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, Ecosystem energy flow
1. The sun (non-living) is the main source of energy in an
ecosystem
2. Plants (living) turn solar energy into chemical energy, in the
LIVING form of carbohydrates
• Primary consumers: Plants and algae that use energy from the sun for growth. 3. animals eat the plants and absorb the energy
• Secondary consumers: Animals that eat primary consumers. 4. Energy is transferred from one living thing to the next
• Tertiary consumers: Animals that eat secondary consumers.
[PRODUCER → organism that produces its own food] (1) FOOD CHAINS
• Algae → rootless plant-like organisms growing in water (producer in the ocean)
[FOOD CHAIN → Flow of energy when one
• [Microscopic algae = plankton] organism feeds on another]
[CONSUMER → organism that eats other organisms (derived from plants)] → way to show direction of ENERGY FLOW from one
Z Herbivores: organism that only eats plants trophic level to the next
→ order of organisms in which each one "eats" the one
Oceanic herbivores > eat plankton before him in the chain and is eaten by the one who
Land-herbivores > plant material (leaves, wood, nectar etc.) comes to him
** ALWAYS STARTS WITH A PRODUCER AND ENDS WITH A
Z Omnivore: animal that eats plants and animals [e.g. baboon, warthog & human] CONSUMER/DECOMPOSER
Z Carnivore: animal that eats animals
o Predator: animal that hunts its food (leopard)
o Scavengers: animal that eats dead animals (hyenas, vultures)
o Insectivore: Insect eating animals (anteaters, moles)
DECOMPOSERS
= breaks down waste products and bodies of
(2) FOOD WEBS
dead organisms > decomposition [FOOD WEB → food chains that are
= bacteria & fungi interconnected]
= releases energy that has accumulated in
the bodies of the dead organisms
= accurate representation of how energy
= SAPROTROPHE = dead organic substance
flows into ecosystems
GROWERS [PLANTS]
CONSUMERS = "AUTOTROPY" > self-nourishing >
= can't make own food make own food [chlorophyll]
= eat others to gain energy
= "heterotroph" > feeding on others
, (3) FOOD PYRAMIDS NUTRIENT CYCLES
[[FOOD PYRAMIDS/ECOLOGICAL
PYRAMIDS→ diagram representing
the different numbers of
organisms/amount of biomass at
each trophic level]
NUMBER PYRAMIDS ENERGY - PYRAMIDS
→ size of population at each BIOMASS - PYRAMIDS → Shows energy loss at every
level → Biomass = mass of living level
plant & animal material → relative amount of energy
[grams of dry mass / m2] available at each trophic
level
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