Feeding Relationships

• There are 3 main types of feeding relationships

1. Producer - Consumer

2. Predator - Prey

3. Parasite - Host

Feeding Relationships

Producer- all autotrophs (plants), they trap energy from the sun

• Bottom of the food chain

Feeding Relationships

Consumer- all heterotrophs: they ingest food containing the sun’s energy

Herbivores

Carnivores

Omnivores

Decomposers

Feeding Relationships

CONSUMERS 1. Primary consumers

• Eat plants

• Herbivores

2. Secondary, tertiary … consumers

• Prey animals

• Carnivores or Omnivores

Feeding Relationships

Consumer-Carnivores-eat meat

• Predators – Hunt prey

animals for food.

Feeding Relationships

Consumer- Carnivores- eat meat

• Scavengers – Feed on carrion,

dead animals

Feeding Relationships

Consumer- Omnivores -eat both plants and animals

Feeding Relationships

Consumer- Decomposers

• Breakdown the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be absorbed

Label Your Organism:

Producer, Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore,

Decomposer, or Scavenger

Nitrosomonas is a genus of bacteria and a decomposer in the

coral reef.

Add it to the food web, then compare food webs with a partner.

Energy Flow

Food chain- simple model that shows how energy moves through an ecosystem in ONE direction

The ARROW shows where the ENERGY goes!

Trophic Levels

• Each link in a food chain is known as a trophic level.

• Trophic levels represent a feeding step in the transfer of energy in an ecosystem.

Trophic Levels

• Only 10% of the energy is able to be stored in the organisms tissues and transferred to the next trophic level.

• The rest of the energy was used by the organism for life processes or given off as heat.

Energy Flow

Food web- shows all possible feeding relationships in a community at each trophic level

• Represents a network of interconnected food chains

• Remember: ARROW = ENERGY

Food chain Food web (just 1 path of energy) (all possible energy paths)

Biomass

Biomass- the amount of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a habitat.

• As you move up a food chain, both available energy AND biomass decrease.

• WHY???

Ecological Pyramids 3 Types:

• Biomass Pyramid (Kg) – Amount of living tissue in an ecosystem

• Energy Pyramid (J or C) – Flow of energy in an ecosystem

• Pyramid of Numbers – Number of organisms in each trophic level

These 3 types may be combined!

Biomass

Pyramid

Note: Kilogram (Kg)

is a unit of mass.

Energy Pyramid

Producers- Autotrophs

Primary consumers- Herbivores

Secondary consumers-small carnivores

Tertiary consumers- top carnivores

E

N

E

R

G

Y

10%

100%

1%

0.1%

Energy

Pyramid

Note:

Joules (J) & Kilocalories (C)

are units of energy

Pyramid of

Numbers