1. Ralph, Stan, and Bugsy

2. Nutritional Relationships
involve the transfer of nutrients from one organism to another.

3. Autotrophs

4. Autotrophs
can synthesize their own food (organic nutrients –carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) from inorganic compounds and a usable energy source.

5. Heterotrophs
cannot synthesize their own food and are dependent upon other organisms for food.
* classified as either saprophytes, herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores.

6. Heterotroph

8. * recycle materials in the environment.
1) Saprophytes include heterotrophic plants, fungi, and bacteria which live on dead matter.
* recycle materials in the environment.
Examples: mushrooms, bread mold, and bacteria of decay.

9. Saprophytes
Bread mold

12. 2) Herbivores are plant-eating animals.
Ex) "grazing" animals: cows, rabbits, and deer.

13. Rabbit (herbivore)

15. 3) Carnivores are animals that consume other animals.
Predators: wolves and eagles
Scavengers: buzzards and crabs

16. Carnivores (predators)

17. Predators http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNnx_X5ue2c&NR=1

18. Carnivores (scavengers)

19. 4) Omnivores are those animals that consume both plants and animals.
Ex) Humans

21. Scavengers

22. Energy Flow Relationships

23. The energy must flow from organism to organism.
* If an ecosystem is to be self-sustaining it must contain supply of energy which is available to all the organisms within the ecosystem.
The energy must flow from organism to organism.

24. All organisms need energy for their life activities.
Energy Flow
All organisms need energy for their life activities.
The pathways of energy through the living components of an ecosystem are represented by food chains and food webs.

25. SUN (radiant energy)
Energy
Energy
Energy

27. Food Chain
Green plants convert radiant energy from the Sun into chemical energy (food).
Food chain: a series of organisms through which food energy is passed in an ecosystem.

28. Each consumer level utilizes approx
Each consumer level utilizes approx. 10% of its energy to build new tissue - the food for the next feeding level.

29. The remaining energy is lost in the form of heat and unavailable chemical energy.

30. * There’s more energy at the 1st consumer level than at the 2nd consumer level.

31. A pyramid of energy can be used to illustrate the loss of usable energy at each feeding level.

32. Pyramid of Energy

33. The Energy Pyramid

34. Eventually, the energy in an ecosystem is lost and is radiated from the Earth’s system.
* Thus, an ecosystem cannot sustain itself without the constant input of energy from the Sun.

35. Pyramid of Energy There must be much more energy at the producer level in a food web than at the consumer levels.

36. Thus, the total mass of carnivores in a particular ecosystem is less than the total mass of the producers.

37. Pyramid of biomass

38. Pyramid of biomass
Hawk
Snake
Rabbit
Grass