NOTES 33 Habitat Niche Where do organisms live

NOTES 33 – Habitat & Niche Where do organisms live and how do they get their energy?

Habitat – The place where an organism lives out its life n Habitats are divided into separate niches

Niche – The role a species plays in a community. This includes the space where it lives, food it eats, and the other ways a species affects its environment. n A niche is kind of like an organism’s job

Stream Fish Niches

Barnacle Niches

Different Niches – organisms can be categorized into different niches based on how they get their energy n Autotroph (producer) – an organism that makes its own food using energy from the sun n Ex. plants make glucose

Different Niches – organisms can be categorized into different niches based on how they get their energy n Heterotroph (consumer) – an organism that gets its energy by eating another organism n Ex. animals, most bacteria, fungi

• herbivore – a heterotroph that eats only plants n Ex. Cow

• carnivore – a heterotroph that hunts, kills, and eats animals n Ex. Lion

Insectivore (Carnivore)

Piscivore (Carnivore)

• omnivore – a heterotroph that eats both plants and animals n Ex. Human

• scavenger – a heterotroph that eats dead organisms n Ex. Vulture

• decomposer – a heterotroph that gets energy by breaking down dead organisms into tiny nutrient molecules n Ex. Bacteria

Without decomposers there would be piles of dead organisms everywhere!