Autotrophs / Producers  Auto = Self-made  example: Automatic, Automobile  Troph = Eater / Food  Example: trophy (prizes in competitions used to be food!)  So, AUTOTROPHS make their own food. They produce their own food.  How? Photosynthesis (energy from the sun)

Heterotrophs / Consumers  Hetero = differentTroph = food  Heterotrophs CANNOT make their own food, so they must eat other organism. They consume other plants or animals.  Heterotrophs are ALL organisms that eat other organisms  They are herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and detrivores. ALL of these animals cannot make their own food, and must eat other organisms (including plants) FOR food!

Decomposers  DECOMPOSERS are heterotrophs that eat dead things and in the process return nutrients to the soil.  DECOMPOSERS are always DETRIVORES  Detrivore specifies that they eat dead things  Decomposer specifies that they break down dead things and return nutrients to the soil  What are some examples of DECOMPOSERS?

DECOMPOSERS  Bacteria  Fungi  Flies  Maggots  Hyenas  Dung Beetles  Worms  Mold

Trophic Levels  Each step in the chain represents a TROPHIC LEVEL  A trophic level is an feeding step in the passage of energy and materials through an ecosystem

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary  Primary Consumers eat Autotrophs (plants)  Secondary Consumers eat Primary Consumers  Tertiary Consumers eat Secondary Consumers

Herbivore  An organism that only eats plants (cow, caterpillar)  Are human vegetarians herbivores? Why or why not?

Carnivore  An organism that eats only meat (lion, eagle)  What are some other examples of carnivores?

Omnivore  An organisms that eats both plants and animals (chimpanzees, turtles)

Energy Flow  Energy enters the ecosystem as Sunlight  Sunlight is the One + Only + Ultimate energy source  It is turned into food by autotroph (plants)  However, plants only capture 1o% of total sun / energy  Plants use this energy to grow, to reproduce, to move (a little), and to keep themselves alive  Overall, plants use 90% of energy this way!  So, only 10% of energy is passed on to the next trophic level (whatever eats the plant)

10% Rule  At every level, 90% of the energy received from food is used to keep the organism alive.  For example, a zebra who eats grass only gets 10% of the energy from grass that the grass got from the sun.  Then, the lion who eat the zebra only gets 10% of the energy from the zebra that the zebra got from the grass.  This makes sense! THE ZEBRA USES ENERGY RUNNING AWAY FROM THE LION!  Energy that is lost is converted into HEAT!

Energy Pyramid

Why are there more giraffes than lions?

Biomass  Biomass: Total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level (I am ___ lbs of human biomass)  Just like an energy pyramid, BIOMASS decreases as you go up trophic levels.  And, the 10% Rule applies!  Energy is mass!

So, how much grass does it take you to survive? Meat Eater:  Human  Cow  Grass  Sun  150lbs x 10 (cow) x 10 (grass)  15,000 lbs Vegetarian:  Human  Vegetables  Sun  150lbs x 10 (veggies)  1500 lbs It’s better for the earth to be a vegetarian. Except… You may not be getting enough PROTEIN!

Exit Slip  Where does all the energy needed for life on Earth come from?  Where does it go after we use it?

Food Web Game 1.Pick one member of the group to be the dealer. 2.The dealer should shuffle the deck and deal 5 cards to each person. Place the remaining cards face down on the table top. 3.The person to the left of the dealer draws a card from the top of the pile and adds it to their hand. 4.If a food chain of five organisms is not completed, discard a card face down on the discard pile. 5.The next player to the left may either pick up a card from the draw pile or the discard pile 6.Play continues until a food chain is completed. Other players should check to make sure it is complete and realistic using the Food Web Sheet.

Food Web Game 7.Continue to play until each person has completed their food chain. Once you are finished, you should sit out and use string to connect your chain with string 8.Once all food chains have been completed, determine what organisms will connect across food chains. Connect those with string. 9.Use the rest of the cards to create a food web. Make sure that producers are at the bottom, primary consumers on top of them, and so on.

Herbivore  An organism that only eats plants (cow, caterpillar)  Are human vegetarians herbivores? Why or why not?

Carnivore  An organism that eats only meat (lion, eagle)  What are some other examples of carnivores?

Omnivore  An organisms that eats both plants and animals (chimpanzees, turtles)

Decomposers  An organism that eats dead plant and animal remains (snails, earthworms)  Can you think of any other examples?

DECOMPOSERS  Bacteria  Fungi  Flies  Maggots  Hyenas  Dung Beetles  Worms  Mold

Food Webs: