Nature's Food Source
Where do organisms get their energy from?
Producers v.s. Consumers
(a classification according to how they get their food)
Prey & Predator
Food Chain
Food Web
How does the Predator-prey relationship affect an organism's population size?
Only plants can trap the energy from the Sun directly
Main source of energy for all organisms: Sun
Animals that eat plants and/ or animals get their energy from the sun indirectly
The energy in all organisms can be traced back to the Sun
Producers
Are organisms that can make their own food
Most plants are producers
Consumers
Are organisms that cannot make their own food
Feed in plants or on other consumers
E.g. Animals
Types of consumers
Herbivores (plant eater)- Rabbit, grasshopper, cow, butterfly, elephant
Carnivores (animal eater)- Shark, eagle, lion, spider, crocodile
Omnivores (plant & animal eater)- Crow, Chicken, Bear, Cockroach, Rat
Prey
Predator
Are herbivores, might be carnivores or omnivores
Is an animal that is being hunted and eaten by another animal
Are carnivores or omnivores
Is an animal that hunts and eats other animals
Shows the predator-prey relationship between organisms
Always start such a producer(plant): Plants change khing energy into chemical energy stored in the food they make. The energy stored in the food made by plants is passed on to the consumers that eat plants and then the energy stored in the plant eaters is passed on to their predators which are meat eaters
Are energy chains which show the transfer of energy between organisms. The energy passed on through a food chain comes from the Sun, the primary source of energy
Are linked food chains that exist in a community
The food chains in a food web start with a producer. The energy transferred through a food web also comes from the sun
Organisms can belong to more than one food chain and can be eaten by more than one type of consumer.
Predators may also be food for other organisms
Prey control the number of predators in the community because they are food for the predators
The population sizes of predators and prey stay balanced in a community
Predators control the number of prey in a community by killing them
Removing or adding a population of organisms upsets the balance in a community
Decomposers
Source of food: Dead plants & animals
Get their food by breaking down dead organisms and waste matter into simpler substances such as mineral salts and carbon dioxide through decomposition
Use the energy released by breaking down dead organism and waste matter to carry out life processes
Are very important to the environment as they ensure hat the Earth is not covered with dead organisms and waste matter and enrich the soil with nutrients needed by plants for plants to grow better
Detrivires helo decomposers by biting or breaking up dead organisms or waste matter into smaller pieces