Ecosystems

An ecosystem includes all of the organisms as well as the nonliving things in a given area. Ecosystem
Ecosystem Community Community Population Population Organism Organism

 A community is a group of different species that live together in one area.

Community Community Population Population Organism Organism

An ecosystem includes both biotic and abiotic factors.

Biotic

factors are living things.

plants animals fungi bacteria

plants

Abiotic

factors are nonliving things.

sunlight

moisture temperature wind sunlight soil

moisture

What is the primary source of energy for an ecosystem?

Producers
Makes

food by changing light energy of the sun into chemical energy, or food Also called Autotrophs Ex. Plants, algae, some bacteria

Consumers
Organisms

own food

that do not make their

Also Ex.

known as HETEROTROPHS

Rabbits, Deer, Mushrooms

Heterotrophs

Heterotrophs
Consumers
A.

Herbivores eat ONLY plants

Cows, Elephants, Giraffes

Ex.

Heterotrophs
Consumers
B.

Omnivores eat BOTH plants and animals

Ex.

Bears and Humans

Heterotrophs
Consumers
C.

Carnivores eat ONLY other animals

Lions, Tigers, Hawks

Ex.

Heterotrophs
Consumers
D.

Scavengers/Detritivores feed on the tissue of dead organisms (both plants and animals)
Ex.

Vultures, Crows, and Shrimp

Heterotrophs
Consumers
E.

Decomposers absorb any dead material and break it down into simple nutrients or fertilizers
Ex.

Bacteria and Mushrooms

Food Chain

Food Chains
The

energy flow from one trophic level to the other is know as a food chain Producers are at the first TROPHIC LEVEL Primary Consumers are the SECOND TROPHIC LEVEL Secondary consumers are at the THIRD TROPHIC LEVEL

Trophic Levels (feeding levels)

Food Web
Most

organisms eat more than JUST one organism more organisms are involved it is know as a FOOD WEB

When

Food

webs are more complex and involve lots of organisms

Food webs

Trophic Level

Producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer?

Grass Mouse

Grasshopper
Frog

Owl
Hawk

Trophic Level

Producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer

Grass Mouse Grasshopper Frog Owl Hawk

1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd and 4th 3rd

Producer Primary consumer Primary consumer

Secondary consumer Secondary and tertiary consumer Secondary consumer

Transfer of Energy
When

a lion eats a zebra, it does not get all of the energy from the zebra (much of it is lost as heat) 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next this is called the 10% rule

Only

Ecological Pyramid

 Three

hundred trout are needed to support one man for a year. The trout, in turn, must consume 90,000 frogs, that must consume 27 million grasshoppers that live off of 1,000 tons of grass. -- G. Tyler Miller, Jr., American Chemist (1971)

Ecological Pyramid

Which Which Which Which

level level level level

has has has has

the the the the

most energy? most organisms? least organisms? least energy?

Pyramid of Numbers
Shows the numbers of individual organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
tertiary consumers 5

secondary consumers

5000

primary consumers

500,000

producers producers

5,000,000

A vast number of producers are required to support even a few top level consumers.

Biomass pyramid
Biomass is a measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area.
tertiary consumers 75 g/m2

150g/m2 secondary consumers

primary consumers

675g/m2

producers producers

2000g/m2