Communities Using Energy

Energy Flow

Pass it Along Energy flows in one direction through an ecosystem, from the sun or inorganic compounds to producers (organisms that can make their own food) through various levels to consumers (organisms that rely on other organisms for food). Your body gets the energy and materials it needs for growth and repair from the foods you eat.

Energy Flow

Using Energy all living things in a community use ATP as a source of energy living things differ on what FOOD they use to MAKE the ATP and how they OBTAIN that food

Autotrophs organisms that use energy from their environment to make simple inorganic compounds into complex organic compounds (food) a.k.a. producers produce energy through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Photosynthesis a common process of using light energy to create food most of the life on earth can trace its energy source to photosynthesis

Chemosynthesis an uncommon process of obtaining energy from inorganic chemical compounds occurs in areas that receive little-to-no sunshine ocean bottoms, caves

Heterotrophs organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy a.k.a. consumers

Heterotrophs Fall into 4 categories (with 1 major subcategory) Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores Detritivores Decomposers

Herbivores organisms that eat plants Examples: cows, koalas, pandas

Carnivores organisms that eat meat Examples: wolves, lions, anteaters

Omnivores organisms that eat both plants and animals Example: bears, humans

Detritovores an organism that relies upon other dead or decaying organism for its energy (food) source Examples: vultures, worms, bacteria, fungi

Decomposers a subcategory of detritovores are able to breakdown substances into those that producers/autotrophs can convert into life's molecules take dead material and break it down into the simplest molecules Examples: worms, bacteria, fungi

Energy Flow all organisms are connected by the flow of energy and matter these connections are illustrated by food chains and food webs organisms are represented by names or pictures direction of transfers of energy and/or matter is represented by arrows

Food Chains vs. Food Webs show the one way flow of energy as it is passed from an autotroph (producer) to various heterotrophs (consumers) Food webs links all of the food chains in an ecosystem together

Food Web vs. Food Chain

Food Web – What about when an organism in the web dies?

Trophic Levels all the organisms at a trophic level are the same number of steps away from initial source of energy of the system the source of energy for most ecosystems is the sun autotrophs (producers) are closest to the source of energy and are the first trophic level

Holt Biology, Fig. 47-5, p.846