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Questions and Answers
What is the primary role of decomposers in an ecosystem?
What is the primary characteristic of autotrophs?
In a food web, what eventually happens to consumers at the highest level?
What is the primary source of energy for producers in a tropical rain forest?
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What is the term for the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment?
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What term describes the network of all species interacting in a specific location?
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What is the primary role of producers in an ecosystem?
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What is the definition of a tertiary consumer?
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What is the primary difference between a food chain and a food web?
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What is the role of decomposers in an ecosystem?
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What is the characteristic of energy flow through ecosystems?
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What is the starting point of a food chain?
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What is the primary direction of energy flow in an ecosystem?
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What percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
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Why is the transfer of energy in an ecosystem referred to as energy flow, not energy cycling?
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What happens to the energy that is not transferred to the next trophic level?
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What is the term for the amount of energy available to the next trophic level?
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Why is it impossible for an organism to obtain all of the energy from its food source?
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Study Notes
Types of Heterotrophs
- Heterotrophs are consumers that obtain energy by consuming other organisms
- Scavengers/Detritivores feed on the tissue of dead organisms (both plants and animals)
- Examples of Scavengers/Detritivores: Vultures, Crows, and Shrimp
- Decomposers absorb any dead material and break it down into simple nutrients or fertilizers
- Examples of Decomposers: Bacteria and Fungi
Decomposers
- Decomposers break down nutrients in the dead material and return it to the soil
- Producers can then use the nutrients and elements once it's in the soil
- Decomposers complete the ecosystem, returning essential molecules to the producers
Ecological Classification
- Ecologically speaking, grasses are classified as producers
- Deer are classified as consumers
Essential Components of an Ecosystem
- Two groups that are absolutely essential to the functioning of an ecosystem: Producers and Decomposers
Energy Source for Producers
- Producers obtain energy from the sun
Requirements for Autotrophs
- Autotrophs require energy, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients from the environment to make their own food
Food Webs
- Energy flows from one organism to another when it is eaten
- Each step in this transfer of energy is known as a trophic level
- The main trophic levels are producers, consumers, and decomposers
- The flow of energy through ecosystems is linear
- Energy flow occurs in food chains
Food Chains
- A food chain is a simple and direct energy flow from one trophic level to the other
- Food chains always start with a plant
- Example of a food chain: Lettuce is eaten by the slug, the slug is eaten by the bird
Food Webs
- A food web is a more complex and interconnected network of food chains in an ecosystem
- Most organisms eat more than just one organism
- Food webs are more complex and involve lots of organisms
Trophic Level
- Energy flow is linear, or one-way, in ecosystems
- Energy can move along a food web from one trophic level to the next trophic level as long as it is not used to do biological work
- Once energy has been used by an organism, it is lost as heat and is unavailable to any other organism in the ecosystem
Transfer of Energy
- When a zebra eats the grass, it does not obtain all of the energy the grass has
- When a lion eats a zebra, it does not get all of the energy from the zebra
- Only 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next
- This is called the 10% law
Energy Loss in a Food Chain
- Only 10% of energy is passed along to the next level in a food chain
- The rest of the energy is lost through waste, heat, movement, and respiration
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Description
Identify the different roles in an ecosystem, including producers, consumers, scavengers, decomposers and their functions in the nutrient cycle.
