1. How Ecosystems Work

2. Section 1

5.  Because plants make their own food, they are called producers.  Producers are also called autotrophs, or self-feeders.

6.  Organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms are called consumers.  A consumer is an organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients or obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources.  Consumers are also called heterotrophs, or other-feeders.  Consumers get their energy indirectly by eating producers or other consumers.  Organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms are called consumers.  A consumer is an organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients or obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources.  Consumers are also called heterotrophs, or other-feeders.  Consumers get their energy indirectly by eating producers or other consumers.

7.  The important thing to remember is that almost all organisms get their energy from the sun.  Producers get energy directly from the sun  Consumers get energy indirectly from the sun by eating producers or other organisms that eat producers

8. Deep-ocean communities of worms, clams, crabs, mussels, and barnacles exist in total darkness on the ocean floor, where photosynthesis cannot occur …how? The producers in this environment are bacteria that use hydrogen sulfide present in the water to make food, so the bacteria are producers that can make food without sunlight. Hydrogen sulfide is present in the hot water that escapes from the cracks in the ocean floor. Other underwater organisms eat the bacteria or the organisms that eat the bacteria. These areas weren’t discovered until 1977 off the coast of Ecuador

9. Organisms can be classified by what they eat…. Types of Consumers: 1.Herbivores: eats producers 2.Carnivores: eats other consumers 3.Omnivores: eats both producers and consumers 4.Decomposers: breaks down dead organisms

10. Part of the energy obtained through cellular respiration is used to carry out daily activities. Excess energy is stored as fat or sugar.

12. Each time an organism eats another organism, an energy transfer occurs. This transfer of energy can be traced by studying food chains, food webs, and trophic levels.

13. Food Chains A food chain is a sequence in which energy is transferred from one organism to the next as each organism eats another organism.

14. Food Webs

15. Trophic Levels

17. Section 2

18.  You will work in groups to design a poster that depicts and explains the cycle assigned to you.  You will also create 5 questions that can be answered by looking at your poster and a separate answer key.  The poster and question creation is a project and will count as a test grade, the questions you create will be used as a separate quiz the class will take.

19. Section 3

20. Succession Ecosystems are constantly changing. Succession is a gradual process of change and replacement of the types of species in a community. Each new community that arises often makes it harder for the previous community to survive. The process of succession may take hundreds or thousands of years.

22. Primary Succession Primary succession is a type of succession that occurs on a surface where no ecosystem existed before. It begins in an area that previously did not support life. Primary succession can occur on rocks, cliffs, or sand dunes.

23. Primary succession can occur on new islands created by volcanic eruptions in areas exposed when a glacier retreats any other surface that has not previously supported life Primary succession is much slower than secondary succession. This is because it begins where there is no soil. The first pioneer species to colonize bare rock will probably be bacteria and lichens, which can live without soil. The growth of lichens breaks down the rock, which with the action of water, begins to form soil.

25. Secondary succession occurs on a surface where an ecosystem has previously existed. It is the process by which one community replaces another community that has been partially or totally destroyed. Secondary succession can occur in ecosystems that have been disturbed or disrupted by humans, animals, or by natural process such as storms, floods, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. Secondary Succession

27.  Natural fires caused by lightning are a necessary part of secondary succession in some communities.  Some species of trees, like the jack pine, can release their seeds only after they have been exposed to the intense heat of a fire.  Minor forest fires remove accumulations of brush and deadwood that would otherwise contribute to major fires that burn out of control.  Foresters sometimes allow natural fires to burn unless they threaten human life or property because of the reasons above!

28.  Read both of the following articles in your text.  Answer the questions that go with each article on your own paper.  Submit your work in the tray at the back of class.