Review:

1. Review: Roles in the Ecosystem

2. Producers • Autotrophic • Make food energy (carbohydrates/calories) from sun, water, carbon dioxide • Support the entire food chain • Plants • Algae (phytoplankton) • Microorganisms

3. Consumers zooplankton • Heterotrophs • Needs to ingest carbohydrate energy (cannot make it) • Herbivores • Carnivores • Omnivores Mooo! Play the Animal Diet Game! http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/animaldietgame.htm

4. Decomposers • Heterotrophic, saprophytes, detrivores • These get the energy left in the cells of organisms that have died • Bacteria • Fungi • Protists • Invertebrates

5. Identification Game • Producer? Consumer? Decomposer? • http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/producersconsumersgame.htm

6. Trophic Levels • “Trophic”: From Ancient Greek (trophikos), “‘pertaining to food or nourishment’” • In ecology, the feeding level of an organism (primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc) is called it’s trophic level. • Most ecosystems ultimately rely upon the Sun for energy and upon photosynthetic organisms to harness that energy. • There are only a few exceptions to this, such as chemosyntheticarchaea which derive energy from the break down of sulfur rich compounds around deep sea hydrothermal vents and acid mine drainage.

7. Energy conversions • Because a fraction of the energy used by a level is converted to biomass, etc. less energy is available at higher levels. • The biomass is the mass of living biological organisms in a given trophic level. • Note the biomass decrease at each level. Why?

8. Food Chains Food Chain Game http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm

9. Food Webs Identify the: 1. Producers 2. Primary Consumers 3. Secondary Consumers 4. Herbivores 5. Carnivores 6. Omnivores 7. What elements are missing from this food web?

10. Invasive Species • http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/articles/alien_animals/alien_home2.htm