1. 3.2: Energy, Producers, & Consumers

2. energy in an ecosystem originally comes from the sun
energy flows through ecosystems from producers to consumers 2 2

3. producers are autotrophs – they capture the sun’s energy to make their own food
include plants, some kinds of bacteria, and algae

4. autotrophs are often called primary producers – they are the first producers of energy that is used by other organisms
glucose!

5. are classified based upon what they eat the majority of the time:
consumers are heterotrophs – they must eat other organisms to get energy needed
are classified based upon what they eat the majority of the time:
herbivores
carnivores
omnivores
detritivores
scavengers
decomposers

6. Herbivores
eat only plants
rabbit
zebra 6 6

7. Carnivores
eat animals (meat) by hunting
lion
fox 7 7

8. Omnivores eat both plants and animals
many organisms fall into this category
raccoon
chicken
brown bear 8 8

9. Scavengers eat large dead organisms without killing it themselves
house fly
hyenas AND vultures 9 9

10. Detritivores eat small fragments of dead matter & waste (eat detritus)
millipede
earthworm
dung beetle 10
slug 10

11. Decomposers chemically break down dead matter (turn it into detritus)
VERY important as they return nutrients back to the soil
bacteria
fungi 11 11