Download Classify organisms as Producers, Consumers and Decomposers

Food Chains and Food Webs
I.
Autotrophs: Any organism that
can make their own food.
a. Photosynthesis
b. Chemosynthesis
Examples: algae, trees, grass,
shrubs, blue-green bacteria
II. Primary consumer: Also
known as a herbivore. It is an
animal that eats the producers.
It is also a type of Heterotroph
Examples:
Mice, grasshoppers, rabbits, squirrels
Zooplankton, aquatic invertebrates,
water bugs
III. Secondary Consumer: Can be
either a carnivore or an omnivore,
which eats both plants and animals.
Examples: Armadillo, birds
IV. Tertiary consumers: Are at the
top of the food chain (or web).
Examples: Birds of prey (hawks),
wolves, bears, sharks, humans
V. Decomposers: Help to break
down dead matter so that the
nutrients can be returned to the
soil.
Examples: fungi, bacteria,
worms, maggots
Trophic Levels: Represent each step
in a food chain or energy pyramid.
Producers: ALWAYS occupy the
base of a food chain or energy
pyramid.
Consumers occupy the second, third
and fourth level
Energy Pyramid
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A way to represent how
energy passes in the
environment.
The most energy is at
the bottom
The least energy at the
top.
90% is lost as heat at
each stage so only 10%
is passed.