Energy in Ecosystems

Review Vocabulary Producer – Makes own food, aka autotrophs. Herbivore – Eats only plants. Carnivore – Eats only animals. Omnivore – Eats both plants and animals. Decomposer – Breaks down dead organisms into simpler substances that can be used by plants as fertilizer.

Can be summarized by trophic levels. Sun  producers  primary consumers  secondary consumers  tertiary consumers. Food chains. Food webs…  decomposers Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

Producer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Food Chains Can be shows how chemical energy is passed from one organism to another. (The arrow points in the direction energy moves) Producers are also called autotrophs. Consumers are also called heterotrophs.

Food Webs Overlapping food chains. Prey (hunted). Predator (hunter). The arrows show the direction energy travels.

algae Which of these are producers? Which of these are primary consumers? Which of these are secondary consumers? Which of these are tertiary consumers ? Texas Food Web

Energy Pyramid Only about 10% of energy gets transferred to the next trophic level. The other 90% escapes to the environment ( sweat-perspiration, waste, respiration, release of heat, movement, digestion, other life processes).

Learning Check Which organisms are both secondary and tertiary consumers in this partial desert food web?

Learning Check What would happen if the lizard population became extinct? Hawk and snake population would decrease. Termite and moth population would increase.

Matter – Anything that has mass and takes up space (almost everything). Cycle – Reusing. Cycling Matter

Biomass Renewable energy source from biotic factors. Plants and animals. Feces, Manure, etc. Usually thought of as trash. Coal, petroleum (came from plants or animals). A tropical rainforest has more biomass than a desert.

Decay Dead organism decay or rot. Decomposers help in the decomposition process Decomposers: break down dead organisms into simpler substances. Decomposers: bacteria, fungi, earthworms, dung beetles.

Composting – is when someone collects biotic factors and allows then to decompose into fertilizer. Composting provides natural and organic fertilizer which is both healthy for the soil and environment. Things needed – leaves, grass, manure, coffee grounds, water, earthworms. Humus – result of composting: dark, sticky, soil-like mixture, sweet smell. Temperature increases during composting. Compost