1. Energy Flow 3-2
Biology
Flora

2. Producers
Producers/autotrophs – organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce it’s own food
Ex: plants
Photosynthesizing bacteria
Photosynthesis – process by which autotrophs use light energy to power reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates
Chemosynthesis – using chemical energy to produce carbohydrates

3. Consumers
Consumer/Heterotrophs – organisms that rely on other organisms for their source of energy
Types of consumers:
Herbivore – eat plants
Carnivore – eat meat
Omnivore – eats plants and meat
Detritivores – feed on plant and animal remains
Decomposers – break down organic matter

4. Feeding Relationships
Sun/Inorganic Compounds → Autotrophs → Heterotrophs
Food Chains – series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Ex: grass → grasshopper → bird → coyote → bear
“Arrow goes where the food flows”
Ex: figure 3-7 – page 69

5. Cont. Feeding Relationships
Each step of the food chain is known as a trophic level
Producers make up the first trophic level
Consumers make up the 2nd, 3rd, and higher trophic levels
Each consumer depends on the trophic level below it for energy.
Food Web – network of interactions formed by feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem. Links all the food chains together.

6. Ecological Pyramids
Ecological Pyramid – diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained in each trophic level of a food chain or web.

7. Ecological Pyramids 3 types
Energy Pyramid – Shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level
10 % energy carry-over between each trophic level
Biomass Pyramid – shows the total amount of living organic matter within a trophic level
Pyramid of Numbers – Shows the number of individual organisms at each trophic level