1. DO NOW
What is ecology?
What are the two major parts that make up an organism’s environment?
What are some biotic factors you see in the picture above?
What are some abiotic factors that you see in the picture above?

2. WELCOME
AIM: KWBAT interpret and design food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids.
Agenda (55 min)
Do Now (5 min)
Do Now Review (5 min)
Notes (15 min)
Notes II (15 min)
Guided Practice (10 min)
Partner Practice I (10 min)
Partner Practice II (10 min)
Independent Practice (10 min)
Exit Ticket (15 min)
Exit Ticket Review (5 min)

3. How do we get energy? A niche is an organism’s role in the community
Organisms get ENERGY from their food. They get food in 3 ways:
Autotrophs/Producers: Auto = self
troph = feeder
Autotrophs or Producers –
make their own food using
the energy from the sun
Examples – trees, grass (plants)

4. 4. Heterotrophs/Consumers
Hetero = other troph = feeder
Heterotrophs or Consumers –
Get food by eating others
(Organisms)
Examples – people, lions
(animals)

5. 5. Decomposers Break down dead or dying animals
and return nutrients to the soil
b. Dead organisms would not recycle without decomposers
c. Example: Bacteria and fungi

6. Think: Producer, consumer, or decomposer?
Gets energy from the sun: Lion: Heterotroph: Autotroph: Plant: Eats plants: Bacteria: Fungi:
PRODUCER
CONSUMER
CONSUMER
PRODUCER
PRODUCER
CONSUMER
DECOMPOSER
DECOMPOSER

7. How does energy enter the ecosystem?
5. The sun is the source of all energy
6. Producers trap energy from the sun
using their chloroplast.
Why do you think autotrophs are called producers?

8. Transfer of energy
12. Food chains describe the flow of energy in an ecosystem
13. Arrows show the movement of energy
8. Whenever you eat something, you get energy from it
9. Herbivores get energy from eating plants only
10. Omnivores get energy from eating plants and animals.
11. Carnivores get energy from eating animals.

9. In the food chain to the right, what is the producer?
Think:
In the food chain to the right, what is the producer?
 Who eats the grass?
 Who gets energy from the mouse?
GRASS
GRASSHOPPER
OWL

10. Food Webs
13. Food webs are many food chains combined 14. You can use a food web to see who eats who 15. To see who an animal eats, find where the arrow starts

11. FOOD WEB 16 In the food web to the right, the mouse eats the _________
the frog eats the _________
the hawk eats the _____________
GRASS
CRICKET
RABBIT, SNAKE,
FROG, MOUSE

12. FOOD WEB
17. To determine what an organism is, look at what it eats. 18. Mouse eats ________ only, so it is an ___________ 19. Herbivore: ______________ 20. Omnivore: ______________ 21. Carnivore: ________________
GRASS
HERBIVORE
DEER, RABBIT, MOUSE, CRICKET
NONE
MOUNTAIN LION, SNAKE, FROG, & HAWK

13. CARNIVORE (eats snake, mouse, raccoon)
Think: in the food web to the right, is the organism an herbivore, omnivore or carnivore?
Hawk:
Snake:
Raccoon:
Mouse:
Corn:
CARNIVORE (eats snake, mouse, raccoon)
CARNIVORE (eats mouse)
OMNIVORE (eats corn, mouse
HERBIVORE (eats grass)
NOT A CONSUMER (EATER)
PRODUCER

14. FOOD CHAIN
The path of food and energy from producer to consumer to decomposer is a food chain.
A food chain is a model that shows the transfer of energy from one organism to another.
Producers –
Turn light into energy that is stored
into food.
Plants, grass, trees, and flowers

15. FOOD CHAIN Consumers – Eat others organisms
Energy in their food is transferred to their bodies
Herbivores = eats plants only (herb = plant)
Carnivores = eats animals only (carne = meat)
Omnivores = eats plants and animals (omni = both)
Decomposers –
Break down dead or dying organisms
Absorb nutrients while leftovers recycle
into the soil
Ex. Fungi and bacteria

16. Think: HERBIVORE, CARNIVORE, OR OMNIVORE?
Eats grasshopper: Eats grass: Eats insects: Eats mice and berries: Eats grass and berries: Eats mice and grasshopper:
CARNIVORE
HERBIVORE
CARNIVORE
OMNIVORE
HERBIVORE
CARNIVORE

17. Trophic levels
Each feeding position in a food chain is a trophic level.
First trophic level includes:
Producers make up the first trophic level.
Second trophic level includes:
Primary consumers (eat producers)
= herbivores
Third trophic level includes:
Secondary consumers (eat primary consumers)
= carnivores
Fourth trophic level includes:
Tertiary consumers (eat secondary consumers)

18. Trophic levels
Omnivores (plant & animal eater) may be a primary, secondary, or tertiary consumer, depending on its place in the food chain.
Scavengers are omnivores that eat dead plants and animals (ex. Vulture, buzzard, and hyena).

