Activating Activity

After watching the video clip, record your
answer to this question in your binder in your
“Warm Ups” section:
–


What does Mufasa mean when he says that we
are all connected in a circle of life?
“Lion King” video clip
“Food Chain” BrainPop video
Warm up…

Arrange the following organisms to show who eats
whom:
–
–
–
–
–
killer whale
cod fish
krill shrimp
algae
leopard seal
Warm up…continued



What might happen to the other organisms if
algae were removed from this group?
What might happen if the killer whales were
removed?
Are there any organisms in this group that
eat more than one kind of food?
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
All organisms play a role in their
ecosystem:

Producer (Autotroph)
–
Make their own food (usually through
photosynthesis)

Ex: plants (even the Venus Flytrap!)
All organisms play a role in their
ecosystem:
Consumers (Heterotroph)

–
–
Can’t make its own food
Gets energy from eating other organisms
1.
2.
3.
Herbivores – eats plants
Carnivores – eats animals
Omnivores – eats plants & animals
•
Scavengers – eats dead animals
All organisms play a role in their
ecosystem:

Decomposers
–
Break down waste and dead organisms to return
raw materials to the environment

Ex: bacteria, fungi, worms
A world with no decomposers?
Producer or Consumer?
Venus flytrap – producer
Fly - consumer
Producer or Consumer?
Consumer (herbivore)
Producer or Consumer?
Producer
Producer or Consumer?
Consumer (omnivore)
Producer or Consumer?
Consumer (carnivore)
Energy enters an ecosystem as…
SUNLIGHT!!!
Source
of
energy!
Food Chain

Food chain – shows one path of the flow of
energy in an ecosystem

Order of the food chain:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sun – energy source
Producer
1st level Consumer – eats producers
2nd level Consumer – eats 1st level consumers
Decomposer – recycles materials for use by
producers
Food webs

Most organisms do not eat the same thing
every day, so they are part of more than
one food chain.

Food web - consists of many overlapping
food chains in an ecosystem
Summary
 3 – What are the three roles that organisms
play in an ecosystem. Describe each.
 2 – What are two examples of a
decomposer?
 1 – Create a food chain that includes & ends
with you (on your graphic organizer).
Warm Up
Trophic Levels
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Producers
1st Level (Primary)
Consumers
2nd Level (Secondary)
Consumers
3rd Level (Tertiary)
Consumers
4th Level (Quaternary)
Consumers
Ecological Pyramid Models


A pyramid is used to illustrate the structure of
the trophic levels in a food chain.
3 types of ecological pyramids:
–
Pyramid of numbers
Biomass pyramid
Energy pyramid
–
Video clip
–
–
Pyramid of Numbers
Compares the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain.

Typically pyramid shaped, with the largest number of organisms
at the producer level:
Biomass Pyramid
Shows the amount of living matter in a food chain.


Total dry weight (without water) of organisms in a
food chain
Mass/Area
–
Example: g/m2
Energy Pyramids
Flow of energy


When an organism eats, it obtains energy,
then uses a lot of energy in life process like
growth and movement.
This means that only part of their energy is
available to the next organism in the food
web.
Energy Pyramid


Illustrates the amount of energy that moves from
one feeding level to another in a food chain or web
The greatest amount of energy is available at the
producer level
–

The least amount of energy available to going to be a the
top of the food chain.
Only about 10% of the trophic level’s energy is
transferred to the next level.
Energy Pyramids
Summary

Complete a pyramid model for your “Pond
Water Web”.