Transcript Energy flows through ecosystems.

Energy flows through
ecosystems.
Chapter 1
Section 3
Living things capture and
release energy.
 Producer: an organism that captures
energy and stores it in food as chemical
energy
 Most energy enters an ecosystem through
photosynthesis
 In water – photosynthetic bacteria and algae
Living things capture and
release energy.
 Consumers: organisms that get their
energy by eating other organisms
 Primary consumers eat the producers
 Secondary consumers eat the primary
consumers
 Tertiary consumers eat the secondary
consumers
Living things capture and
release energy.
 Decomposers: organisms that break
down dead plant and animal matter into
simpler compounds
 Use the last bit of energy from once-living
matter
 Return matter to soil or water where it may
be used again and again
Models help explain
feeding relationships.
 Food Chain: describes the feeding
relationship between a producer and a
single chain of consumers in an
ecosystem
Models help explain
feeding relationships.
caterpillar
cattails
Producer
frog
Secondary Consumer
Primary Consumer
heron
Tertiary consumer
Models help explain
feeding relationships.
 Food Web: model of the feeding
relationships between many different
consumers and producers in an
ecosystem
 Contains many overlapping and
interconnected food chains
Models help explain
feeding relationships.
Available energy decreases
as it moves through an
ecosystem.
 Energy pyramid: model that shows the
amount of energy available at each
feeding level of an ecosystem
 Energy is lost as it moves up the pyramid
so each level gets smaller
Available energy decreases
as it moves through an
ecosystem.