19. FILL IN THE MODEL: 4th carnivore Tertiary consumer 3rd carnivore
Tertiary consumer
3rd
carnivore
Secondary consumer
2nd
herbivore
Primary consumer
producer
1st
Producer level

20. Think: primary, secondary, tertiary or scavenger?
Eats grasshopper:
Eats grass:
Eats mouse:
Eats producers:
Eats primary consumers:
Eats secondary consumers:
Eats dead plants and animals
Breaks down plants and animals:
(secondary consumer)
(primary consumer)
(tertiary consumer)
(primary consumer)
(secondary consumer
tertiary consumer
scavenger
decomposer

21. Energy pyramid
Energy pyramids show how energy is lost between trophic levels.
When a plant turns sunlight into energy, it stores only 10 percent of that energy in their tissues.
When an animal eats a plant, only a small amount of the plant’s original energy is transferred.
Only 10 percent of the energy is passed from level to level.
The rest is lost as heat or life processes.
10 kJ(calories)
100 kJ(calories)
1,000 kJ(calories)
10,000 kJ(calories)

22. Energy pyramid
An energy pyramid is a model that also shows the amount of energy at each level of a food chain.
Producers have the most energy stored in their tissue (bottom of the pyramid).
Herbivores (or primary consumers) have the next most energy stored in their tissue.
Carnivores (or secondary consumers) have the least amount of energy stored in their tissue.
LEAST ENERGY
2nd MOST
MOST ENERGY

23. THINK BOX: CARROT HAWK Think
In the energy pyramid to the right, who has the most energy?
In the energy pyramid to the right, who has the least energy?
CARROT
HAWK

24. BIOMASS Biomass is all the living matter on a trophic level.
Producers make up most of the biomass in an ecosystem.
Primary consumers have less biomass than producers.
Secondary consumers have even less biomass.
The least biomass is usually the highest trophic level.

25. (PAGE 4) ENERGY PYRAMID Guided PRACTICE
Which organism has the MOST energy?
Which organism has the LEAST energy?
If the trees have 180,000 kJ of energy, how much do the giraffes have?
What happens to the energy as it moves from one trophic level to the next?
5. In a balanced ecosystem, which level would have the most organisms?
TREES
LIONS
18,000KJ
IT DECREASES. SOME (NOT ALL) ENERGY IS PASSED ON.
PRODUCERS

26. (PAGE 4) ENERGY PYRAMID PRACTICE
6. In a balanced ecosystem, which level would have the least organism? 7. What would happen to this ecosystem suffered from a forest fire? 8. What would happen if there were too many lions in this ecosystem? 9. What is the original source of energy of this ecosystem? 10. Why are there more organisms on the producer level than the secondary consumer level?
LIONS
ORGANISMS WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE OR DIE.
THE GIRAFFES WOULD DIE OUT
THE SUN
THERE HAS TO BE MORE FOOD AVAILABLE THAN CONSUMERS

27. (PAGE 4) MULTIPLE CHOICE
Answer the following EOCT question
11. Which statement best explains why each trophic level has less energy than the trophic level before it?
The energy in an organism is destroyed when the organism is eaten.
The number of organisms increases as the trophic level increases, so less energy is available.
Predators and consumers do not require as much energy as produces to survive, so they absorb less energy
Some energy at each trophic level is lost from the food web as heat.
Answer the following EOCT question
12. Albert is studying food web relationships in wetland ecosystems. He learned that hawks feed on shrews and shrews feed on cattails. What is the original source of energy for wetland ecosystems?
plants
insects
the Sun
predators O O

28. Partner Practice (10 mins)

29. Food Webs Partner Practice
Who is the producer?
2. Who are the primary consumers?
3. Who are the secondary consumers?
4. Who is the tertiary consumer?
5. What is the niche of the mushroom?
6. Who are the herbivores?
7. Who are the carnivores?
8. Who has the most available energy?
9. Who has the least available energy?
10. Grass has 200 kcal of energy, how much energy does the fox have?
5. to break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients into the soil
GRASS
RABBIT, MOUSE, INSECT
FOX, SNAKE
OWL
RABBIT, MOUSE, INSECT
FOX, SNAKE, OWL
GRASS
OWL
2 kcal

30. Food Webs Partner Practice
Who is the producer?
2. Who are the primary consumers?
3. Who are the secondary consumers?
4. Who is the tertiary consumer?
5. What is the niche of the BACTERIA?
6. Who are the herbivores?
7. Who are the carnivores?
8. Who has the most available energy?
9. Who has the least available energy?
10. Grass has 200 kcal of energy, how much energy does the grasshopper have?
WHEAT
GRASSHOPPER
MEADOWLARKS
PEREGRINE FALCON
GRASSHOPPER
MEADOWLARK, FALCON
WHEAT
FALCON
5. to break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients into the soil
20 kcal

31. Partner Practice II WHO AM I? Use the following:
TERTIARY CONSUMER
PRIMARY
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
SECONDARY
PRODUCER
TERTIARY
Tertiary
Producer
PRODUCER
PRODUCER