TROPHIC LEVELS IN ECOSYSTEMS. Capturing and Releasing Energy Everything that you do requires energy!...
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Transcript of TROPHIC LEVELS IN ECOSYSTEMS. Capturing and Releasing Energy Everything that you do requires energy!...
TROPHIC LEVELS IN ECOSYSTEMS
Capturing and Releasing Energy
• Everything that you do requires energy!
• Most of the energy you use came primarily from THE SUN.
• Since we use so much energy on a daily basis, you must be
constantly renewing it in
order to live.
The Producers (aka Autotrophs)• A producer is an organism that captures
and stores energy from the sun as chemical energy.
• It is later converted to GLUCOSE which can be used for many processes.
• Energy is absorbed into producers via photosynthesis.
• Common Producer:– PLANTS
The Consumers (aka Hetrotrophs)
• Consumers are organisms that must get their food and energy by eating other organisms.
• Primary consumers are the first link in a chain who primarily eat producers.
• Secondary consumers are the next link and eat the primary consumers.
• Tertiary consumers are the final link and eat the secondary consumers.
The Decomposers
• Decomposers are organisms that break down dead plant and animal matter into simple compounds.
• They are basically the “clean up crew” of an ecosystem.
• Common decomposers:– Fungi– Worms
Food Chains• A food chain shows the relationship between a
producer and a single chain of consumers in an ecosystem.
• ExampleBermuda Grass
Grasshopper
Snake
Hawk
Food Webs
• A food web shows the feeding relationships between many producers and consumers in an ecosystem.
• Gives a better visualization of how energy is passed from organism to organism in a ecosystem.
Energy Pyramids
• Energy pyramids shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level of an ecosystem.
• Bottom are the Producers
• Top are the Tertiary
Consumers