1. Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem
Food Chains, Food Webs, Energy Pyramids
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Begins with the SUN
Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight & chlorophyll C6H12O6 + 6O2
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Organisms that can make energy during photosynthesis are called PRODUCERS or AUTOTROPHS.
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Producers are the largest trophic level. There are more producers than any other level on the energy pyramid.
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The energy that is not used by producers can be passed on to organisms that cannot make their own energy.
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Only TEN PERCENT of energy is transferred from one level to the next. This is called the Ten Percent Rule! The rest of that energy is lost to the environment as heat.
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Organisms that cannot make their own energy are called CONSUMERS or HETEROTROPHS.
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8. Consumers that eat producers to get energy:
Are first order (1st) or primary consumers
Are herbivores (plant-eaters)
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9. Consumers that eat producers & other consumers
Are called omnivores
Omnivores eat plants and animals
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A consumer that eats a primary consumer is called a second order or secondary consumer.
Ex. A beetle eats a blade of grass and a lizard eats the beetle.
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Consumers that hunt & kill other consumers are called predators. The animals that are hunted & killed are called prey.
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12. Consumers that eat other dead consumers are called scavengers
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Microscopic bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and break down dead and decaying matter are called DECOMPOSERS. They are at the bottom of the food chain.
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The transfer of energy from the sun to producer to primary consumer then to higher order consumers can be shown in a FOOD CHAIN.
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More Food Chains
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Energy moves in ONE DIRECTION, from organism being eaten to the organism eating it. Sometimes food chains overlap, and this is called a FOOD WEB. FOOD WEBS show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to help them all survive. FOOD CHAINS follow just one path as animals find food.
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17. How Many Chains are in this web? copyright cmassengale

18. Food Chains Show Available Energy
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Another way of showing the transfer of energy in an ecosystem is the ENERGY PYRAMID
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Energy Pyramids Show
Amount of available energy decreases for higher consumers
Amount of available energy decreases down the food chain
It takes a large number of producers to support a small number of primary consumers
It takes a large number of primary consumers to support a small number of secondary consumers
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Food Webs:
Are interconnected food chains
They show the feeding relationships in an ecosystem
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23. Identify the Producers, Consumers, & Decomposers:
Count the Food Chains!
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