1. Relationships within Ecosystems

2. ECOSYSTEM
All the living (biotic) and the non-living (abiotic) factors within an area.
Example: Coral reef, fish, water, rocks

3. 2 Major Ecosystems Terrestrial (Land) Aquatic (Water)
Tundra, Desert, Rainforest
Aquatic (Water)
Freshwater (ponds, streams, lakes)
Marine (oceans, gulfs, seas)

4. Levels of Ecosystems Individual – one organism
Population – group of same species
Community – all the populations living in same area
Habitat – where a population lives in an ecosystem
Niche - role the population plays in its community; how does it get/pass energy? How does it interact with others?

5. Review: Survival of the Sweetest
Name one individual
Name one population
What populations lived in the community?
Name the habitat where the community lived
What is the niche of the red carnivorous snail?

6. Organisms in an Ecosystem are categorized as…
Producers
Consumers
Decomposers
They are all dependent on each other.

7. Producers Form the base of the food web AKA: Autotrophs
Make food by using energy from the sun (photosynthesis)
Supplies huge amounts of oxygen to the world!

8. Examples of Producers (Autotrophs)
Terrestrial examples: flowers and grass
Aquatic examples: phytoplankton: tiny plant-like organisms in fresh or marine water; these include diatoms and dinoflagellates

9. Consumers Get energy by eating other organisms AKA: Heterotrophs
3 Types
Herbivore – eats plants
Carnivore – eats animals
Omnivore – eats plants and animals

10. Carnivores only eat meat (other animals)

12. Herbivores eat only plants.

14. Omnivores eat both meat (animals) and plants.

15. Zooplankton are omnivores
Zooplankton are omnivores! They eat phytoplankton and other small zooplankton.

16. Decomposers
Decomposers eat dead things and return nutrients back into soil.
Examples:
Mushrooms
Worms
Bugs
Bacteria

18. Stop…Review…Check… Turn to your partner and tell them the meaning of each word. Also give two examples of each.
Autotrophs:
Heterotrophs:
Decomposers:

19. How they relate (draw this).

20. FOOD WEB (don’t draw; just read and understand)
Third-level
Consumers
Bobcat
Hawk
Arrows show direction of energy flow: from organism to consumer.
Second-level
Consumers
Weasel
First-level
Consumers
Woodrat
Desert
Cottontail
Producers
Prickly Pear
Cactus
Mesquite

21. Talk to your neighbor: Which organism is both a primary and secondary consumer?

22. Energy Flow through an Ecosystem (don’t draw unless you want to)
Least amount of energy
Largest amount of energy

23. Energy Flow
Only 10% of an organism’s energy is passed on to the next organism after consumption.
What happens to the other 90%?
Used by the organism
Lost as heat

24. Stop…Review…Check… Write these questions in question section of C-notes.
What’s the difference between primary vs secondary consumer?
What organisms hold/have the most energy in an ecosystem?
Why would it be necessary for upper level consumers to play multiple roles (i.e. be a primary and secondary consumer) in a food web?

25. Create an Energy Pyramid from the following food chain
Create an Energy Pyramid from the following food chain ***(use the next slide as a template)***
Label the Least and Most Energy
Label the Autotrophs and Heterotrophs
Label 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level consumers
Label herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore
Phytoplankton Mollusks (clams) Sea lion Shark

26. Heterotrophs
Energy
Heterotrophs
Autotrophs

27. Consumer Relationships
Predation: An interaction in which one animal hunts and kills another animal for food.
Predator: the animal that does the killing
Prey: the animal that is hunted

28. Predation- Which is the predator? The Prey?

29. Is this predation? Justify to your partner why or why not.

30. Limiting Factor
A resource that limits the number of organisms in an ecosystem
What was the limiting factor in Survival of the Sweetest?

31. Carrying Capacity
The maximum number of organisms that can survive indefinitely in a given environment.