E79 Eating For Energy

E79 Energy Background An important part of organism habitat is food. A new organism in an ecosystem affects food. CHALLENGE QUESTIONS: How are relationships between organisms affected by introduction of a new species? How could zebra mussels spread accidentally Why are producers like plants important?

E79 Energy Vocabulary Competition: organisms fight for resources. Consumer: organisms get energy from food. Decomposer: organisms eat dead organisms and wastes from living organisms. Food Chain: a series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food. Food Web: cross-dependent organisms + food

E 79 Food Chain vs Food Web

E79 Energy Definitions Photosynthesis: plants that use energy from sun to convert carbon dioxide & water to food Population Fluctuation: organism populations that change up or down depending on the competition or availability of resources. Predation: attack of one organism on others. Producer: plants that make their own food. Take notes from the following information.

E79 Energy Issues Could Lake Victoria issues happen in the U.S.? Tiny zebra mussels don’t seem like a big issue but they reproduce and spread quickly. They feed on tiny plankton, or water plants. Plankton=producers=bottom of food chain Plankton use photosynthesis to convert light, carbon dioxide and water into food (sugar).

E79 Consumers Consumer=organism that eats food for energy Some could eat plants or animals or both. Food chains and food webs show how energy is transferred as food is eaten. Arrows show where the energy goes in each chain or web. Arrows also show who gets EATEN. As zebra mussels increased, they started being eaten by other original organisms.

E79 Zebra Mussels Zebra mussels eat plankton and make the water clearer by 600%. This means 80 % less plankton for the other animals in the water. Plankton are at the bottom of the food chain so without it many of the animals will die. But some new fish like sunfish may do better. As water get clearer, light goes deeper, and many plants may grow better too.

E79 Ecosystem Nobody knows what will happen to ecosystem We do know zebra mussels will spread. It is now in almost every major river and lake in the eastern United States and spreading.

E79 Eat for Energy Analysis: Date_____ Name______________________ Hr__ Answer each question in complete paragraphs. If ash from a volcano blocks sunlight for two months, explain effects on ground organisms The ash clears and two months go by. Explain what might happen to the ground organisms. If the ash caused an organism to go extinct, explain the changes in the new ecosystem.