Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

1Energy Flow in EcosystemsEcosystem: all living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) factors in an areaAbiotic Biotic Video ClipAll organisms play a role in their ecosystemHOW THEY GET THEIR ENERGYOrganism: a living thing

2Role: ProducerA plant that makes its own foodAutotroph (self-feeder)Make their own food through photosynthesisExamples: leaves, trees, grass

3Role: ConsumersCannot make own foodDepend on producers for energyHeterotrophs (different feeders)Herbivores eats plantsCarnivores eats animalsOmnivores eats plants & animalsScavengers eats dead plants & animals

4Role: DecomposerBreaks down waste and dead organism & returns raw materials to the environmentEx: bacteria, fungi, worms

5A world with no decomposers?

Waste and dead organisms would pile up6PredatorA predator is an animal that eats another animal. When looking at a food chain, if an animal is eating another animal, it is considered a predator.

In this food chain, the snake is a predator and the fox is a predator as well. The mouse is not a predator, as it is not eating anything.

Prey Prey is any animal which is hunted and killed by another animal for food.Some animals can be both a predator and prey.

In this picture, the mouse is prey, the snake is also prey.

Energy enters an ecosystem asSUNLIGHT!!!

9Food chainA model of how the suns energy is passed from organism to organism in an ecosystem.

What do you notice about the start of this food chain?What is missing from this food chain? (Hint where does the grass get its energy from?

Order of the Food Chain Sun energy sourceProducers - plants1st Level/Primary Consumers eats producers (herbivore or omnivore)2nd Level/Secondary Consumers eats 1st level consumers (carnivore or omnivore)3rd Level/Tertiary Consumers eats 2nd level consumers (carnivore or omnivore)Decomposer recycles materials for use by producers

Arrows show the direction of the flow of energy!

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12Food websMap of overlapping food chainsMany different producers and consumersa diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystemMost organisms do not eat the same thing every day, so they are part of more than one food chain

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Food Web14Food websWhat happens if we remove an organism?

The balance of the food web is thrown off; other organisms or the ecosystem could be destroyed.15

Energy & MatterFlow of energyWhen an organism eats, it obtains energy, then uses a lot of energy in life process like growth and movement.This means that only part of their energy is available to the next organism in the food web.

17Energy PyramidEnergy pyramid - a diagram that shows an ecosystems loss of energyWhat is the purpose?To show the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food webFacts:The greatest amount of energy is available at the producer levelThe least amount of energy available to going to be a the top of the food chain.Only 10% of the energy is passed up to the next level18Energy Pyramid

Energy PyramidsVideo Clip

Copy this pyramid in notes20