What is an ecosystem?

2. What is an ecosystem? • all living & non-living things that interact in an environment What are the rules of an ecosystem? Everything is connected to everything else. 2. Everything must go somewhere in an environment

3. What is energy? • The ability to do work. • All living things need energy to survive.

5. Why is energy important to an ecosystem? • All organisms require energy for growth, maintenance, reproduction, locomotion, etc.. • For all organisms theremustbe: 1. A source of energy 2. A loss of usable energy

6. What is the ultimate source of all energy in any ecosystem? • The SUN • Without it, the most basic forms of life would not exist

7. Energy Flow Key Terms • Omnivore • Decomposer • Food web • Trophic level • Ecological pyramid • Biomass • Autotroph • Producer • Photosynthesis • Heterotroph • Consumer • Herbivore • Carnivore

9. What are producers? • Organism that make their own food by capturing energy from the sun. • Lowest part of the cycle • Also called autotrophs • EX: Plants, green algae, some bacteria

10. How do some organisms make their own food? • Photosynthesis is the process that organisms use to make their food from the sun’s light.

11. What are consumers? • Consumers are organisms that feed on other organisms. • Cannot acquire energy from the sun • Energy flows from sun to organism to organism • Also called heterotrophs Different types of heterotrophs: • Herbivores - Vegetation • Omnivores - Meat and Vegetation • Carnivores – Meat • Scavengers – meat and decaying meat • Detritivores - Decaying organic matter

12. What is a primary consumer? • A primary consumer is an organism that eats the producer. Like a rabbit that eats a carrot. • Also called Herbivores – only eats plants

13. What are secondary consumers? Organisms that feed on primary consumers are secondary consumers. Also called Carnivores Ex. A wolf that eats a rabbit

14. Consumers can be further divided into groups: • quaternary consumer (top) • tertiary consumer • secondary consumer • Primary consumer The last consumer in a chain, which is not usually eaten by any other consumer, is often referred to as the top consumer.

15. What are decomposers? • organisms that feed on dead organism, break them down into simple nutrients or fertilizers. • Also called Detritivores • EX: fungi and bacteria

16. What do you think?

17. Consumer or producer?

18. Consumer or producer? What are they also called?

19. Primary or secondary consumers? What are they also called?

20. Primary or secondary consumers? What are they also called?

21. Primary or secondary producer?

22. Producer, consumer, or decomposer?

23. How is energy move through an ecosystem? • Energy moves from one organisms to another when it is eaten.

24. What are TrophicLevels • Each step in this transfer of energy is know as a trophic level • The main trophic levels are producers, consumers, and decomposers

25. What is the Food Chains ? • The energy flow from one trophic level to the other • A food chain is simple and direct • It involves one organism at each trophic level • Primary Consumers – eat producers • Secondary Consumers – eat the primary consumers • Tertiary Consumer-eat the secondary consumer • Decomposers – bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms and recycle the material back into the environment

26. What is a Food Web • Most organisms eat more the JUST one organism • When more organism are involved it is know as a FOOD WEB • Food webs are more complex and involve lots of organisms

27. Transfer of Energy • When a zebra eats the grass, it does not obtain all of the energy the grass has (much of it is not eaten) • When a lion eats a zebra, it does not get all of the energy from the zebra (much of it is lost as heat)

29. Law of Thermodynamics 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: energy is not transferred from one object/organism to the next with 100% efficiency. Some of the energy is lost to the environment. Energy Pyramid shows the amounts of energy that moves from one level to the next

30. Energy Flow • The ecological pyramidshows the relative amounts of energy or matter. • Producers make up the first level • Consumers make up the second, third and higher

31. Energy Flow • Only about 10% of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next trophic level. • The other 90% is used by the organism to carry out its life processes or it is lost to the environment • Biomass is the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level.

32. Ecological Pyramid

33. Energy Flow

35. Food Web: land and water connected http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NcJ_63z-mA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YRM0sy3xIY

36. Food Chain

37. Food Web • Notice that the direction the arrow points  the arrow points in the direction of the energy transfer, NOT “what ate what”

38. Energy Transfer • Only about 10% of energy is transferred from one level to the next • The other 90% is used by the organism to carry out its life processes or it is lost to the environment

39. Food Web

40. Ecological Pyramid • An ecological pyramid shows the relationship between consumers and producers at different trophic levels in an ecosystem • Shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained at each trophic level • The Pyramid shows which level has the most energy and the highest number of organisms

41. Ecological Pyramidonly 10% of energy is passed on through consumption

42. Ecological Pyramid • Which level has the most energy? • Which level has the most organisms? • Which level has the least organisms? • Which level has the least energy?