Ecosystems An ecosystem consists of all the organisms living in an area and the nonliving features of their environment.

Producer Organisms that use an outside energy source like the Sun to make energy-rich molecules. Examples are plants and phytoplankton. (phyto=plant)

Consumers Organisms that cannot make their own energy-rich molecules, therefore must eat other organisms to get energy. Examples are rabbits, frogs, pigs, lions, and humans.

Decomposer Help recycle once-living matter by breaking it down into simple, energy-rich substances. Examples are fungi, bacteria and earthworms.

Turn to your neighbor and give them one example of a producer, consumer and decomposer in 15 seconds.

Primary Consumer An animal that feeds on a producer; ( herbivore ). Herbivores are the vegetarians of the world. They include snails, rabbits, deer.

Secondary Consumer An organism that eats a primary consumer. (aka: carnivore that feeds only upon herbivores). Carnivores are organisms that eat other animals. They include frogs, lions, and owls. An example is a snake that eats a rabbit.

Tertiary Consumer A carnivore that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers. An example is an owl that eats a snake.

Give a thumbs up if you can name all three types of consumers and give one example for each.

Omnivore An organism that feeds on both plants and animals. Examples: bears, pigs, rats, humans

What do the Arrows Represent? The arrows represent the Energy flow from one level of an ecosystem to another level. The arrow represents the energy transfer from one organism to another. Ex. Grass----> Rabbits----> Snakes You can also think of it as: – Grass (is eaten by) Rabbits (are eaten by) Snake

FOOD CHAINS FOLLOW A SINGLE PATH AS ANIMALS EAT EACH OTHER. EXAMPLE: The SUN provides food for GRASS The GRASS is eaten by a GRASSHOPPER The GRASSHOPPER is eaten by a FROG The FROG is eaten by a SNAKE The SNAKE is eaten by a HAWK.

FOOD WEBS SHOW HOW PLANTS & ANIMALS ARE INTERCONNECTED BY DIFFERENT PATHS. Like a spiders web, if one part is removed, it can affect the whole web. FOOD WEBS show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to help them all survive. FOOD CHAINS follow just one path of energy as animals find food.

10% Rule 10% of the energy available at each trophic level is available for use by the next level on the pyramid. The other 90% of the energy keeps the organism alive.

Energy Pyramid

Lab Table Activity Marine Food Web Activity Organize pictures with names Draw arrows on white boards Label each picture P –Producer PC- Primary Consumer SC- Secondary Consumer TC-Tertiary Consumer QC-Quaternary Consumer