ENERGY & LIVING THINGS

PRODUCERS  A producer is an autotrophic organism that serves as a source of energy for other organisms in a food chain. Producers include green plants, which produce food through photosynthesis, and certain bacteria that are capable of converting inorganic substances into food through chemosynthesis.  Chemosynthesis: The formation of organic compounds using the energy released from chemical reactions instead of the energy of sunlight. Bacteria living in aphotic areas of the ocean are able to survive by chemosynthesis. They use energy derived from the oxidation of inorganic chemicals, such as sulfur released from deep hydrothermal vents, to produce their food.

CONSUMERS  A heterotrophic organism that feeds on other organisms in a food chain.  Herbivores that feed on green plants and detritivores that feed on decaying matter are called primary consumers  Carnivores that feed on herbivores or detritivores are called secondary consumers, while those that feed on other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.

FOOD WEB

DECOMPOSER  Decomposer: An organism that breaks down organic matter and uses it as energy.  They contribute to the ecosystem by breaking organic matter down and using some for energy and the rest helps the soil become more fertile making plants grow easier and thus the circle of life begins again.

NUTRIENT CYCLE

PHOTOSYNTHESIS The leaves absorb light from the sun they also absorb carbon dioxide and water. The leaves then use carbon dioxide and water into glucose using the light of the sun. This is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis: The process by which green plants, algae, diatoms, and certain forms of bacteria make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll, using energy captured from sunlight by chlorophyll, and releasing excess oxygen as a byproduct.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS CONT.  ATP: Serves as a source of energy for many metabolic processes. ATP releases energy when it is broken down into ADP by hydrolysis during cell metabolism.  Chlorophyll: The green pigment of plants and photosynthetic algae and bacteria that traps the energy of sunlight for photosynthesis.  Chloroplast: A plastid in the cells of green plants and green algae that contains chlorophylls and creates glucose through photosynthesis.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS CONT.  In plants and algae, photosynthesis takes place in organelles called chloroplasts.  ATP is synthesized using light energy absorbed by chlorophyll and accessory pigments such as carotenoids and phycobilins, and water is broken apart into oxygen and a hydrogen ion, with the electron of the hydrogen transferred to another energy molecule.  Carotenoids: Any of a class of yellow to red pigments found especially in plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria.  Phycobilin: absorb the blue and blue-green frequencies of light which penetrate deep water, and allow red algae to carry on photosynthesis at greater depths than other organisms.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS CONT.  Carbon is broken away from carbon dioxide and combined with hydrogen to create carbohydrates.  Some of the carbohydrates, the sugars, can then be transported around the organism for immediate use; others, the starches, can be stored for later use.

QUESTIONS  What is Photosynthesis?  What is a Producer?  What is a Consumer?  What is a Decomposer?  How do Decomposers contribute to the life cycle?  What is the difference between a Decomposer a Consumer and a Producer

SOURCES    alaska.fws.gov alaska.fws.gov