Intro notes ecology

Warm up for today:

• Read about autotrophs and heterotrophs on pages 41 & 42. Complete the “Concept Map” from the board.

Ecology

Flow of Energy

• Sunlight is the main source of energy for all life on earth.

• Producers

–either make their own food from the sun or chemicals (mostly from the sun).

–Autotrophs & Chemotrophs

Consumers

• Heterotrophs: Organisms that rely on other organisms for food and energy

–Herbivores: eat plants

–Carnivores: eat other animals

–Omnivores: both plants and animals

Consumers

–Detritivores: feed on animal remains and other dead matter

–Decomposers: break down organic matter

Feeding

Relationships

• Food chains

–Show the one way flow of energy in an ecosystem

• Food Webs

–Describes all of the possible feeding relationships in an ecosystem

Trophic Levels

• Each step in the food chain or food web is called a trophic level.

• Ecological pyramid

–Shows the relative energy movement through the environment.

–Only 10% is available to move onto the next level

Principles of Ecology

Ecological Pyramids

A diagram that can show the relative

amounts of energy, biomass, or numbers of

organisms at each trophic level in an

organism

2.2 Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem

Chapter 2