Producers Consumers Decomposers Ecosystems 1 of 9 Boardworks

Producers, Consumers, Decomposers Ecosystems 1 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Outcomes: 7 1. 1 E I can identify the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers. 1. 1 F – I can classify organisms as producers, consumers, and decomposers. 2 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Food chains Look carefully at the organisms in this garden habitat. Can you identify who might eat who or what in this picture? ” 3 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Consumers can be grouped into different types: Herbivores These consumers eat producers. Herbivores include some plants and types of bacteria. Carnivores These consumers eat other consumers. Omnivores These consumers eat other consumers and producers. Omnivores eat animals and plants. Most humans are omnivores. 4 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Food chains Most food chains start with a green plant. Green plants are producers. They produce food for other living things. Producers make their own food using energy from the Sun. Most producers need sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food. 5 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Food chains Other organisms eat producers to get the energy they need to live and grow. Organisms that consume other organisms are called consumers. seaweed limpet crab human producer consumer 6 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Feeding types Different types of organism can be grouped in several ways. One grouping system is based on how organisms obtain their food. Some organisms produce their own food. They are called producers. Plants produce their own food using light energy from the Sun. Some types of bacteria can also make their own food by using light or chemical reactions. Other organisms cannot make their own food. They are called consumers. 7 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Producer or consumer? © Boardworks Ltd 2003

Producer or consumer? 9 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Name that feeding type 10 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Ranking consumers Consumers eat plants or animals, or both. A food chain can be used to rank different types of consumers. seaweed limpet crab human producer primary consumer secondary consumer tertiary consumer l l Producers – make their own food. Primary consumers – eat producers. Secondary consumers – eat primary consumers. Tertiary consumers – eat secondary consumers. 11 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Food chains 12 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Death benefits? When animals and plants die, they are decomposed by microbes. In this way, the nutrients that were stored in animals and plants are eventually returned to the soil. The nutrients fertilize the soil, helping producers, such as plants, to grow better. As the number of producers increases, how will this affect the populations of organisms higher up in the food chain? 13 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Decomposers: 14 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Food chains Predators are consumers that hunt for their prey. Predators eat other animals, but they might also eat producers. This worm is food for the bird. Who is the predator and who is the prey? Write a list of other predators and their prey. How many different pairs of animals can you think of? 15 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Predator-prey relationships Animals that are high up in food chains, such as the fox, tend to be hunters that are skilled at locating and killing their food. These hunters are called predators. The animals on which the predator feeds are called their prey. Prey animals tend to be well adapted to avoid the predator. Common prey adaptations include camouflage or the ability to produce poisonous toxins. 16 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Feeding types 17 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Primary, secondary or tertiary? 18 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Identifier les items suivantes: ♦ Consumers ☼ Producers ♪ Decomposers ▲Predators ■ Prey ∞Omnivores ♥ Carnivores # Herbivores 19 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Classification Activity: Consumer Decomposer Carnivore Omnivore Herbivore r to da 20 of 38 Producer e Pr • Using the magazines provided, find 5 organisms for each category. • Label each organism. • Organize your paper in a way to categorize the organisms. Prey © Boardworks Ltd 2008

STOP 21 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

22 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Outcomes: • 1. 2 B - I can chart the flow of energy through an food web. • 1. 2 C – I can identify strengths and weaknesses of a diagram showing energy flow. • 1. 2 E – I can show energy is recycled in a food web. 23 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Food chains In every habitat, some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals. lettuce caterpillar bird fox In this garden, lettuce is eaten by a caterpillar, which is then eaten by a bird, which is then eaten by a fox. This is an example of a food chain. All organisms are linked together by food chains. They depend on each other to survive. 24 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

Producer, herbivore or carnivore? Food chains always start with a producer. If the producer is a plant, only a small part of it might be involved in the food chain, such as its seeds, fruits, leaves or even dead leaves. From a food chain, we can tell if an organism is a producer, a herbivore or a carnivore. leaf snail bird owl What are the feeding types of the animals in this food chain? 25 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Food chains 26 of 9 © Boardworks 2011

An Antarctic food chain 27 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

What is a food web? Why is it a good idea for an organism to have different sources of food? Animals usually eat many different things and are involved in lots of different food chains: plants aphid ladybird bluebird plants moth bluebird owl plants vole stoat plants vole owl These food chains can be put together in a food web, which shows how the food chains are connected. What would the food web for these food chains look like? 28 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Food webs chiffchaff owl stoat bluebird moth spider vole ladybird aphid 29 of 38 plant © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Using a food web 1. Name the producer in this food web. 2. Name two herbivores in this food web. 3. Name two species that are top carnivores. 4. How many secondary consumers are there? 5. Which food chains include the moth? 30 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Food Chains and Webs 31 of 6 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Build a food web 32 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Changes in a food web 33 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Food chain populations 34 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Little Change = Big Effects 35 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Food chains and pyramids What can a pyramid of numbers show about energy transfer?

What are pyramids of numbers? Pyramids of numbers are a numerical way of representing food chains. They record the number of organisms at each level in the food chain. What are the problems of representing food chains in pyramids of numbers? Pyramids of numbers only give an accurate impression of the flow of energy in a food chain if the organisms are of similar size. Measuring the biomass (living material that makes up all organisms) at each level in the food chain can give a more accurate picture. 37 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Numbers or biomass? 38 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Understanding pyramids of biomass In a pyramid of biomass, the length of each bar represents the biomass at each level of the food chain. At each level, the amount of biomass and energy available is reduced, giving a pyramid shape. 39 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008

Understanding pyramids of numbers In a pyramid of numbers, the length of each bar represents the number of organisms at each level in the food chain. As a single tree can support many organisms, this food chain produces an unbalanced pyramid. 40 of 38 © Boardworks Ltd 2008