Unit 1 Lesson 2

1. Unit 1Lesson 2 Roles in Energy Transfer

2. Unit 1: Lesson 2Get Energized! • Energyis all around you! • Energy from foodis known as chemical energy. • All living things need a source of chemical energy to survive. • Producers convert energy into food! • Producer– also known as an autotroph • Producer/autotroph – use energy to maketheir own food. • Use the process called photosynthesis. • Sunlight energy + water + carbon dioxide = food + oxygen • Examples include all green plantssuch as grasses and trees, plants, shrubs, etc.

3. Get Energized! • Decomposers break down matter. • Decomposer– an organism that gets energy and nutrients by breaking down the remains of other organisms. • They are nature’s recyclers; they help move matter through ecosystems. • Examples include: fungisuch as mushrooms and some bacteria.

4. Get Energized! • Consumers eat other organisms. • Consumer– an organism that eatsother organisms. • They cannot make their own food. • 4 types 1.Herbivore– Eats only plants. 2. Carnivore– Eats other animals. 3.Omnivore– Eats bothplants and animals. 4. Scavenger– Eats deadorganisms.

5. Get Energized! HERBIVORE CARNIVORE OMNIVORE OMNIVORE SCAVENGER SCAVENGER

6. Energy Transfer • Energyis transferredfrom one organism to another when it is eatenor decomposed. • Food chain – the path of energy transfer from producersto consumers. • The arrowsrepresent the transfer of energy as one organism is eaten by another. • Producersform the baseof the food chain. • Energy is then transferred to the primary consumer. • Then to a secondary consumer. • Then to a tertiary consumer. • Lastly, decomposersrecycle matter back to the soil

8. World Wide Webs • Foodweb– the feedingrelationshipsamong organisms in an ecosystem. • Made up of manyfoodchainscombined. • At the topof each chain are the top predators, animals that eat other animals but are rarelyeaten.

10. World Wide Webs • All living organisms are connected by globalfoodwebs. • Global food webs include webs that begin on landand webs that begin in the water. • Because global food webs are connected, removingeven one organismcan affectmany organisms in other ecosystems.

11. Invasive species – are sometimes introduced into a new area. • They often competewith native species for energy resources, such as sunlight and food. • Kudzu plant – introduced to stop soil erosion but outgrew all native plants preventing them from getting sunlight. • Zebra mussel – They eat by filtering tiny organisms out of the water, often leaving nothing for the native mussel species • Walking catfish – moves across land to get from one pond to another competing with native species for food. • Snakehead fish – native to Asia invaded FDR park in South Philly. Dangerous Competition