Ecological Hierarchy Individual organism Population Community Ecosystem Biome Biosphere

Ecological Hierarchy II. Population: same species living in an area Species = group of similar organisms that can interbreed Example: all the Giant pandas in a forest III. Community: group of different populations living in same area Example: All the different plants & animals in a forest with the panda Ecosystem: all the living and nonliving factors that make up an area Day 4 *

Ecological Hierarchy V. Biome: Ecosystems with similar climates and communities Examples: forest, desert, grassland, ocean, etc. VI. Biosphere: all ecosystems on earth Day 4 *

Energy Flow in Ecosystems Ultimate source of energy = sun Plants, algae, & some bacteria capture solar energy - perform photosynthesis Organelle that performs photosynthesis = chloroplast (pigment inside = chlorophyll) Day 6 *

Photosynthesis Performed by producers = an organism that makes its own food via photosynthesis* Aka autotrophs Day 6 *

From producers to …. Consumer = an organism that gets energy by eating other organisms Aka heterotroph Producers & Consumers convert sugar into usable energy through cellular respiration Organelle that performs cellular respiration = mitochondria Day 6 *

Consumers can be categorized by… What is eats: Herbivore: eats producers Carnivore: eats other consumers Omnivore: eats producers & consumers Scavenger: eats dead large animals Decomposer: breaks down dead producers & consumers (bacteria & fungi) Day 6 *

Consumers are Categorized by Trophic Level In a food chain/ web, each step is called a trophic level Producers = 1st trophic level Herbivores = primary consumers = 2nd trophic level Carnivores & Omnivores = secondary consumers – 3rd trophic level And so forth… Day 6 *

Trophic Level Energy Loss Energy flows through environment (sun → organisms → space) Energy is lost as it flows (according to 2nd Law of Thermodynamics) At each trophic level: 90% of energy from food is used for life functions (ex: movement, growth, reproduction, homeostasis) Some energy is lost as heat Remaining 10% energy becomes part of organism’s body & is available to next trophic level Day 6 *

Fill-in pyramid level titles into your notes! Energy Pyramids Each layer of pyramid represents a trophic level Only 10% of energy makes it to next level B/c so much energy is lost at each level, there are fewer organisms as go up Loss of energy limits the # of tropic levels in ecosystems Usually have less than 5 Fill-in pyramid level titles into your notes! Example: a single lion needs ~250 km2 of land to hunt *

Ecosystem Pyramid Choose an organism and illustrate a pyramid about the organism Include biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, and species. Provide a definition/description of each level See example for assistance 