FOOD PYRAMIDS, WEBS, AND CHAINS

1. FOOD PYRAMIDS, WEBS, AND CHAINS

3. FOOD CHAIN :simple diagram of a feeding network.

4. A. Producers - organisms that ‘produce’ their own foodby photosynthesis and are known as autotrophs (green plants & some bacteria) B. Consumers - organisms that get their energy from producers and are known as heterotrophs because they cannot make their own food

5. 1. Classified by What They Eat: • a. Herbivore – plant eaters • b. Carnivore – meat eaters • c. Omnivore – plant and meat eaters • 2. Classified By Their Trophic Level (Position) in the Feeding Network:

6. a. Primary Consumers (1st order consumers) –eat plants and are classified as Herbivores

7. b. Secondary consumers (2nd order consumers) - feed on primary consumers and are known as carnivores

8. c.Tertiary Consumers (3rd order consumers) -feed on secondary consumers and are also carnivores

9. C. Decomposers -breakdown remains of dead organisms

10. D. Scavengers (Detritivore) – feed on dead organisms

11. E. Every food chain begins with a producer and ends with a top consumer (an organism that has no natural enemies).

12. II. Food Webs A. Show how organisms are connected to one another in an ecosystem. B. Definition - An interaction of the food chains in an ecosystem.C. In any food web, energy is lost each time one organism eats another.D. Arrows in both food webs and chains show the direction energy is flowing.

13. III. Food Pyramids A. Definition – pyramid diagram that shows the loss of energy whenmoving up the trophic levels. B. At the base of the pyramid is the sun – the original energy source. C.Only 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. (90% is lost each time an organism eats another)

14. IV. Comparison of Food Chains, Food Webs, and Food Pyramids - a food chain is one path of energy, and a food web is overlapping food chains. An energy pyramid shows that there is less and less food and energy available when moving from the base to the top of the pyramid up the trophic levels.