Lecture 19 - Producers, consumers, food chain

Ecosystem

A set of interacting organisms in an area, together with their environment

Producers

Autotrophic organisms that make their own food

Consumers

Heterotrophic organisms feed off other organisms

Decomposers

Bacteria and fungi that break down dead remains and waste

Ecological niche

The role of a species within a community

Biotic environment

Living components or factors that make up an environment eg. Food chains, competition, spread of disease

Abiotic environment

Non-living (light, wind, water, soil)

Trophic level

The feeding level of an organism in a food chains/web. Producers are the first trophic level

Energy flow

Through the process of photosynthesis producers are able to convert the energy from the sun to a chemcal force which can be passed along the food chain to provide energy for cell processes. The chemical energy in glucose is released by cellular respiration

Producers

Plants provide the foundation upon which a community is built. Uses the sun energy to produce substance in the form of sugar that can be stored and passed along the food chain

Consumers

Animals - an organism which feeds on plants is a first order consumer.

Second order consumer

Feeds on a first order consumer

Decomposers

Consumers which break down or decompose dead organisms

Start of a food chains must start with

Producers, also referred to trophic level 1 that carry out photosynthesis

second on the food chain is

Prime consumers - herbivore - trophic level 2

Third on the food chain is

Secondary consumers - carnivore - trophic level 3

Food webs

The energy flow through a community occurs through a network of interconnected food chains called a food web

Food webs are constructed to…

Help us understand how a community functions. They provide the feeding patterns and flow of energy and matter through a community

Bioaccumalation

Occurs within a trophic level. It is the accumulation of poisons or chemicals in an organism due to the absorption

Biomagnification

How the concentration of a poison increases as it moves along the food chain. Poisons accumulate very slow down so they get passed along.