Food For Thought – Energy

How organisms obtain energy ECOSYSTEMS are powered by energy from the SUN Energy only enters living things at the PRODUCER level. As energy is passed along the FOOD chain, much of it is lost as HEAT.

How organisms obtain energy Energy flows ONE way through the food chain, from PRODUCERS through CONSUMERS. Each level of the food chain has LESS available energy in it.

DRAW YOUR OWN FOOD CHAIN

How They Fit in Trophic Levels

Producers (Autotrophs) Green Plants They capture light energy from the sun and convert it into food energy.

Consumers (Heterotrophs) are Animals that depend upon green plants and other animals for food.

Types of Consumers Primary Consumer (Herbivores) – eat PLANTS to get energy 2nd Level (secondary) Consumers (Carnivores, omnivores) – eat ANIMALS to get energy 3rd level (tertiary) Consumers (Carnivores, omnivores) – eat ANIMALS to get energy

Decomposers Break down and DECOMPOSE DEAD ORGANISMS getting energy and releasing nutrients back into the environment.

You Are What You Eat Food Chains – a simple LINEAR drawing showing which organisms feed upon which others

You Are What You Eat Food Web – A NUMBER OF INTER-CONNECTING FOOD CHAINS

Energy Pyramid Number of individual organisms decrease as we go from one energy level to the next. Available energy also decreases as we go from one energy level to the next. Only 10% of the available energy is transferred to the next energy level.

Energy Pyramid

Using Energy Some organisms use different strategies to balance energy used to get food with the type of energy gained from that food. Examples: Migration Switching type of prey based on availability Hibernation or dormancy

Using Energy Organisms use energy to obtain food (more energy) A coyote uses energy to chase mice Birds use energy to migrate to a location with more food rather than staying in a cold climate.

Examples Arctic terns migrate from their breeding grounds in the Arctic during the summer to South America for the winter.  What is the purpose of their migration? They cannot meet their energy needs in the Artic over the winter. Marmots hibernate when temperatures fall below 15.5 degrees Celsius.  During hibernation, marmots breathe very slowly, circulation of blood is reduced, body temperature drops, and they are able to survive on their own reserves of fat.  What is the main adaptive advantage of hibernation? Food sources are scarce in the winter and the marmot would spend too much energy trying to obtain food.

SYMBIOSIS Living Together

Types of Symbiosis Commensalism – A relationship where one species benefits and the other is neither harmed or benefited. Example: Mutualism – A relationship where both species benefits.

Types of Symbiosis Parasitism – A relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed. Example: Predator-Prey Relationships – A relationship where there is an organism that is the hunter and one that is the hunted.

Competition/Limiting Factors Competition – When two or more organisms are competing for the same thing. It could be abiotic or biotic. Limiting Factor – Environmental factors that affect an organisms ability to survive in its environment, such as food availability, predators, water, and temperatures.