Trophic Levels and Energy Flow

TROPHIC LEVELS AND ENERGY FLOW

-Habitat-the area in which an organism lives
-Niche-an organism's job or role

• the type of food an organism eats
• how it obtains the food
• which other species uses the organism for food

*Every organism in an ecosystem has a niche (job) and that niche has an effect on everyone in that ecosystem!!!

THE SUN

Sunlight is the main source of energy for life on Earth. Without sun, there would be no life!

PRODUCERS

• Primary productivity: amount of plant material that is produced for consumptionby herbivores.
• Producers or Autotrophs: organisms that make their own food (Ex. grasses, trees, algae)
• Photosynthesis: CO2 + H2O - light ---- C6H12O6

CONSUMERS OR HETEROTROPHS

• organisms that rely on or consume producers/autotrophs

-Herbivores-organisms that eat only plants

-Carnivores-organisms that eat only meat

-Omnivores-organisms that eat both plants and animals

-Detritivores-organisms that eat dead matter like animal and plant remains

*Detritus-dead material you might find on the forest floor

-Decomposers-break down organic matter

-Scavengers-eat something another organism has killed

ENERGY FLOW

Energy flows through an ecosystem in 1 direction

sun->autotrophs->heterotrophs

TROPHIC LEVELS

-Primary producer-autotroph

-Primary consumer-eats autotrophs

-Secondary consumer- eats primary consumer

-Tertiary consumer-eats secondary consumers

-Food chain-feeding relationships within an ecosystem

-Food web-a network of feeding relationships

*Food webs link an ecosystem together!!!

• Represents how energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next
• 90% of energy is lost as we mover through a food chain or up a pyramid