MODULE 2: INTERACTIO

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How does energy become transferred

from one organism to another?

FOOD CHAIN A food chain shows how organisms gets

food and how nutrients are passed from one organism to the other.

Each level in the food chain are called trophic level.

Producers: Autotrophic organisms and capable of photosynthesis

Primary consumers (first order consumers): organisms that feed directly on living plants or plant parts

Secondary Consumers: organisms that feed on the primary consumers

Tertiary consumers: organisms that feed on the secondary consumers

Decomposers: organisms that feed on dead organic matter (decaying organisms)

FOOD WEB Interconnections of different food chains

form FOOD WEBS.

FOOD PYRAMI

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When organisms eat, they take in matter as well as energy into their bodies.

The transfer of matter expressed as biomass and energy in food from one trophic level to another are not one hundred percent used.

Biomass is the total mass of organisms in a food chain or a food web.

This relationship between producers and consumers can be demonstrated through a biomass pyramid and an energy pyramid.

PYRAMID OF BIOMASS

Model or diagram that shows the amount of biomass at different trophic levels of an ecosystem

10 000 kg of plankton that photosynthesize are needed to support only 1 000 kg of plankton that do not photosynthesize.

PYRAMID OF BIOMASS In turn, 1 000 kg of the

primary consumers would support only 100 kg of small fish, which in turn would sustain only 10 kg of lapu-lapu

10 kg of lapu-lapu would sustain only 1 kg of the biomass of humans

10 000 kg of plankton at the base of the pyramid would support only 1 kg of humans who are the top consumers

ENERGY PYRAMID Model or diagram that

shows energy flow through the different trophic levels of an ecosystem

In an energy pyramid the base of the pyramid is reduced and only 10% moves to the next level. This loss goes on at every level until only 0.01% reaches the top consumers.