Organism Interactions and Energy Connections

Energy Connections All living things need energy to survive. There are two groups that divide organisms in any community based on how they obtain energy.

Two groups of organisms based on energy consumption. Producers- use sunlight directly to make their own food. Also known as Autotrophs Consumers- Organisms that eat producers or other organisms for energy. Also known as Heterotrophs

Producers- use sunlight directly to make their own food.

Consumers- Organisms that eat producers or other organisms for energy.

Consumers are Divided into Four Categories Herbivore- consumer that eats plants. Carnivore- consumer that eats animals. Omnivore- consumer that eats both plants and animals. Scavengers- animals that feed on the bodies of dead animals. Decomposers- Organisms that get their energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms.

Decomposers- Organisms that get their energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms.

Decomposers Are essential to any ecosystem because they are nature’s recyclers. Decomposition

Food Chains vs. Food Webs Food Chain- model that shows how the energy in food molecules flows from one organism to the next. Food Web- a complex diagram representing the many energy pathways in a real ecosystem.

Food Chains Food chains can be misleading because organisms very rarely eat only one other organism. Food webs show the many pathways of energy flow.

Food Web

Energy Pyramids What type of heterotrophs are primary consumers? A diagram shaped like a triangle that shows the loss of energy at each level of the food chain.

Energy Pyramids What type of heterotrophs could Never be a primary consumer? A diagram shaped like a triangle that shows the loss of energy at each level of the food chain.

Energy Pyramid Only energy stored in tissues of an organism can be transferred to the next level. The higher up in the pyramid an organism is, the more they must eat to obtain energy.

Name the Primary Consumers

Name the Secondary Consumers

Are there any tertiary Consumers?

Energy Flow