ECOLOGY NOTES

What is a Food Chain? 1.A food chain is:

a)a way of showing how the suns energy is passed through an ecosystem. b)a diagram of the relationships between organisms
in an ecosystem

What is a Food Chain? 1.A food chain is:

a)a way of showing how the suns energy is passed through an ecosystem. b)a diagram of the relationships between organisms
in an ecosystem

Food Chains
Most food chains are very complicated, showing many different relationships and organisms. . 2. A very complex food chain is called a food web.

y 3. An organisms niche is its job or role in the food chain

Niche Producer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Scavenger Parasite Decomposer Organisms Green Plants & Algae Grasshopper, Giraffe, Deer Frog, Dragonfly, Otter Snake, Bobcat, Seal Hawk, Leopard, Wolf Vulture, Raccoon, Hyena Tapeworm, Tick, Mosquito Bacteria & Fungi

Food Chain--Niche Chain--Niche

Constructing a Simple Food Chain

The sun is the source of energy for most food chains on earth

DECOMPOSERS
These mushrooms are decomposers. They feed on dead material and return nutrients to the producers

SCAVENGER The raccoon in this food chain is a scavenger. It eats food it has not killed itself.

Tertiary CONSUMER The hawk is a quaternary or 4th level consumer; it eats almost all other consumers below it.

PRODUCERS Grass is a producer; it gets its energy directly from the sun.

PRIMARY CONSUMER The grasshopper is a primary consumer; it eats only producers.

SECONDARY CONSUMER The frog is a secondary consumer; it eats primary consumers.

TERTIARY CONSUMER The snake is a tertiary or 3rd level consumer; it eats primary & secondary consumers.

Food Energy Pyramid

This diagram shows why there are less individual organisms as you move up the food chain At each level, some energy is lost as heat as each organism does not convert all of its food to body parts/tissue.