IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS (pg 24)

Plants are producers, that is, they make their own food. Animals cannot. Animals depend on
plants for food either directly or indirectly. Plants use energy from the sun to make food. This
is the only source of energy for all living organisms.

A food chain is the sequence by which energy in the form of food passes from plant to animals
then to other animals.

All food chains start with a plant which is the primary producer. Plants are eaten by
herbivores or primary consumers (eat plants only). Herbivores are eaten by carnivores or
secondary consumers (eat meat only). There are also omnivores which eat both plants and
animals.
Eg. grass  grasshopper  lizards

TYPES OF FOOD CHAINS:

Arboreal(animals spend most of their lives in trees): tree leaves cricket geckostree snake
Edaphic (soil ): decaying leaves earthworms  ground beetle lizard
Freshwater : phytoplankton freshwater mollusk small fishsalmon
Marine : phytoplanktonzooplanktonsmall fishmackerel

In reality, organisms have more than one food source so a food web is more appropriate. A food
web is made up of many food chains linked together.

Distinct layers can be made across a food web to include all organisms that feed on the same
type of food. These are called Trophic levels or feeding levels. In the same trophic level all
organisms are either producers, herbivores or carnivores.

THE FLOW OF ENERGY THROUGH TROPHIC LEVELS

The energy trapped by plants during photosynthesis came from the sun. Hence all life depends
on the sun and photosynthesis. The energy in the form of food is passed on through each trophic
level. As food is passed from one level to the next, much of this energy is lost. Energy is lost in
faeces, respiration and other body activities; therefore, less energy is available to the next trophic

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level. There are rarely more than five trophic levels in a community because so much energy is
lost at each trophic level.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DECOMPOSERS

Decomposers are important in food chains and food webs because they help recycle nutrients.
Decomposers feed on waste materials from animals and plants and on their dead bodies.
Eg. Fungi, Bacteria.
They are extremely important because they help release substances from dead organisms so
that they can be used again by living ones. Eg. carbon is recycled and is used to make
carbohydrates, fats, proteins. Nitrogen is recycled to make proteins.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ORGANISMS

1) PREDATOR/PREY : predator hunt another for food, prey is the one being hunted.
Symbiosis: when two different species live closely together. There are 3 types.
2) Parasitism: where 1 partner benefits, the other suffers.eg. tapeworm/humans
3) Commensalism: where 1 partner benefits, the other does not gain or lose eg bird nest /tree
4) Mutualism: Both partners gain. Sometimes they cannot live without each other.
Eg. rhizobium/plants

FOOD PYRAMIDS

 A pyramid of numbers: is where there are many organisms at the base and a few on top.
Plants are more numerous than herbivores and herbivores outnumber carnivores.

 However in a tropical rainforest there are few plants many of which are large trees and
herbivores are many small insects so a pyramid of numbers would be used.

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 If instead we used the mass of all organisms at each trophic level, we would get a pyramid of
biomass. Biomass is short for biological mass.

 A pyramid of energy: shows how much energy is present at each trophic level.

To draw the pyramids we need to know the habitat of the organism. The habitat is the place
where an organism lives. Eg. Terrestrial: rainforest, farmland. Aquatic: rivers, streams, ponds.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
This is the control of a pest by the introduction of a natural enemy such as a parasite or predator.
For example, snakes consume a lot of rodents and insect pests. They can damage agricultural
crops or spread disease. Dragonflies are important consumers of mosquitoes.