EcologySection 1.3 and 1.4

Science 7

Mr. Nigh

Science 7

Mr. Nigh

Producer – Any kind of green plant that makes its own food

These organisms use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water through photosynthesis to make their food.

Examples: plants, algae and some bacteria

Consumers - A living thing that gets its energy by eating producers or other living things for energy.

Consumers cannot use the sun’s energy directly like producers. Instead they must eat producers or other animals to obtain energy.

Three Types of ConsumersThree Types of Consumers

Herbivore - a consumer that eats plants.

Carnivore - a consumers that eats animals.

Omnivore - eats both plants and animals.

Examples: Grasshoppers, antelope, prairie dogs, bison,

gophers, cows, and mice.

Examples: frogs, coyotes, lions, sharks.

Examples: humans, bears and turtles

Decomposer - A living thing that gets its energy by breaking down the remains of living things that have died.

Example: bacteria and fungi

Scavengers like vultures and crabs also act as decomposers.

They feed on dead or decaying organisms

Decomposers feed on other members of the ecosystem that have died, recycling the nutrients in the process. If you have a compost pile, it is the work of decomposers that turns the leaves and food leftovers into soil.

Energy from the Sun is captured and stored as chemical energy in food by organisms called Producers.

Consumers get energy by eating, or consuming, other organisms.

Decomposers break down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds.

The Flow of EnergyThe Flow of Energy

Food ChainsFood ChainsOrganisms get the energy they need from food.

A food chain is a model used to show the feeding relationship between a single producer and a chain of consumers in an ecosystem; in a typical food chain, a plant is the producer that is eaten by a consumer such as an insect, then the insect is eaten by a second consumer such as a bird.

In this food chain, the leaf is the producer. Energy flows from the leaf to the caterpillar that eats it.

The caterpillar is the primary consumer in this food chain because it is the first to feed.

Energy next moves from the caterpillar to the bird. The bird is a secondary consumer.

When the fox eats the bird, it takes energy. The fox is the tertiary consumer or third feeder.

The final link in a food chain is occupied by bacteria and fungi that act as decomposers. These organisms feed on and break down the remains of the fox when it dies.

Food Webs A food chain shows only one energy path in an ecosystem. Few organisms eat just one kind of organism, therefore simple food chains are actually rare in nature.

Most consumers eat a variety of foods and can be eaten by a variety of other consumers. Therefore, food webs more accurately show the energy pathways possible in an ecosystem.

A food web is a system of several overlapping food chains.

Energy PyramidAn energy pyramid is a graphical model of energy flow in a community.

The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose a food chain. From the bottom-up, they are as follows:

Tertiary consumers — eat the secondary consumers

Secondary consumers — eat the primary consumers, which makes them carnivores

Primary consumers — eat the producers, which makes them herbivores in most communities

Producers — bring energy from nonliving sources into the community

BiomesEvery plant or animal lives in a biome. A biome is a region with a distinct climate, a dominant type of plants and specific animals that are characteristic of the region.

A biome does not have a clear boundaries. Biomes overlap and characteristics change gradually between biomes.

Coniferous Forest Biome(Taiga)

Characteristics:• northern forest with cold

climates• long harsh winters• damp ground and fog

Plant & animal life:

• coniferous trees such as spruce, pine and fir

• bears, wolves, beavers, small mammals, insects

Tundra Biome-ArcticArctic tundra  The arctic tundra occupies earth's Northern hemisphere, circling the North Pole all the way down to the evergreen forests.  The arctic tundra sees little rainfall, like the cold deserts of Russia.  The soil of the arctic  tundra is poor in nutrients, which accounts for the low amount of vegetation. There is an under-layer of soil called permafrost which remains completely frozen at all times, allowing little room for deep rooting plants and trees. 

Tundra Biome- AlpineAlpine tundra The alpine tundra biome exists on rocky mountaintops and is very similar to the arctic tundra except for a conspicuous lack of trees.  Because trees cannot grow at this high altitude, most of the alpine tundra plant life consists of shrubbery and small leafy plants such as alpine bluegrass which serve as dinner to a variety of grazing animals such as bighorn sheep and mountain goats. 

Desert BiomeCharacteristics:• hot temperatures, cold

nights• less than 10 inches or

rain annually• organisms adapted to

limited water• little plant life

Plant & animal life:

• succulent plants that store water

• lizards, snakes, rabbits, mice, insects, birds, camels

Grassland Biome(Prairie and Savanna)

Characteristics:• rich soil• hot, dry climate• herds of grazing animals

Plant & animal life:

• thick (tall) grasses

• gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, bison, lions, hyenas, vultures, small burrowing animals

Prairie Grassland Biome

Savanna

Deciduous Forest BiomeCharacteristics:• found in temperate

climates• 40 inches of precipitation

annually• leaves on the trees

change color and drop off each year.

Plant & animal life:

• mixed deciduous trees

• small mammals, deer, birds, rodents, foxes, insects, wildflowers

Temperate deciduous forests are forests in cool, rainy areas. They contain trees that lose their leaves in fall and re-grow them in the spring. They have four distinct seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Tropical Rainforest BiomeCharacteristics:• found near the equator• precipitation over 100

inches annually• consistently hot climate,

average 80◦ F temperature

Plant & animal life:

• tall evergreen trees, fruit trees, vines, leafy plants

• birds, monkeys, leopards, amphibians, snakes, insects, frogs

Fresh Water BiomeCharacteristics:• found in rivers, streams,

lakes, ponds, swamps, marches

• rich in plant and animal life living in and near water

Plant & animal life:

• Green algae, pond weed, flowers, cattails

• fish, crayfish, snakes, turtles, birds, alligators, frogs, insects

Kettle lakes in Minnesota formed by melting glaciers

• Estuary- the lower end of a river that feeds into an ocean

• The place where freshwater and saltwater meet.

• Marshes and wetlands are two types of estuaries.

Ocean BiomeCharacteristics:• found in Earth’s oceans

and seas• organisms are adapted to

salt water

Plant & animal life:

• algae, phytoplankton

• fish, seals, whales, sharks, sponges, mollusks, sea anemones, jelly fish, coral, sea urchins and starfish

The

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