Energy Flow in an Ecosystem

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Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
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Energy Flow

• Energy in an ecosystem originally comes from the
  sun
• Energy flows through Ecosystems from producers to
  consumers
• Producers (make food)
• Consumers (use food by eating producers or other
  consumers)

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Producers

• Sunlight is the main source of energy for most
  life on earth.
• Producers contain chlorophyll can use energy
  directly from the sun

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Autotrophs

• An Autotroph is any organism that can produce its
  own food supply!
• Autotrophs are also called Producers
• Plants, algae, some protists, some bacteria are
  examples

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Niche of a Producer

• Captures energy and transforms it into organic,
  stored energy for the use of living organisms.
• May be photoautotrophs using light energy (e.g.
  plants)
• May be chemoautotrophs using chemical energy
  (e.g. cyanobacteria)

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Photoautotroph

• Producer That Captures Energy from the sun by
• Photosynthesis
• Adds Oxygen to the atmosphere
• Removes Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere

Algae
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Habitat of Photoautotrophs

• On Land
• Plants
• In The Sea
• Algae
• Tidal Flats Salt Marshes
• Cyanobacteria

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Chemoautotrophs

• Capture energy from the bonds of inorganic
  molecules such as Hydrogen Sulfide
• Process is called Chemosynthesis
• Often occurs in deep sea vents or gut of animals

Called a Black smoker (thermal vent)
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Tube Worms living in Black Smoker
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Consumers

• Heterotrophs eat other organisms to obtain
  energy. (e.g. animals)
• Herbivores
• Eat Only Plants
• Carnivores
• Eat Only Other Animals

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Consumers

• Heterotrophs eat other organisms to obtain
  energy.
• Omnivores (Humans)
• Eat Plants Animals
• Detritivores (Scavengers)
• Feed On Dead Plant Animal Remains (buzzards)
• Decomposers
• Fungi Bacteria

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Feeding Relationships

• Energy flows through an ecosystem in one
  direction
• from producers to various levels of consumers

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Feeding Relationships

• Food Chain
• Simple Energy path through an ecosystem
• Food Web
• More realistic path through an ecosystem made of
  many food chains

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Food Chain
3rd Order consumer
2nd Order Consumer
1st order Consumer
4th Order Consumer
Producer (trapped sunlight stored food)
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Name the Producer, Consumers Decomposers in
this food chain
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Food Web
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Trophic Levels

• Each Level In A Food Chain or Food Web is a
  Trophic Level.
• Producers
• Always The First Trophic Level
• How Energy Enters The System
• Herbivores
• Second Trophic Level

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Trophic Levels

• Carnivores/Omnivores
• Make Up The Remaining Trophic Levels
• Each level depends on the one below it for energy.

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Ecological Pyramids

• Graphic Representations Of The Relative Amounts
  of Energy or Matter At Each Trophic Level
• May be
• Energy Pyramid
• Biomass Pyramid
• Pyramid of Numbers

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Energy Pyramid
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Biomass Pyramid
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Pyramid of Numbers