Slide 1

The Energy Flow in an EcosystemReported by: John Russell MoralesI Trophic LevelsIt is used to locate the position or level of an organism during its energy-seeking activities.

Four Major Trophic Levels Primary Producers (plants, algae, cyanobacteria) - Refers to photosynthetic organisms that get their energy from the sun to make their own food during photosynthesis.

Primary Consumers(herbivores)Secondary Consumers

Primary Consumers (herbivores) - are organisms that eat autotrophs or primary producers.

Secondary Consumers (carnivores)- Organisms that is directly feeding on primary consumers.

Tertiary Consumers (detrivores)Referred to as carnivores that feeds on secondary consumers.

*Omnivores are those animals who eats both plants and animals.

II Food Chains

The path of food from a given final consumer back to a producer.

Grazer Food chains (plant-bird-snake chain) includes any herbivore that grazes on or consumes plants and is, in turn, usually eaten by a carnivore.

Detritus Food Chain (Earthworms, beetles, centipedes termites.) The food sources for the decomposer organisms come from both plant and animal wastes. Ex. Dead leaves and intestinal wastes

Food Web Are interconnected food chains. They show the feeding relationships in an ecosystem.*Decomposers are the final consumers of a food web.

III Pyramids of Energy and BiomassThe amount of energy in the ecosystem is shown in a form of Pyramid of Energy.

Energy Pyramid shows..That the amount of available energy decreases down the food chain.It takes a large number of producers to support a small number of primary consumers.It takes a large number of primary consumers to support a small number of secondary consumers.

Biomass Factoid 263A food web is a series of overlapping food chains.Factoid 264The trophic level is a feeding level. Every step of a food chain is a trophic level.Factoid 265An energy pyramid shows the energy that is transferred between trophic levels.Factoid 266Only about 10% of the energy at each level is transferred to the next higher level. The rest is used by the organism itself and some is lost as heat. Factoid 267Since only 10% of energy is transferred from one level to another, a food chain usually only has 4 or 5 trophic levels.Factoid 268Biomass is the mass of dry organic materials in an organism.Factoid 269A biomass pyramid indicates the amount of organic material at a given trophic level. Typically producers have the largest biomass.Factoid 270A pyramid of numbers shows the approximate number of individual organisms at each level that an ecosystem can support. Factoid 271The biosphere is all living things on the planet. The biosphere is divided into biomes.Factoid 272Since matter can not be created or destroyed according to the Law of Conservation of Mass, it must be recycled in the environment. Factoid 273The Water CycleFactoid 274Transpiration is the evaporation of water through the plant.Factoid 275The Carbon-Oxygen CycleFactoid 276The Nitrogen CycleFactoid 277Nitrogen fixation is accomplished by bacteria and lightning.Denitrification is accomplished by bacteria.Factoid 278The Phosphorus Cycle