Matter and Energy in

Ecosystems
Decay
● The breaking down or rotting of organic matter through the
action of bacteria, fungi, or other organisms;
● decomposition.

Decomposers (like fungi and worms)

Break down the organic material and
Turn it into nutrients for producers
Organic BIOTIC Bio= life
● Matter or material, or natural organic matter
that has a large source of carbon

● All living things or once living things are

composed of carbon
Keystone Species
● a species on which other species in an
ecosystem largely depend
● if they were removed the ecosystem would
change drastically.
● Ex: Coral in the ocean
Inorganic ABIOTIC (A=non)
● Non-Living things!!!!
● matter which is not derived from living
organisms
● contains no organically produced carbon.
● It includes rocks, minerals, dirt, water etc...
Producer
● make their food by taking sunlight and using the energy
to make sugar. (Photosynthesis)
● Examples: Trees, mighty Oak, Grand American Beech
● any kind of green plant.
Consumers
● MUST feed on producers or other consumers to survive.

● Example: deer, (some) bears, cows, giraffe (herbivore)

■ Lions, sharks, hyenas (Carnivores)
■ Pigs, Badgers, Skunks (omnivores)
Herbivores
● Primary consumers
● Only eat plants and algae
● Have flat teeth for grinding
Carnivores
● Secondary consumers
● meat eaters
● feed on the primary consumers (herbivores).
● ONLY eat other animals!!!!
● Have sharp teeth for cutting
Omnivores
● Mixture of teeth - sharp (for cutting) and flat (for
grinding)
● Examples: Humans, pigs, skunks, oppossums
● an organism that regularly consumes (eats) a variety of
plants (vegetables), animals, algae, and fungi.
● They range in size from insects to large creatures
Tertiary Consumers
● Also referred to as the apex predator.
● exist at the very top of every ecological food
chain.
● Can be omnivores or carnivores
● Can eat secondary/primary consumers
Predator and Prey
● Any animal that hunts and feeds on other animals is
called a predator
● Animals that predators feed on are called prey.
● All carnivores are predators
● Herbivores and sometimes omnivores and other
carnivores—are their prey
Photosynthesis
The process that plants use sunlight, water,
and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and
energy in the form of sugar (glucose).
Decomposers
● organism that feed on dead organisms or the waste from living
organisms
● “garbage men”
● take dead animals and plants (consumers and decomposers)
break them down into nutrients for the soil
● so that plants can make more food!
● Come in many different shapes and sizes.

● Example: fungus, mushrooms, bacteria, earthworms, and

termites etc
Energy flows through an ecosystem
● Energy comes in as sunlight
● Passed along food chains from producer to
consumer
● At each level some is lost as heat
 Food Chains
● A model that shows how _energy_flows in an
ecosystem through feeding relationships.
● The arrows point in the direction that energy is
being passed.
● Linear Relationships
 Food Webs
● Used to show how
food chains in a
community are
_interconnected.
● Multi-directional
relationship
● Producers and
What effect would the removal of the
consumers depend on shrimp and squid have on this food
web? The penguin would die
each other.

● Changes in the population

of one (keystone species)
organism affects all other
organisms in the
ecosystem.
Trophic level - steps of an energy pyramid
● Trophic level is the position
that an organism occupies in a
food chain- what it eats, and
what eats it.
● 10% of the energy available at
one trophic level transfers to the
next trophic level.
● Producers have the most energy
and the largest population size.
● Biomass- the amount of living or organic
matter present in an organism.
Fill in your chart

*** Draw pictures and

your arrows!!!!
Success Criteria
Do you know this:
Which one item is a producer ?

A. Locust
B. Lizard
C. Corn
D.Snake
Which trophic level goes first ?

A. RATS

B. PLANTS

C. SNAKES

D.PREDATOR
Which one is a consumer ?

A. Herbivore

B. Carnivores

C. Omnivores

D.All of the above