Food Chains Food Webs Energy Pyramids

Autotrophs: Organism that makes own food Heterotrophs: Organism that consumes other organisms

Producer Herbivore Omnivore Carnivore Also known as primary producers An organism that primarily consumes producers Also known as primary consumers Omnivore An organism that can consume either primary producers or primary consumers Carnivore An organism that primarily consumes primary consumers Also known as secondary consumers

Decomposers An organism that consumes dead organisms, and, in doing so, carry out the natural process of decomposition Also can be scavengers (animal decomposers) or detritivores (plant decomposers)

Specialists Generalists consumers that primarily eat one specific organism or a very small number of organisms Generalists consumers that have a varying diet

Energy Flow Food chains and food webs Each step in a food chain or food web is called a trophic level

Food Chains

Food Web

Three types of ecological pyramids Energy Pyramid Three types of ecological pyramids Pyramid of Energy Pyramid of Biomass Pyramid of Numbers

Energy Pyramids Indicates the total amount of energy present in each trophic level Only 10% of the overall movement of potential energy is transferred to the next tropic level energy transferred energy lost

Biomass Pyramids Indicates the total dry mass of the organisms in each trophic level Thus an enormous mass of grass is required to support a smaller mass of gazelle, which in turn would support a smaller mass of lions. tertiary consumers secondary primary producers 75 g/m2 150g/m2 675g/m2 2000g/m2

Ecological Pyramids tertiary consumers secondary primary producers 5 5000 500,000 5,000,000 Shows the number of organisms in each trophic level the higher up one goes, fewer organisms there are