DAY 1 Topic 4 – Energy Flow in Ecosystems

DO NOW 1.Circle the Greek and Latin word parts in each vocabulary term. 2.Use the Greek and Latin meanings to construct a very basic definition of the vocabulary word. WORDMY DEFINITION 1. photosynthesis photo- means light; syn- means to put together, so photosynthesis means to put together with light. 2. carnivore carnus means flesh; -vore means to eat, so carnivore means to eat flesh or meat. 3. herbivore 4. detritivore 5. omnivore 6. chemosynthesis 7. autotroph 8. heterotroph 9. biogeochemical cycle 10. hydrologic cycle

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

What are we learning today? Benchmark SC.912.L.17.9 – Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and the reduction of available energy at successive trophic levels. AA Objectives Describe the structure of a food chain. Explain how food chains and food webs are related. Describe the energy pathways through the different trophic levels of a food web or energy pyramid.

What is the essential question? The energy pyramid shown depicts the feeding patterns a team of ecologists observed in several populations in a desert. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and the reduction of available energy at successive trophic levels.

What is a food chain? 3 rd Consumer 2 nd Consumer 1 st Consumer Producer The order that animals feed on other plants and animals is called a food chain. Tertiary Consumer – Carnivores which eat other carnivores. Secondary Consumer – Carnivores that eat herbivores. Primary Consumer – Herbivores that eat plants. Producer – Plants, algae, or bacteria that produce their own food by photosynthesis. Energy Flow

What are trophic levels?  Greek (trophē) referring to food or feeding  Position that an organism occupies in a food chain  Can be represented by numbers, starting at level 1 with producers

Can You Guess The Order of the Trophic levels? Trophic Level 1 Trophic Level 3 Trophic Level 2 Trophic Level 4 Energy Flow

A food web shows how animals and plants are connected in many ways. What is a food web?  Herbivore - a plant eater  Carnivore – eats other animals  Omnivore - Eats both plant and animal matter  Detritivore - Obtains its nutrients from decaying organic matter.

Show Your Understanding  Your job is to build a food web.  Click the picture  Move each arrow from the predator and put it directly on its prey.  Make sure the arrow overlaps the food image, and if you are right; the arrow will lock into place.  You can move the pictures around at any time to make sure the food web is easier to read.  When you have connected all the arrows, you have created a food web. Click me!!!

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems The first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. Light energy is absorbed by plants where it is converted to stored chemical energy. Energy Flow

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems  The second law of thermodynamics states that whenever energy is transformed, there is a loss of energy through the release of heat  When one animal feeds off another, there is a loss of heat (energy) in the process  This occurs when energy is transferred between trophic levels through biotic interactions  Additional loss of energy occurs during respiration and movement  About 90% of energy is lost each time one moves up a trophic levels 1 2 3

Energy Flow in an Ecosystem  Without a constant input of energy, living things cannot function.  Sunlight is the main source of energy for life on Earth.  Energy flows in one direction from the sun to autotrophs (producers) and then to various heterotrophs (consumers).  The flow of energy through an ecosystem is one of the most important factors that determine the system’s capacity to sustain life. The flow of energy through an ecosystem starts with the plants and ends as heat loss

Ecological Pyramids Pyramid of Energy Shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level Pyramid of Biomass Represent the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level. Pyramid of Numbers Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level. 0.1% Tertiary Consumers 1% Secondary Consumers 10% Primary Consumers (herbivores) 100% Primary Producers 90% Heat Loss 90% Heat loss 10% energy transferred Parasites and decomposers feed at each level Energy DecreasesEnergy Decreases

In Review: Interdependence… Where Abiotic Meets Biotic! Nutrients cycle through ecosystems, but energy flows and eventually leaves. Energy must be continually supplied to the ecosystem by the Sun.

What is the essential question? The energy pyramid shown depicts the feeding patterns a team of ecologists observed in several populations in a desert. What explanation can you offer to best describe the difference in the amount of available energy in the trophic levels of the desert ecosystem?

Home Learning “The same people who never did their homework in high school are still doing that to this very day out in the real world.“ by Jules Shear