Energy Chains and Webs EQ: How is matter and energy transferred and recycled among organisms and their environment?

Food Chain A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food Some animals eat plants Some animals eat other animals Some animals eat both plants and animals

Food Chains Each link in this chain is food for the next link A food chain always starts with the sun and ends with an animal

Food chains vs. Energy/Food webs

Food Chains and Food Webs--- there is a difference! Energy/Food Webs Food chains show how energy in foods flows from one organism to another. Few organisms eat just one kind of food! Food chains are rare! Koalas Pandas Monarch Butterflies Food webs show the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem. Since most organisms eat more than one kind of food, webs are more commonly used! http://mentalfloss.com/article/57858/7-animals-eat-one-food-almost-exclusively

Parts of food chains and Webs As stated before, a food chain always starts with the sun and ends with an animal. There are four parts to every food chain/web The Sun Plants (Producers) Animals (Consumers) Decomposers

The Sun The Sun is the original source of energy, in the form of light, for the food chain/web. Plants (producers) capture this energy to make their food.

Producers Plants are called producers because the are able to make their own food using the Sun’s energy.

Consumers Animals cannot make their own food so they must eat plants and/or other animals. They are called consumers because they must eat, or consume their energy.

Types of Consumers There are 3 kinds of consumers Herbivores: only eat plants (primary consumers) Carnivores: only eat other animals Omnivores: eat both plants and animals

Carnivores are broken into two subgroups…. Secondary Consumers Tertiary Consumers Carnivores who eat herbivores Example: A snake that eats rabbits Carnivores who eat other carnivores Example: Owl eating the snake!

Decomposers Decomposers speed up the decay process in the food chain/web that puts nutrients back into the food chain/web for the plants to use. These plants feed the herbivores, which feed the carnivores….. Examples: bacteria and fungi

Most food chains only have 4-5 links Why? There cannot be too many links in a single food chain because: the animals at the end of the chain would not get enough food/energy to stay alive. Many animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food so they can meet their energy requirements. They are part of a food web

Energy Pyramids Energy pyramids show how energy decreases as you “move up” the food chain Producers at the bottom Consumers at top In an energy pyramid, energy is passed from one level to another.

Energy Pyramids -- Producers Producers (plants) are found at the base of the pyramid. MANY plants are required to support a successful food pyramid

Energy Pyramids -- Herbivores When an herbivore eats, only a fraction (1/10th)of the energy that it gets from the plant becomes new body mass.

Energy Pyramids So what happens to the “wasted” energy? It is used to carry out…. Digestion Movement Reproduction Or it’s just given off as waste!

Energy Pyramids -- Carnivore When a carnivore eats an herbivore only a small amount of the energy (10%) consumed by the herbivore gets passed to the carnivore.

And of that small amount of energy …. Some of it will be “wasted” or “used up” by the carnivore as it carries on its life processes. A carnivore has to eat A LOT of herbivores to get enough energy to grow!

Because of the large amount of energy that is lost at each link , the amount of energy that is transferred is lesser and lesser…. In general…. The further up the food chain you go, the less food (and hence, energy) remains available Most food chains have fewer than five links A change in size of one population in a food chain will affect other populations

A change in the size of one population will… Affect other populations within the same food chain. For example, if there are too many giraffes, there will not be enough trees and shrubs for them to eat. This will lead to giraffes dying of starvation. Fewer giraffes will mean less food for lions Lions will die of starvation But…. With less giraffes to eat trees and shrubs, the tree/shrub numbers will grow And, if there are less lions to eat the giraffes, the giraffe population will have time to multiply again. ISN’T IT GREAT HOW NATURE WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF????

Tiered Assignment Pretest

Tiered Assignment Pretest You will be tiered into two groups for an upcoming activity on food webs and energy pyramids Take the pretest on the ½ sheet Orient your paper so that it is a tall rectangle There are 10 questions We will grade these pretests immediately following this quiz

Pretest 1) Which organism acts as the producer? A) a mountain lion B) a rabbit C) a snake D) grass

Pretest 2) Which food might a first-level consumer eat? A) fish B) bacteria C) corn D) worms

Pretest 3) In a food web/chain plants use the sun’s energy to: A) make sugars B) produce chemical energy C) release decomposers D) create carbon and nitrogen

Pretest 4) About how much energy is passed to each successive trophic level in a food chain/web? A) 10% B) 25% C) 50% D) 100%

Pretest 5)Vampire bats generally live in dark caves, hollows of trees, or attics of abandoned buildings. At night they feed on the blood of other mammals. What is the ultimate source of energy for vampire bats? A) moonlight B) sunlight C) insects D) blood

Pretest 6)Which organisms in this energy pyramid has the greatest available energy? A) producers B) primary consumers C) secondary consumers D) tertiary consumers

Pretest 7) How is a food web different from a food chain? A) Food webs contain only producers and not consumers B) Food chains do not contain decomposers C) Food webs contain different, linked food chains D) Food webs exist in aquatic conditions, food chains exist in terrestrial environments

Pretest 8) How might a lack of sunlight disrupt a food web? A) It would cause consumers to consume less B) it would prevent decomposers from breaking down decomposing matter C) It would prevent producers from producing nutrients D) It would not disrupt the food web at all

Pretest 9) How are primary consumers different from secondary consumers? A) Primary consumers eat only plants, secondary consumers eat only consumers B) Primary consumers eat other consumers, secondary consumers eat only plants C) Primary consumers eat plants and other consumers, secondary consumers decompose matter D) Primary consumers eat plants, secondary consumers eat plants and other consumers

Pretest 10) Sheep are herbivores. This means that sheep are: A) producers B) primary consumers C) secondary consumers D) decomposers

Food Web Creation http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm We will be creating a food web as a class. Remember food web/chain “rules” Starts with the sun, ends with an animal Your choices must make sense I will be using the sticks to call on students

Quick Write Use your notes to complete the quick write. All terms must be used and underlined. Use at least 3 evidence-based terms in your writing. If you run out of space on the front, there is this mystical place called the other side of the paper. Visit it! Draw a picture of a food web when you are finished writing EVIDENCE-BASED TERMS Because … According to my notes… Mrs. Belaski said … For example … For instance … In my notes, I noticed …

Review What starts all food chains/webs? http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+brainpop+videos+food+chains&view=detail&mid=6F27C44E15AD7635F8416F27C44E15AD7635F841&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR What starts all food chains/webs? What is the difference between food chains/webs? What are the four parts of every food chain/web? Give three examples of a producer Give three examples of a consumer What happens to most of the energy in a food chain/web? Where does this energy go?