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NAME ENERGY SOURCE EXAMPLE Producer Makes own food Grass, Trees Consumer Eating Other Organisms Mice, Humans, Starfish Herbivore Producers Cows, Deer Carnivore Omnivore Decomposer Other Lions, Hawks Consumers Producers and Bears, Pigs, Humans Consumers Dead Organisms Fungi, Bacteria Primary Energy Source The rate at which organic material is produced by photosynthetic organisms in an Organisms first primary capture ecosystemthat is called solar energy, the producers, productivity include plants, some kinds of Consumers are those organisms bacteria, and algae. that consume plants or other organisms to obtain the energy necessary to build their molecules Autotrophs are organisms that use Energy from sunlight or Inorganic substances to make Organic compounds. Like plants use sunlight to Make glucose. Heterotrophs are organisms that Must get energy from food instead Of directly from sunlight. We are heterotrophs because We can’t make our own food In our cells. Instead we use cellular respiration To “burn” fuel in our bodies. Directly or indirectly, almost all of the Energy in living systems needed for Metabolism comes from the sun. Cellular respiration is the Process of breaking down food To yield energy. This is essentially photosynthesis In reverse. 6CO2 + 6H2O + Light C6H12O6 + 6O2 Trophic Levels Ecologists study how energy moves through an ecosystem by assigning organisms in that ecosystem to a specific level, called a trophic level, in a graphic organizer based on the organism’s source of energy. Energy moves from one trophic level to another Trophic Levels Trophic Levels: First Level The lowest trophic level of any ecosystem is occupied by the producers, such as plants, algae, and bacteria Producers use the energy of the sun to build energy-rich carbohydrates Trophic Levels: Second Level At the second trophic level are herbivores, animals that eat plants or other primary producers. They are the primary Most herbivores consumersrely on microorganisms, such as bacteria A herbivore must be able to break and protists, in their gut to help down a plant’s molecules into digest cellulose usable compounds Trophic Levels: Third Level At the third trophic level are secondary consumers, animals that eat herbivores. These Dentrivores organisms that animals are are called carnivores obtain their energy from the organic wastes andas dead bodies Some animals, such bears, are that produced atcarnivores; all trophic both are herbivores and levelsomnivores they are called Bacteria and fungi are known as decomposers because they cause decay Decomposition of bodies and wastes releases nutrients back into the environment to be recycled by other organisms A food chain is a sequence in Which energy is transferred From one organism to the Next as each organism Eats another. A food web shows many of the Feeding relationships in An ecosystem. In most ecosystems, energy does not follow simple straight paths because animals often feed at several trophic levels. This creates an interconnected group of food chains called a food web Energy Transfer During every transfer of energy within an ecosystem, energy is lost as heat. Thus, the amount of useful energy available to do work decreases as energy passes through an ecosystem The loss of useful energy limits the number of trophic levels an ecosystem can support To better determine the amount of energy present in trophic levels, ecologists measure biomass Biomass is the dry weight of tissue and other organic matter found in a specific ecosystem Each higher level on the pyramid contains only 10% of the biomass found in the trophic level below it The Pyramid of Energy An energy pyramid is a diagram in which each trophic level is represented by a block, and the blocks are stacked on top of one another, with the lowest trophic level on the bottom Energy Transfer Through Trophic Levels Water moves between the Earth’s surface and The Atmosphere is a process Called the Water Cycle. Carbon flows through Ecosystems when plants make Food and consumers eat produces And then decomposers start the Process over again. But humans have a huge impact The this due to our burning Of fossil fuels. The Carbon Cycle All organisms need Nitrogen. The good news is that it is All around us in huge quantities. The bad news is that almost all Organisms can’t use it from the Air. So we get it from nitrogenFixing bacteria that allows it To be used by plants. Succession is a regular Pattern of changes over Time in the types of species In a community. The community that eventually Forms if the land is left Undisturbed is called Climax community. Succession that occurs on a Surface where an ecosystem Has previously existed is called Secondary Succession. Pioneers are the first organisms To colonize any newly available Area and start the process Of succession. Natural fires caused by Lightning are a necessary part Of secondary succession in Some communities. National forest rangers Sometimes allow natural fires To burn unless they threaten Human life or property. Succession that occurs on Surfaces where no Ecosystem existed before is Called Primary Succession. Primary succession is much Slower than secondary Succession because it begins Where there is no soil.