Food Chains and Webs

PRODUCERS (AUTOTROPHS):

create their own food source (glucose) using energy from the SUN in the process of photosynthesis.  

CONSUMERS (HETEROTROPHS)

get their food from another source.

HERBIVORES:

are consumers with specialized digestive structures adapted to eat only plants (flat and clipping teeth, gizzard for grinding, etc.)

CARNIVORES:

are consumers with specialized digestive structures adapted to eat only meat (sharp tearing teeth, sharp claws for grasping prey, etc.)

OMNIVORES:

are consumers with specialized digestive structures adapted to eat both plants and meat (combination teeth, etc.)

Scavengers

are carnivores that eat the remains of dead organisms

DETRITIVORES (DECOMPOSERS

are consumers that break down organic material and return nutrients to the soil.  Organic material is any carbon-based material that was once living.

FOOD CHAIN

series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy.  Each level is a “trophic” level.

1st trophic level

light energy from the sun

PRIMARY (1^ST) CONSUMER

The first consumer to eat the producers. Primary consumers can be...HERBIVORES or OMNIVORES

SECONDARY (2^nd) CONSUMER:

Eats the primary consumer and can be either a...CARNIVORE or OMNIVORE

TERTIARY (3^rd) CONSUMER: 

:   eats the primary or secondary consumer. These organisms are usually carnivores, although they can also be omnivores. They are considered the “top” of the food chain.

SCAVENGERS and DECOMPOSERS

Who feeds on EVERYTHING?

What do you think would happen to the population of producers if the grasshopper population increased? What if the population decreased?

The producer population would decrease since there would be more grasshoppers eating them. If the grasshopper population declined, the number of producers would increase, since nothing would be eating them.

oder of food chain

sun (energy), grass (producer), grass hopper (primary producer), bird (secondary consumer), fox (tertiary consumer

COMPETITION

struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource(Organisms may compete for space, mates, food, water, position within the group, etc. )

PREDATION

interaction where one organism, the predator, kills another organism, the prey, for food(Populations of predators and their prey rise and fall in related cycles. Both predator and prey have special adaptations that allow them to hunt, hide, or escape. )

SYMBIOSIS

interaction where two species coevolve to have  a close relationship with one another. At least one species must benefit from the relationship.

There are three main types of symbiosis:

mutualism, commensalism and parasitism

MUTUALISM

(+,+): relationship where both species benefit

COMMENSALISM

(+,0): relationship where one species benefits and the other species is neither helped or harmed

PARASITISM

+,-): relationship where one species benefits and the other species is harmed

BIOTIC

An ecosystem is made up of all of the living

(ABIOTIC

non-living

ORGANISM

one singular animal ex lion

POPULATION

multiple of the same animal example pride of lions

COMMUNITY

all the living(abiotic)animals in an area, for example, lion, antelope, zebra, hippo, crocodile, and elephant

COMMUNITY:

all the living(biotic) and nonliving things(abiotic) such as lion, antelope, zebra, hippo, crocodile, elephant, the sun, a lake ,grass 

Desert: 

Details/Climate:  Dry with little rainfall.  It can be cold or hot.  Sandy soil.  Found all over the world

Animals:  Birds, rodents, and reptiles that can survive extreme temperatures.  Most hunt at night and live underground  

Plants:  Shrubs, cacti, and yucca plants

Savanna

Details/Climate:  Dry.  Found in Africa, India, and Australia  

Animals:  lions, elephants, zebras, antelopes, hyenas

Plants: open grasslands with very few trees, like acacia

Prairie/Temperate Grassland: 

Details/Climate:  Dry, cold climate savannas.  Found in North America, Russia and South Africa

Animals: Bison, elk, hawks, coyotes, and prairie dogs

Plants:  Open grasslands with very few trees; clover, grasses, sunflowers

Arctic Tundra

Details/Climate:  Cold and desert-like with permanently-frozen subsoil known as permafrost.  Arctic Tundra = North Pole.  Antarctic Tundra = South Pole

Animals: lemmings, caribou, arctic hares, squirrels, arctic foxes, wolves, polar bears, falcons, loons, ravens, gulls, mosquitoes, black flies, salmon, & trout 

Plants: low shrubs, grasses, lichen & mosses

Alpine Tundra

Details/Climate: Mountains with cold, treeless, frozen landscapes. 

