Food Chains and Food Webs Ecosystems Ecosystems A
Food Chains and Food Webs
Ecosystems ▶ Ecosystems – A particular environment and all living things that are supported within it ▶ Abiotic factors – nonliving parts of the environment ▶ Biotic factors – living parts of the environment
How does energy flow through ecosystems? ▶ ▶ Living things capture and release energy ▶ Autotrophs – capture energy from the sun to make their own food (photosynthesis) ▶ Heterotrophs – must consume food Heterotrophs eat autotrophs in order to get the food to make energy (cellular respiration)
Producers and Consumers ▶ Producers – capture energy and store it (food) ▶ Examples, grass, veggies, fruits ▶ Examples, algae, seaweed
Producers and Consumers Primary Consumers – get food by eating producers ▶ Secondary Consumers – get food by eating primary consumers ▶ Tertiary Consumers – get food by eating secondary consumers ▶ Quaternary Consumers – get food by eating tertiary consumers ▶
Food Chains Carnivores – only eat animals Omnivores – eat plants and animals Omnivore Herbivores – only eat plants
Decomposers and Detrivores ▶ Decomposers – an organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant and animal matter ▶ Detritivores – eat dead plants and animals
Food Chains and Food Webs ▶ Food Chains – describes a feeding relationship between a producer and a single chain of consumers ▶ Food Webs – describes the feeding relationships between many different producers and consumers in an ecosystem
Food Webs
Energy Pyramid The further up the food chain you move, the less energy (glucose) you get from the food you eat.
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