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Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem

Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships. Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem. Autotroph : An organism that collects energy from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce food. (Producer) Heterotroph : An organism that gets its energy requirements by consuming other organisms. (Consumer).

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Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem

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  1. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem • Autotroph: An organism that collects energy from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce food. (Producer) • Heterotroph: An organism that gets its energy requirements by consuming other organisms. (Consumer)

  2. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Different types of Heterotrophs • Herbivore: Eats only plants • (Deer, rabbits, grasshoppers, etc.) • Carnivore: Prey on other heterotrophs • (Wolves, lions, cats, etc.) • Scavengers feed on carrion (dead animals) • (Hyenas, vultures, some crabs, etc.) • Omnivore: Eat both plants and animals • (Bears, humans, mockingbirds, etc.) • Detritivores: Eat fragments of dead matter • (Earthworms, millipedes, etc.) • Decomposers: Chemically breaks down dead matter • (Bacteria and fungi)

  3. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Trophic Levels: Each step in a food chain or food web. • Autotrophs always make up the first trophic level in ecosystems. • Heterotrophs make up the remaining levels

  4. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Food chains: A simple model that shows how energy flows through an ecosystem

  5. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Food webs: A model representing the many interconnected food chains and pathways in which energy flows.

  6. How many connections can we make?

  7. Biomagnification of Toxins • Fat-soluble toxins are stored in an organism’s body • The organism is eaten • The toxin transfers to the next organism in the food web • Large, tertiary consumers are most affected

  8. DDT • A pesticide used to kill mosquitos • Affects an organism’s ability to metabolize calcium • Biomagnified in food webs • Tertiary consumers like eagles and falcons could not make strong enough egg shells for their young • Species numbers got very low, almost extinct in some cases Eggs of a Peregrine Falcon, accidentally crushed by a parent due to weak shells

  9. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem What does your graph tell you?

  10. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow Biomass: The total mass of living matter at each trophic level *Why is there less biomass at the top of the ecological pyramid than at the bottom? Only 10% of the energy eaten by an organism is stored in its body The rest is used to perform daily functions

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