Unit 1Lesson 2

Roles in Energy Transfer

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Unit 1: Lesson 2Get Energized!

Energy is all around you! Energy from food is known as chemical energy. All living things need a source of chemical energy to

survive. Producers convert energy into food!

Producer – also known as an autotroph Producer/autotroph – use energy to make their own food. Use the process called photosynthesis.

Sunlight energy + water + carbon dioxide = food + oxygen Examples include all green plants such as grasses and trees,

plants, shrubs, etc.

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Get Energized! Decomposers break down matter. Decomposer – an organism that gets energy and nutrients by

breaking down the remains of other organisms. They are nature’s recyclers; they help move matter through

ecosystems. Examples include: fungi such as mushrooms and some bacteria.

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Get Energized! Consumers eat other organisms. Consumer – an organism that eats other

organisms. They cannot make their own food.

4 types 1. Herbivore – Eats only plants. 2. Carnivore – Eats other animals. 3. Omnivore – Eats both plants and animals. 4. Scavenger – Eats dead organisms.

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Get Energized!HERBIVORE

CARNIVORE

OMNIVORE

SCAVENGER

OMNIVORE

SCAVENGER

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Energy Transfer Energy is transferred from one organism to another

when it is eaten or decomposed. Food chain – the path of energy transfer from

producers to consumers. The arrows represent the transfer of energy as one

organism is eaten by another. Producers form the base of the food chain. Energy is then transferred to the primary consumer. Then to a secondary consumer. Then to a tertiary consumer. Lastly, decomposers recycle matter back to

the soil

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World Wide Webs Food web – the feeding relationships among organisms in an

ecosystem. Made up of many food chains combined. At the top of each chain are the top predators, animals that eat other

animals but are rarely eaten.

World Wide Webs All living organisms are connected by global food webs. Global food webs include webs that begin on land and webs that begin

in the water. Because global food webs are connected, removing even one

organism can affect many organisms in other ecosystems.

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Dangerous Competition Invasive species – are sometimes introduced into

a new area. They often compete with native species for

energy resources, such as sunlight and food.

Kudzu plant – introduced to stop soil erosion but outgrew all native plants preventing them from getting sunlight.

Zebra mussel – They eat by filtering tiny organisms out of the water, often leaving nothing for the native mussel species

Walking catfish – moves across land to get from

one pond to another competing with native species for food.

Snakehead fish – native to Asia invaded FDR park in South Philly.