Animals:  mountain goats, big horn sheep, ptarmigan, marmot, & bobcat.
Plants: Short shrubs, dwarf trees, and grasses

Taiga/Coniferous Forest

Details/Climate: Most abundant biome.  Cold with snowfall. Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia

Animals: Beavers, lynx, wolves, moose, grizzly bears, and wolverines

Plants: forests of cold tolerant, dense evergreen trees covered in needles: pine, fir, spruce

Tropical Rainforest

Details/Climate: Warm, humid, rainy, near Equator. Most diverse biome with respect to animals and plants  

Animals:  Need trees for shelter/food. Monkeys, bats, frogs, jaguars, parrots and other colorful birds & insects  

Plants:  Dense, tall, evergreen trees. The tree “canopy” allows for little sunlight to reach ground, so very few low growing plants live here.  Orchids, vines, ferns, mosses, and palms adapted for growth on trees 

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Details/Climate: Moderate rainfall and humidity; less than a rainforest. North America, Asia, and Europe

Animals:  Coyotes, birds, deer, squirrels, turkey, raccoons, opossum, and foxes

Plants: Trees, flowers, and shrubs grow in spring and summer, then lose their leaves and become dormant in winter (deciduous): maple, oak, willow

Rivers and Streams

Details/Climate: Water that continuously moves in a single direction.  Because of this, the communities are constantly changing to match the changing pace of the river.  Found throughout the world

Animals:  Trout, otters, wading birds, salmon, snails, and other fish, as well as animals from the surrounding habitat that use rivers for food and water
Plants:  Algae - usually attached to rocks, liverworts, mosses, willows, river birch

Lakes and Ponds

Details/Climate: A standing body of water that is created as streams and rivers empty into it 

Animals:  Phytoplankton, small fish, dragonflies, ducks, turtles, snakes, crustaceans, alligators, clams, and snails

Plants:  Rooted (ex. elodea) and floating plants (ex. water lilies & water hyacinth)

Wetlands: Marshes, Swamps & Bogs

Details/Climate: Areas where the land is saturated with standing water. Wetlands have the highest species diversity of all ecosystem.

Animals: Amphibians, reptiles, ducks, alligators, egret, nutria, and raccoons 

Plants: Pond lilies, cattails, sedges, cypress trees, and black spruce 

Estuary

Details/Climate: Where freshwater streams & rivers meet the ocean. Freshwater brings nutrients from the inland, which helps to increase the diversity and productivity of the estuary

Animals: Oysters, clams, manatee, crabs, beluga whale, harbor seal, turtles, salmon, trout, and shorebirds 
Plants:  Algae, grasses, sea oats, tickseed flowers

Beach (Intertidal Zone)

Detail/Climate: Where ocean meets land, and as waves and tides come in and out, the beach can be submerged or exposed.  Because of this, the communities of plants and animals are constantly changing

Animals: Worms, clams, crabs, sea stars, snails, arthropods, crawfish, sea fleas and shorebirds

Plants: Mud and sand are constantly moving, so very few algae and plants can establish

Coral Reef

Details/Climate:  Includes warm shallow waters that receive lots of sunlight - usually near the intertidal zone. Also includes barriers around the edges of continents (Ex: the Great Barrier Reef off Australia)

Animals: Corals, zooplankton, clams/oysters, colorful fishes, sea urchins, eels, rays, sharks, octopus, sea anemones and sea stars
Plants: Algae, phytoplankton and seaweed

Open/Deep Ocean & Benthic Zone (Ocean Floor)

Details/Climate: Includes cold waters far from the land = open ocean or deep ocean. The benthic zone or sea floor consists of sand & dead organisms. As you go deeper, the temperature decreases.  Sunlight cannot penetrate through deeper water

Animals:  Open ocean animals include whales, dolphins, deep sea fish, and plankton. On the sea floor are sponges, sea anemones, tubeworms, sea stars.  Crabs, creepy deep sea fish live in deep ocean along with archaebacteria that live near thermal vents

Plants:  Open ocean has surface seaweed.  There are no plants in the deep areas (no sunlight)