1. Trophic Levels
Food chains

2. Life cannot exist without energy
Where does all the energy on earth come from?
How do you get energy?

3. Trophic levels in ecosystems
Trophic levels: A way of categorizing living things from how they get their energy.
1st : producer
2nd :Primary consumer,
3rd : secondary consumer,
3 types of consumers:
herbivore,
carnivore and
omnivore

4. 1st Trophic Level: Producers
Organisms that can produce their own food from the abiotic environment. (plants - photosynthesis)
Photosynthesis

5. Consumers
Consumers: Animals must consume - eat other organisms. (the biotic environment) to grow
3 types:
herbivore
carnivore
omnivore
2 levels
- 1st: primary consumer
- 2nd: secondary consumer

6. Types of Consumers
Herbivore: Animals that eat ONLY plants (producers).
Carnivore: Animals that eat ONLY other animals.
Omnivore: Animals that eat both plants AND animals.

7. 2nd Trophic level
Primary Consumer: An organism that relies on plants as its source of energy.
All are herbivores
They use the sugar that the plants made

8. 3rd Trophic level
Secondary consumers: An organism that relies on secondary consumers as its source of energy
Eats other animals
Can be Carnivores or Omnivores

9. Food chains
A very simple representation of one set of feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
A linear relationship:
primary secondary
producer > consumer > consumer
(herbivore) (carnivore/omnivore)

11. Food chains The transfer of energy from organism to organism.
The arrows show the flow of energy**

12. Impacts on changes to chain
The impacts that major changes at one trophic level can have on the other levels
What would happen if the Producer was removed?
What would happen if a secondary consumer is removed?

14. Make Your Own Food Chain!
Include at least 4 organisms
Label the organisms as producer, Primary consumer-herbivore, Secondary consumer-carnivore, Secondary consumer-omnivore

15. Food webs
show all the feeding relationships in an ecosystem.

16. Living food web activity
Pick an ecosystem
Every student pick an organism
Give one student an end to the string. Where does the chain go from here?
Pass the ball of string to everyone involved in the ecosystem
How many connections are there?