EnergyEnergy FlowFlow inin EcosystemsEcosystemsMr. SchumaierMr. Schumaier

What energy roles do organisms play in an

ecosystem?

Organism's play one of three roles:

ProducerConsumer

Decomposer

What is a PRODUCER?

An organism that can make its own food such as grass and

trees.

What is a CONSUMER?

An organism that gets its energy by feeding on other

organisms

Describe HERBIVORES, CARNIVORES, OMNIVORES, &

SCAVENGERS.

H e r b iv o r e s

Eat only plants such as caterpillars, cattle, and deer.

C a r n iv o r e s

Eats only animals such as lions, spiders, and snakes.

O m n iv o r e

Eats both plants and animals such as Crows, goats, and most humans.

S c a v e n g e r

A carnivore that eats the bodies of dead organisms such at catfish and

vultures.

What do herbivores and carnivores have in common?

Herbivores and carnivores are similar in that both are

consumers; they cannot make their own food but must obtain

food by eating other organisms.

What are DECOMPOSERS?

An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms and

returns raw material to the environment

Bacteria, fungi, molds, mushrooms

What is the FOOD CHAIN?

A series of events in which one organism eat another and

obtains energy.

What is a FOOD WEB?

Many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem.

What can be shown through the use of food chain and food

web diagrams?

Food Chain shows one possible path that energy

moves through an ecosystem.

Food web is a more realistic way to show the flow of energy

through an ecosystem

What is an ENERGY PYRAMID?

A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves

from one feeding level to another in a food web.

How much energy is available at each level of an energy

pyramid?

Third-level consumers = 1kcal

Second-level consumers = 10 kcal

First-level consumers = 100 kcal

Producers = 1,000 kcal

The most energy is available at the producer level. At each level in the

pyramid, there is less available energy than at the previous level.

Why are food webs a more realistic way of portraying

ecosystems than food chains?

Most producers and consumers are part of many

overlapping food chains.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbWyrcY5i3s

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