is the process by which I make my own food.

7. Because I make my own food I am called an autotroph. Auto means self and trophmeans to nourish.

8. Sometimes I am called a photoautotroph. Do you remember what means? photo photo photo photo

9. means light. So, I am able to make my own food by using light energy. Photo Photo Photo

10. Duh!! Sunlight from the In order to make my own food, I require several materials.

11. Duh!! Waterfrom the

12. and nutrientsfrom the ?

13. The nutrients come from the bottom of the ocean, possibly 10,000 feet below the surface! Nutrients result from the action of decomposers.

14. But how do the nutrients get from the bottom to the surface? Nature provides the transport system through upwelling currents.

15. Upwelling is the rising of deeper, colder waters to the surface through the action of wind.

16. producer. I am also called a Do you know why I am called a producer?

17. I am at the base of the food chain. I provide food for the consumers. Do you know an example of a consumer?

18. I am krill. I am called a consumer because I must get the energy I need to survive by eating other organisms.

19. I am on the second level of the food chain. Because I only eat plants I am called a herbivore.

20. Since I do not produce my own food, I am called a heterotroph. Hetero means different or other so others nourish me.

21. Unfortunately (for me), I provide food for many sea creatures.

22. Humpback!!!! Help!!! Seal!!! Squid!!! Small fish!!!!

23. That was close!!! These are also called consumers, but because they eat meat (me) they are called carnivores.

24. Each of these creatures is also a food source for other carnivores that dwell in the sea! is also a source of food for small fish. The squid, for example,

25. Large fish are eaten by dolphins. The small fish are eaten by larger fish.

26. Dolphins are eaten by orcas.

27. Speaking of carnivores …… Parasites are a special type of carnivore.

28. Can you imagine being invited to a dinner party, only to find out you’re the main course? Anyway... Parasites are organisms that feed on a host. Parasite Host

29. Most sea carnivores have appetites for more than one type of ocean creature. Remember the small fish snacked on krill and squid.

30. Because of the diversity of appetites it is difficult to arrange these animals in a food chain.

31. A food web provides a more realistic picture of what actually happens in an ecosystem.

32. A food web is a complex network of many overlapping food chains. Let’s look at a typical ocean food web.

33. The arrow points to the “eater”.

34. The answer to this question is more than hunger; it is to obtain energy to perform life activities such as growth and movement. When studying food webs it is important to keep in mind why organisms eat. At each level of the food web there is a transfer of energy.

35. The Sun!!!! Do you remember where the original energy came from? Energy from the sun moves through all organisms on Earth via food webs!

36. The transfer of energy from organism to organism is not 100% efficient. At each level there is a “loss” of energy.

37. Some of the energy in the phytoplankton was transformed into heat energy and released into the environment.

38. The activities that you perform, such as running, talking, and studying for science, also transform energy into heat that is released into the environment.

39. Because I have released some energy as heat, when I am eatenby small fish, the fish does not obtain 100% of my energy.

40. As a general rule, there is only a 10% transfer of energy from level to level. 90% has been transformed to heat and is unavailable to the next level.

41. Energy transfer can be represented visually on an energy pyramid. Let’s look at an energy pyramid.

43. As a general rule, 100 pounds of plankton can support 10 pounds of krill. 10 pounds of krill can support 1 pound of carnivore. Let’s look at the energy pyramid again.

44. Support 1 lb Support 10 lbs Support 100 lbs 1,000 lbs Support 10,000 lbs Support 100,000 lbs

45. Here is a test: If the average orca weighs 9,000 lbs, how much phytoplankton would it take to support the orca? 900,000,000 pounds!!!

46. The closer an organism is to the producer level of a food web,the more efficient it is at obtaining energy. For example,the humpback is more efficient at obtaining energy than the orca. Let’s look at another energy pyramid to see why.

47. Support 1,000 lbs 10,000 lbs Support 100,000 lbs

48. So, the 100,000 lbs of phytoplankon that only supported 1 lb of orca will support 1,000 lbs of humpback.

49. I have enjoyed visiting with you about ocean food webs. I hope you had fun, too!!! I guess I must return to the ocean now.

50. Oh no!!!! Help!!!!!