Energy Connections - Notes

Ecology: Energy Connections – notes

What is the energy that flows in an ecosystem? / All living things need ______to survive.
The energy living things need comes from carbon-compounds, or organic compounds.
•______compounds: molecules that contain a carbon atom
–Carbohydrates: glucose, starch, cellulose (mostly plants)
–Proteins: the muscles of animals (steak!)
–Fats: in muscle of animal tissues (fatty steak!)
How is energy transferred in an ecosystem? / A ______shows the flow of energy between the organisms in an environment
When we put many food chains together in one ecosystem, it is called a ______
There are ____ groups that organisms are divided into in any ecosystem based upon how they obtain ______.
1. ______- use sunlight directly to make their own food.
2. ______- Organisms that eat producers or other organisms for energy.
Consumers are Divided into Five Categories
•______- consumer that eats plants.
•______- consumer that eats animals.
•______- consumer that eats both plants and animals.
•______- animals that feed on the bodies of dead animals.
•______- organisms that get their energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms.
Energy ______are diagrams shaped like a triangle that shows the loss of energy at each level of the food chain.
•Each step in a food chain is known as a ______level.
There are typically only 4 trophic levels in an energy pyramid /

How are food webs impacted by population changes? / If the population of organisms at any level of the food web changes, it will affect the population at other levels
•If the population of ______decreases, then the population of ______will decrease if they don’t have enough food.
•

•If the population of primary consumers decreases, then…
•The producers will ______because there are less consumers eating them
•The secondary consumers will______because there is less food for them
Carbon
Cycle /

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

1.8.

______9. ______

______10. ______

______

______

Score ______

______

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Questions

In the food chains below, circle the producer, underline primary consumer and put a box around the secondary consumer.

(a) GRASS SHEEP HUMAN (b) PHYTOPLANKTON PRAWN TUNA

2. Label the organisms in the web below as either: producer, herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore

dragonfly larva

musselcaddisfly larva small fish

zooplankton snail

phytoplankton

(a) From the food web above, write down 2 different food chains, each with four trophic levels:______

(b) Name the producer

(d) Name the secondary consumers ______

(e) Name the tertiary consumer

(f) Are any organisms in more than one trophic level? If so, which ones and in which trophic levels are they? ______

(g) Explain how the organisms would be affected if the snail population died out. ______

Heron Pelican

Large fish

CrabSmall fish

Zooplankton Prawn Mud whelk

Phytoplankton Eel grass

(a) From the food web above, write down 2 different food chains:

______

(b) Name the producer

(d) Name the omnivores______

(e) Name the carnivores