Energy Flow in Ecosystems

1. Energy Flow in Ecosystems Chapter 23-1

2. An organism’s energy role in an ecosystem may be that of a producer, consumer, or decomposer

3. Producer • An organism that makes its own food through the process of photosynthesis • Includes plants, algae, and some microorganisms • The source of all food in an ecosystem

4. Consumer • Cannot make their own food, depend on producers for food • Classified by what they eat • Herbivores-plant eaters • Carnivores-meat eaters • Omnivores-eats plants and animals

5. Scavenger-a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms • Decomposer • Organisms that break down waste and dead organisms • Return raw materials to the environment • ex. Fungi & bacteria

6. Food Chain • A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy • First organism is always a producer • The second organism, called a first level consumer, eats the producer

7. The next consumer, called a second level consumer, eats the first level consumer • One possible path of energy through an ecosystem

9. Food Web • Consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem

10. Energy Pyramid • Shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web • The most energy is available at the producer level • At each level, there is less available energy than at the level below • Only about 10% is transferred to the next higher level