Ecology 11 A Notes
Food Chain
Shows the movement of energy in an ecosystem
Energy decreases as you move through the food chain
Starts with the Sun
Combining all food chains in an ecosystem forms a food web
Food Chains & Webs
Shows how all organisms depend on each other to survive
Vocabulary
Producer- an organism that produces complex organic compounds (grass)
Autotroph- an organism that creates it's own food (trees)
Consumer- an organism that feeds on others (lion)
Heterotroph- getting nutrients trough food digestion (bird)
Hervibore- an organism that eats plants only (hippo)
Carnivore- an organism that eats meat only (tiger)
Omnivore- an organism that feed on plants and animals (bears)
Decomposer- an organism that feeds and breaks down dead plant or animal matter (fungi)
Energy Pyramid
Places
a. Producers
b. 1st order consumers
c. 2nd order consumers
d. 3rd order consumers
Amount of energy decreases as the pyramid goes up, which is the reason why there are less organisms at the top of the pyramid, and more at the bottom, since tertiary need to eat the amount of energy needed, therefore, they eat more organisms.
Interaction
Predators -> HuntERS
Prey -> HuntED
Symbosis- Interaction between two organisms where at least one organism benefits
a. Mutualism: ++ (both benefit)
b. Parasitism: +- (one benefits, the other (host) gets hurt)
c. Commensialism: o+ (one benefits, the other one doesnt benefit or get harmed)
Producer -> Consumer: producer gives energy to consumer
Shows the movement of energy in an ecosystem
Energy decreases as you move through the food chain
Starts with the Sun
Combining all food chains in an ecosystem forms a food web
Food Chains & Webs
Shows how all organisms depend on each other to survive
Vocabulary
Producer- an organism that produces complex organic compounds (grass)
Autotroph- an organism that creates it's own food (trees)
Consumer- an organism that feeds on others (lion)
Heterotroph- getting nutrients trough food digestion (bird)
Hervibore- an organism that eats plants only (hippo)
Carnivore- an organism that eats meat only (tiger)
Omnivore- an organism that feed on plants and animals (bears)
Decomposer- an organism that feeds and breaks down dead plant or animal matter (fungi)
Energy Pyramid
Places
a. Producers
b. 1st order consumers
c. 2nd order consumers
d. 3rd order consumers
Amount of energy decreases as the pyramid goes up, which is the reason why there are less organisms at the top of the pyramid, and more at the bottom, since tertiary need to eat the amount of energy needed, therefore, they eat more organisms.
Interaction
Predators -> HuntERS
Prey -> HuntED
Symbosis- Interaction between two organisms where at least one organism benefits
a. Mutualism: ++ (both benefit)
b. Parasitism: +- (one benefits, the other (host) gets hurt)
c. Commensialism: o+ (one benefits, the other one doesnt benefit or get harmed)
Producer -> Consumer: producer gives energy to consumer