1. Ecological Hierarchy Individual organism Population Community
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere

2. Ecological Hierarchy II. Population: same species living in an area
Species = group of similar organisms that can
interbreed
Example: all the Giant pandas in a forest
III. Community: group of different populations living in same area
Example: All the different plants & animals in a forest with the panda
Ecosystem: all the living and nonliving factors that make up an area
Day 4 *

3. Ecological Hierarchy
V. Biome: Ecosystems with similar climates and communities
Examples: forest, desert, grassland, ocean, etc.
VI. Biosphere:
all ecosystems on earth
Day 4 *

4. Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Ultimate source of energy = sun
Plants, algae, & some bacteria capture solar energy - perform photosynthesis
Organelle that performs photosynthesis = chloroplast (pigment inside = chlorophyll)
Day 6 *

5. Photosynthesis
Performed by producers = an organism that makes its own food via photosynthesis*
Aka autotrophs
Day 6 *

6. From producers to ….
Consumer = an organism that gets energy by eating other organisms
Aka heterotroph
Producers & Consumers convert sugar into usable energy through cellular respiration
Organelle that performs cellular respiration = mitochondria
Day 6 *

7. Consumers can be categorized by…
What is eats:
Herbivore: eats producers
Carnivore: eats other consumers
Omnivore: eats producers & consumers
Scavenger: eats dead large animals
Decomposer: breaks down dead producers & consumers (bacteria & fungi)
Day 6 *

8. Consumers are Categorized by Trophic Level
In a food chain/ web, each step is called a trophic level
Producers = 1st trophic level
Herbivores = primary consumers = 2nd trophic level
Carnivores & Omnivores = secondary consumers – 3rd trophic level
And so forth…
Day 6 *

9. Trophic Level Energy Loss
Energy flows through environment (sun → organisms → space)
Energy is lost as it flows (according to 2nd Law of Thermodynamics)
At each trophic level:
90% of energy from food is used for life functions (ex: movement, growth, reproduction, homeostasis)
Some energy is lost as heat
Remaining 10% energy becomes part of organism’s body & is available to next trophic level
Day 6 *

10. Fill-in pyramid level titles into your notes!
Energy Pyramids
Each layer of pyramid represents a trophic level
Only 10% of energy makes it to next level
B/c so much energy is lost at each level, there are fewer organisms as go up
Loss of energy limits the # of tropic levels in ecosystems
Usually have less than 5
Fill-in pyramid level titles into your notes!
Example: a single lion needs ~250 km2 of land to hunt *

11. Ecosystem Pyramid
Choose an organism and illustrate a pyramid about the organism
Include biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, and species.
Provide a definition/description of each level
See example for assistance 