1. Activating Activity
After watching the video clip, record your answer to this question in your binder in your “Warm Ups” section:
What does Mufasa mean when he says that we are all connected in a circle of life?
“Lion King” video clip
“Food Chain” BrainPop video

2. Warm up… Arrange the following organisms to show who eats whom:
killer whale
cod fish
krill shrimp
algae
leopard seal

3. Warm up…continued
What might happen to the other organisms if algae were removed from this group?
What might happen if the killer whales were removed?
Are there any organisms in this group that eat more than one kind of food?

4. Energy Flow in Ecosystems

5. All organisms play a role in their ecosystem:
Producer (Autotroph)
Make their own food (usually through photosynthesis)
Ex: plants (even the Venus Flytrap!)

6. All organisms play a role in their ecosystem:
Consumers (Heterotroph)
Can’t make its own food
Gets energy from eating other organisms
Herbivores – eats plants
Carnivores – eats animals
Omnivores – eats plants & animals
Scavengers – eats dead animals

7. All organisms play a role in their ecosystem:
Decomposers
Break down waste and dead organisms to return raw materials to the environment
Ex: bacteria, fungi, worms

8. A world with no decomposers?

9. Venus flytrap – producer
Producer or Consumer?
Venus flytrap – producer
Fly - consumer

10. Producer or Consumer?
Consumer (herbivore)

11. Producer or Consumer?
Producer

12. Producer or Consumer?
Consumer (omnivore)

13. Producer or Consumer?
Consumer (carnivore)

14. Energy enters an ecosystem as…
SUNLIGHT!!!
Source of energy!

15. Food Chain
Food chain – shows one path of the flow of energy in an ecosystem
Order of the food chain:
Sun – energy source
Producer
1st level Consumer – eats producers
2nd level Consumer – eats 1st level consumers
Decomposer – recycles materials for use by producers

17. Food webs
Most organisms do not eat the same thing every day, so they are part of more than one food chain.
Food web - consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem

20. Summary
3 – What are the three roles that organisms play in an ecosystem. Describe each.
2 – What are two examples of a decomposer?
1 – Create a food chain that includes & ends with you (on your graphic organizer).

21. Warm Up

22. Trophic Levels Producers 1st Level (Primary) Consumers
2nd Level (Secondary) Consumers
3rd Level (Tertiary) Consumers
4th Level (Quaternary) Consumers

23. Ecological Pyramid Models
A pyramid is used to illustrate the structure of the trophic levels in a food chain.
3 types of ecological pyramids:
Pyramid of numbers
Biomass pyramid
Energy pyramid
Video clip

24. Pyramid of Numbers
Compares the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain.
Typically pyramid shaped, with the largest number of organisms at the producer level:

25. Biomass Pyramid
Shows the amount of living matter in a food chain.
Total dry weight (without water) of organisms in a food chain
Mass/Area
Example: g/m2

26. Energy Pyramids

27. Flow of energy
When an organism eats, it obtains energy, then uses a lot of energy in life process like growth and movement.
This means that only part of their energy is available to the next organism in the food web.

28. Energy Pyramid
Illustrates the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food chain or web
The greatest amount of energy is available at the producer level
The least amount of energy available to going to be a the top of the food chain.
Only about 10% of the trophic level’s energy is transferred to the next level.

29. Energy Pyramids

30. Summary
Complete a pyramid model for your “Pond Water Web”.