trophic levels

photoautotrophs

start earth’s food chain by converting the energy of light into energy of life

chemoautotrophs

release energy through the movement of electrons in oxidation reactions

consumers are [__]

consumers are heterotrophs

heterotroph — herbivore

feeds on plants for nourishment

heterotroph — carnivore

gets energy & nutrients through consumption of other animals

heterotroph — detrivore

gets energy through consumption of dead animals & plants

decomposers — consume dead animals & plants and release nutrients back into the environment (eg. fungi, bacteria, earthworms_

trophic levels hierarchy

top

• primary producers

• herbivores/primary consumers

• primary carnivores/secondary consumers

• secondary carnivores

bottom

biomass pyramid

represents the cumulative weight of all members at a given trophic level

pyramid of numbers

based on the number of individuals at each level of the biomass chain. Each box in the pyramid represents the number of members of that level

food chain

hierarchical list on who eats who

food webs

overlapping food chains that show all the various deitary relationships.

provides more info than a food chain. They recognize that one animal may be eaten by more than 1 animal

biomass

the total mass of living organisms (or recently dead organic matter) in a given area or trophic level.

• More biomass in [__] → more energy for [__] [__] levels

• [__] (like phosphate) help increase [__], especially in producers like phytoplankton

• More biomass in producers → more energy for higher trophic levels

• Nutrients (like phosphate) help increase biomass, especially in producers like phytoplankton