1. Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
Science Notes
Producers, Consumers and Decomposers

2. All energy on earth starts from the sun.

3. energy from the sun plants (producers)
allows plants to make their own food
use energy from sun, nutrients from soil, and carbon dioxide from water and air to make food
store energy (in the form of carbon) in leaves, stems and roots
source of all the food in the ecosystem

4. cannot make their own food
consumers
any form of life on earth that must eat other things to survive
cannot make their own food
labeled by the number of steps they are away from plants, in the food chain

5. primary consumer
eat plants to survive
get energy directly from plants
one step away from plants
Ex: elephant eats bark of a tree; cow eats grass; squirrel eats nuts (from Plant)

6. two steps away from the plant secondary consumer
organisms that eat primary consumers (plant eaters) to survive
get their energy from plants second-hand, by eating the animal or insect that ate the plant
two steps away from the plant
secondary consumer

7. tertiary consumer
organisms that eat secondary consumers to survive
get their energy from plants third-hand, by eating the animal or insect, that ate the animal or insect, that ate the plant
three steps away from the plant

8. Ex: owl eats the snake, that ate the mouse, that ate the berry (from plant);
spider eats a dragonfly, that ate the insect, that ate the plant;
hawk eats the fish, that ate the smaller fish, that ate the seaweed (plant)

9. not eaten by any other consumer
top consumer
on top of the food chain
can be primary, secondary or tertiary consumer

10. break down remains of dead organisms and returns raw material to ecosystem.
Nature’s recycler
help release trapped energy (in the form of carbon) in dead organism back to the earth.
Ex: tree dies,
decomposers

11. energy is trapped in tree stump from when tree was alive
mushrooms grow on dead stump and help break down (disintegrate) what is left of tree
as tree stump ‘disintegrates’, trapped energy is released back into soil and air.