Feeding relationships

• The food chain goes:

  producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer

  Decomposers decompose waste products and dead organisms
• FOOD CHAINS: Shows the feeding relationships between living organisms
• FOOD WEBS: Shows how food chains are linked together into more complex feeding relationships
• PYRAMIDS OF NUMBERS: Shows the population of each organism at each trophic level in a food chain
• PYRAMIDS OF BIOMASS: Shows the biomass (amount of living material) of organisms in each trophic level
• PYRAMIDS OF ENERGY TRANSFER: Shows the transfer of energy with each trophic level
• In what form does energy enter most ecosystems?

  Sunlight
• How is sunlight converted in ecosystems?

  Into chemical energy by producers via photosynthesis
• What percentage of energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next?

  10%
• What are the main reasons for energy loss in ecosystems?

  1. Respiration: Energy lost as heat for movement
  2. Incomplete consumption: Not all food is consumed
  3. Egestion/Excretion: Energy lost via undigested food
• How is energy lost during respiration?

  As heat energy to enable movement
• What does incomplete consumption refer to in energy loss?

  Not all food may be consumed by an organism
• What are examples of materials that may not be consumed by organisms?

  Bones or fibers
• How does egestion/excretion contribute to energy loss?

  Due to incomplete digestion, energy is lost
• What is produced as a result of egestion?

  Faeces
• What role do decomposers play in energy loss?

  They break down faeces