Ecosystem Interactions PDF

Ecology How organisms interact with each other and their environment  Ecology - the study of interactions between different organisms, and between organisms and their environment global processes study of marine and like weather terrestri...

Ecology How organisms interact with each other and their environment  Ecology - the study of interactions between different organisms, and between organisms and their environment global processes study of marine and like weather terrestrial habitats interactions like predation and pollination Energy and Living Things All living things require energy to move, eat, grow, and reproduce The energy of living things (mostly) comes from the sun Energy flows through an ecosystem from sun, to producers, to consumers Producers (Autotrophs) Auto- -troph - by one’s own self - food or nourishment Producers are a type of organism that convert their own energy Plants are producers that use light from the sun to make food This process is called photosynthesis Photo- - light -synthesis - creation of something (6CO2 + 6H2O Light Energy 6O2 + C6H12O6) Consumers (Heterotrophs) Hetero- -troph - other - food or nourishment Consumers are a type of organism that get their own energy from another source -vore - eat, “devour” Animals are consumers that Herb- - plants eat other animals for food and Carn- - meat energy Omni- - both, “all” ❖ Herbivores ❖ Carnivores ❖ Omnivores  Detriti- - detritus, waste Detritivore -vore - eat, “devour” Detritivores eat the remains of dead plants and animals Decomposer De- - opposite of -compose - to make, form Decomposers decay (break down) materials into smaller molecules that they eat and cycle back into the ecosystem Detritivores vs Decomposers Food Chains Energy is transferred through ecosystems when organisms eat each other Arrows show the direction the energy moves: from prey to predator All food chains start with the producer and end with the top consumer All levels connect with decomposers (because everything dies)  Food Webs Hawks Network of multiple food chains within an Weasels Raccoons ecosystem Frogs Mice Crickets Grass Which of the organisms above is the producer? Grass Hawks Which of the organisms above is the top consumer?  Turn and Talk: based on what you have learned so Trophic Levels far, what do you think “trophic levels” are? Each step in a food chain or web is a trophic level: Level 1 - Producers (autotrophs) Level 2 - Primary Consumers (herbivores) Level 3 - Secondary Consumers (carnivores or omnivores) Level 4 - Tertiary Consumers (usually top carnivore) Keystone Species A species in an ecosystem that is so important that, if it were removed, all or part of the system would fail Has a disproportionately large effect on its environment KEYSTONE Which of these species do you think might be a keystone species in this ecosystem? What clues from food webs do you think help scientists decide/predict whether an organism is a keystone species?