1. Energy flows through ecosystems.
Chapter 1
Section 3

2. Living things capture and release energy.
Producer: an organism that captures energy and stores it in food as chemical energy
Most energy enters an ecosystem through photosynthesis
In water – photosynthetic bacteria and algae

3. Living things capture and release energy.
Consumers: organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms
Primary consumers eat the producers
Secondary consumers eat the primary consumers
Tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers

4. Living things capture and release energy.
Decomposers: organisms that break down dead plant and animal matter into simpler compounds
Use the last bit of energy from once-living matter
Return matter to soil or water where it may be used again and again

5. Models help explain feeding relationships.
Food Chain: describes the feeding relationship between a producer and a single chain of consumers in an ecosystem

6. Models help explain feeding relationships.
Producer
cattails
Primary Consumer
caterpillar
Secondary Consumer
frog
Tertiary consumer
heron

7. Models help explain feeding relationships.
Food Web: model of the feeding relationships between many different consumers and producers in an ecosystem
Contains many overlapping and interconnected food chains

8. Models help explain feeding relationships.

9. Available energy decreases as it moves through an ecosystem.
Energy pyramid: model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level of an ecosystem
Energy is lost as it moves up the pyramid so each level gets smaller

10. Available energy decreases as it moves through an ecosystem.