Energy in Ecosystemspg 46 Producers vs Consumers PRODUCERS

Energy in Ecosystems-pg. 46

Producers vs. Consumers PRODUCERS � Organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources. Also known as autotrophs because they make their own food VS. CONSUMERS � Organisms that get their energy by eating living things such as plants and animals. Also known as heterotrophs because they rely on organisms for food

Types of Consumers in Food Chains and Food Webs: �Herbivores �Carnivores �Omnivores �Detritivores �Decomposers

Detritivores �Detritivores- organisms that eat detritus or dead organic matter (ex: millipede eating dead leaves)

Decomposers �Decomposers- detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds (ex: fungi return vital nutrients back into the environment)

Trophic Levels �Trophic levels are the levels of nourishment in a food chain

Primary Consumer � Primary consumers are herbivores because they eat the producer in the trophic level

Secondary Consumer � Secondary consumers are carnivores that eat primary consumers

Tertiary Consumer � Tertiary consumers are carnivores that eat secondary consumers

Food Chains �A sequence that links species by their feeding relationships. �ex: grasshopper snake hawk mushroom

Food Webs � Shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

What is an Energy Pyramid? �A diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers, and other trophic levels. As you go up the pyramid, energy is lost in each level.

Rule of 10% �The rule of 10% in an energy pyramid explains how only 10% of energy is transferred from one level to the next. �The base of the pyramid has more energy available compared to the top.