1. Food For Thought – Energy

2. How organisms obtain energy
ECOSYSTEMS are powered by energy from the SUN
Energy only enters living things at the PRODUCER level.
As energy is passed along the FOOD chain, much of it is lost as HEAT.

3. How organisms obtain energy
Energy flows ONE way through the food chain, from PRODUCERS through CONSUMERS.
Each level of the food chain has LESS available energy in it.

4. DRAW YOUR OWN FOOD CHAIN

5. How They Fit in
Trophic Levels

6. Producers (Autotrophs)
Green Plants
They capture light energy from the sun and convert it into food energy.

7. Consumers (Heterotrophs)
are Animals that depend upon green plants and other animals for food.

8. Types of Consumers
Primary Consumer (Herbivores) – eat PLANTS to get energy
2nd Level (secondary) Consumers (Carnivores, omnivores) – eat ANIMALS to get energy
3rd level (tertiary) Consumers (Carnivores, omnivores) – eat ANIMALS to get energy

9. Decomposers
Break down and DECOMPOSE DEAD ORGANISMS getting energy and releasing nutrients back into the environment.

10. You Are What You Eat
Food Chains – a simple LINEAR drawing showing which organisms feed upon which others

11. You Are What You Eat
Food Web – A NUMBER OF INTER-CONNECTING FOOD CHAINS

14. Energy Pyramid
Number of individual organisms decrease as we go from one energy level to the next.
Available energy also decreases as we go from one energy level to the next.
Only 10% of the available energy is transferred to the next energy level.

15. Energy Pyramid

16. Using Energy
Some organisms use different strategies to balance energy used to get food with the type of energy gained from that food.
Examples:
Migration
Switching type of prey based on availability
Hibernation or dormancy

17. Using Energy Organisms use energy to obtain food (more energy)
A coyote uses energy to chase mice
Birds use energy to migrate to a location with more food rather than staying in a cold climate.

18. Examples
Arctic terns migrate from their breeding grounds in the Arctic during the summer to South America for the winter.  What is the purpose of their migration?
They cannot meet their energy needs in the Artic over the winter.
Marmots hibernate when temperatures fall below 15.5 degrees Celsius.  During hibernation, marmots breathe very slowly, circulation of blood is reduced, body temperature drops, and they are able to survive on their own reserves of fat.  What is the main adaptive advantage of hibernation?
Food sources are scarce in the winter and the marmot would spend too much energy trying to obtain food.

19. SYMBIOSIS
Living Together

20. Types of Symbiosis
Commensalism – A relationship where one species benefits and the other is neither harmed or benefited.
Example:
Mutualism – A relationship where both species benefits.

21. Types of Symbiosis
Parasitism – A relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
Example:
Predator-Prey Relationships – A relationship where there is an organism that is the hunter and one that is the hunted.

22. Competition/Limiting Factors
Competition – When two or more organisms are competing for the same thing. It could be abiotic or biotic.
Limiting Factor – Environmental factors that affect an organisms ability to survive in its environment, such as food availability, predators, water, and temperatures.