Who’s Who in the Ecosystem? ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

Producers An autotrophic is an organism that produces its own food and serves as a source of food for other organisms in a food web. Converts raw energy from the sun to organic molecules and nutrients useful to themselves and other organisms Producers include green plants (grass and trees) which produce food through photosynthesis Algae and some bacteria are also producers Slide background image courtesy of R. Means ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

Consumers Are heterotrophic - cannot make their own food and must obtain energy by eating other organisms. Includes animals, bacteria, and fungus Herbivore - eats only plants (grasshopper) Carnivore - eats other animals (wolf) Omnivore - eats both plants and animals (black bear) Background photo slide courtesy of D.B. Means ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

Decomposers An organism, often a bacterium or fungus, that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter. Converts dead organisms and animal/plant waste into water and nutrients. Nutrients are returned to the soil and made available to the other organisms in the ecosystem. Background image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

Producer, Consumer, Decomposer Game The next several slides will be of different organisms When each slide is displayed, hold up the card that corresponds to the appropriate role the organism plays in a food web ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

FOX https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Fox_(PSF).png Consumer Diet – omnivores - lizards, voles, rates, mice, rabbits, eggs, and plants Habitat: Usually found in mountain, grasslands, and dessert https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Fox_(PSF).png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

MUSHROOMS Decomposer Decomposers get energy by breaking down the remains of plants and animals. Then the decomposer return nutrients from the bodies of dead organisms to the environment. https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/07/13/13/50/mushroom-161634_640.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

TIGER Consumer Tigers are carnivores and eat deer, wild pigs, water buffalo and antelope. Tigers are also known to hunt sloth bears, dogs, leopards, crocodiles and pythons as well as monkeys and hares. https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/05/04/09/16/tiger-46840_640.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

DRAGON FLY Consumer Dragonflies mostly eat other flying insects, particularly midges and mosquitoes. They will also take butterflies, moths and smaller dragonflies. The larvae, which live in water, eat almost any living thing smaller than themselves. Larger dragonfly larvae sometimes eat small fish and amphibian larvae. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/PSF-Dragonfly.svg/1000px-PSF-Dragonfly.svg.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

APPLE TREE Producer Autotroph - obtains energy from the sun and, using water that is pulled up through the roots and carbon dioxide from the air, converts that energy to food. https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/04/13/00/42/flowering-tree-31387_640.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

HAWK ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org Consumer Hawks have a varied diet: small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, other birds, invertebrates https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Black_and_white_line_art_drawing_of_swainson_hawk_bird_in_flight.jpg ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

BACTERIA Mainly Decomposer, but may also be producers During the process of decomposition, the decomposers provide food for themselves by extracting chemicals from the dead bodies or organic waste; using these to produce energy. The decomposers will then produce waste of their own. In turn, this will also decompose, eventually organic material is naturally recycled. Virtually nothing goes to waste in nature. When animals die and decompose, usually only the bones remain, but even these will decompose over a much longer period of time. https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/07/12/15/18/germs-149605_640.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

FLOWER Producer https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/07/13/13/49/flower-161624_640.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

FISH Consumer Diet depends on the fish - algae, plankton, marine plants, invertebrates, other fish http://res.freestockphotos.biz/pictures/10/10804-illustration-of-a-jumping-fish-pv.png ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

TURTLE http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/16830 Consumer Diet depends on the species. Some eat plants, others are more omnivorous and eat insects and other small animals. http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/16830 ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

How does a food web differ from a food chain? A food chain is the path of energy transfer. A food web is the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem. The energy moves from producers to consumers. After explaining the difference between food chains and webs. Ask “ what is the result of removing a organism from the food web?” When an organism is removed the population size of organisms that it eat may increase, and the population size of organisms that eat it may decrease. This is a great PowerPoint that explain food webs and food chains https://youtu.be/nD2-tTJg7B4 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simplified_food_chain.svg ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org Label the plant or animal as a producer, consumer, or decomposer. Then draw arrows to show how energy is transferred through the ecosystem. Ladybird Butterfly Mouse Rabbit Titmouse bird Print This Slide for students to complete during the guided practice. Have the students help you identify the producers and consumers and write on each blank. Then draw arrows to show how energy is transferred through the ecosystem. Arrows represent the flow of energy from the body of the consumed organism to the body of the consumer of that organism. Remember that producers transfer energy to the primary consumers in the food chain, next to the secondary consumers, then to the tertiary consumers, and lastly the decomposers recycle matter back into the soil. Grasshopper Fungi Plantain ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer This is the answer key to the student worksheet (slide 17) In case the slide is unclear all arrows connect back to the fungi (decomposers) consumer producer producer Fungi decomposer http://myphotobag.com/sonoran-desert-food-chain-images-of-the-ocean/foodweb01.pagespeed.png.html ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org This is what the Chesapeake Bay food web should look like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_chain#/media/File:Chesapeake_Waterbird_Food_Web.jpg ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org This is what the African food web should look like The Fungi, Bacteria, Termites, and Dung Beetles are the decomposers The Acacia and the grass are the producers And the rest of the organisms are consumers http://interactions-environment.wikispaces.com/file/view/photos.jpg/215919172/photos.jpg ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org

©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org consumer Marine Food Web consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer consumer This is a sample of what the students food web should look like if they were assigned the Marine Food Web consumer producer consumer producer consumer consumer https://www.flickr.com/photos/121935927@N06/13578843423 ©Copyright 2015- all rights reserved www.cpalms.org