1. Energy flows through a food chain.
SB4b
A food chain is a model that shows a sequence of feeding relationships
Energy flows through a food chain.
Grass Rabbit Hawk

3. E. Types of Feeding Relationships
Autotrophs
a. Self-feeders, produce their own food
b. Example: plants, algae
Heterotrophs
a. Depend on other organisms for food

4. Types of Consumers
Herbivores- are organisms that eat only plants. Rabbits
Carnivores- organisms that eat only animals. Hawks
Omnivores- organisms that eat both plants and animals. Kangaroo (seeds & insects)

5. Types of Consumers
Detritivores- organisms that eat detritus, or dead organic matter. Millipede
Decomposers- detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds. Fungi
Decomposers are important to the stability of an ecosystem because they return vital nutrients back into the environment.

6. A specialist is a consumer that primarily eats one specific organism or feeds on a very small number of organisms.

7. Generalists are consumers that have a varying diet
Generalists are consumers that have a varying diet. For example, the diet of a gray wolf may include a number of animals, including elk, moose, white-tailed deer, beavers, and even mice.

8. White-tailed deer
Gray Wolf Generalist
Mouse
Beaver
Elk
Moose

9. Trophic levels are the levels of nourishment in a food chain.

10. Energy flows up the food chain from the lowest trophic level to the highest.

12. Primary consumer (eats plants only)
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13. Eats an animal that eats plants
Secondary Consumer
Eats an animal that eats plants
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14. Ate an animal that ate an animal that ate plants
Tertiary consumer
Ate an animal that ate an animal that ate plants
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15. Ate an animal, that ate an animal, that ate an animal that ate plants.
Quaternary Consumer:
Ate an animal, that ate an animal, that ate an animal that ate plants.
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16. 5th Order consumer:
Ate an animal, that ate an animal, that ate an animal, that ate an animal that ate plants.
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23. Omnivore: An organism that eats both plants and animals.
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24. Wasps are omnivores.
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25. Pillbugs are omnivores.
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26. Ravens and crows are omnivores.
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27. Pigs are omnivores.
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28. Bears are omnivores.
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29. People are omnivores.
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30. Opportunistic: Eat everything + scavenge.
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31. Decomposer: Organisms that feed on organic matter.
Bacteria and fungi.
Return nutrients to soil. (Nutrient Pool)
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32. Decomposer: Organisms that feed on organic matter.
Bacteria and fungi.
Return nutrients to soil. (Nutrient Pool)
Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

33. This limits the number of trophic levels.
Only a Fraction of the Energy Present in Organisms of One Trophic Level Is Captured by Organisms of the the Next Trophic Level
This limits the number of trophic levels.

34. PYRAMID OF ENERGY
At each step on the food web, energy is transferred to the next higher level.
90% of energy is “lost” at each food level, because much of the food energy taken in by a consumer is used in the process of metabolism.
Only 10% is passed on.
Less energy is available to the higher levels on the food chain.

35. Tertiary 10 J consumers Secondary consumers 100 J Primary consumers
LE 54-11
Tertiary
consumers
10 J
Secondary
consumers
100 J
Primary
consumers
1,000 J
Primary
producers
10,000 J
1,000,000 J of sunlight

36. PYRAMID OF ENERGY

37. Energy flow is very inefficient
Energy flow is very inefficient. Only 10% of the energy on one trophic level is transferred to the level above it.

38. ENERGY flows one-way through an ecosystem
ENERGY flows one-way through an ecosystem. NUTRIENTS cycle through an ecosystem.

39. A food web is a model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem.

40. A Food Web Describes the Way Energy is Transferred Within an Ecosystem

41. Food Web