Presented by: TAMUCC Pre-service Teachers
Place your name on the test and answer the questions to the best of your ability If anything is unclear PLEASE feel free to ask questions.
“I will be able to…”: Describe how every organism on earth is interdependent on each other. Model these interdependencies through the construction of food webs and pyramids. Categorize organisms into trophic groups and identify these organisms as producers or consumers.
“If you were a whale, which food source would you eat to get the most energy from? a.Phytoplankton b.Fishes c.Krill (crustaceans) d.Seals
A system that includes all living organisms in an area as well as its physical environment functioning together as a unit. Are all ecosystems the same?
Look at the organisms at your tables. Discuss with your groups how these animals can be linked together. Can you identify what ecosystem these organisms belong to?
We can use an Energy pyramid to classify organisms according to the levels of energy that they pass along. Organisms are ranked into trophic levels based on their producer/consumer relationships.
Trophic level one (Autotrophs) Trophic level two Trophic level three Trophic level 4 Primary producers are autotrophs All other trophic levels are heterotrophs
“If you were an Orca, or killer whale, which food source would you eat to get the most energy from? a.Phytoplankton b.Fishes c.Krill (crustaceans) d.Seals
Food webs are used to model how organisms are interconnected in an ecosystem. Arrows are drawn from organisms that are consumed to their consumers. The arrows show a transfer of energy We will discuss this energy transfer later on.
Lets use this yarn to see how organisms can be linked together.
Natural resources have been discovered in your area! The resulting pollution and deforestation has quickly eradicated the producers in your ecosystem!
What happened when a group was lost from our web? Were all organisms important to our web? How do can environmental disasters affect us?
“If you were a whale, which food source would you eat to get the most energy from? a.Phytoplankton b.Fishes c.Krill (crustaceans) d.Seals