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Unit 2 - Energy Food Chain Web

An ecosystem is a biological community of living organisms interacting with non-living components, consisting of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) elements. Energy flow is essential for ecosystem functionality, with producers, consumers, and decomposers forming a food chain and food web that maintain balance among species. The food chain represents a linear energy transfer, while the food web illustrates the interconnected relationships among various organisms within the ecosystem.

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13 views13 pages

Unit 2 - Energy Food Chain Web

An ecosystem is a biological community of living organisms interacting with non-living components, consisting of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) elements. Energy flow is essential for ecosystem functionality, with producers, consumers, and decomposers forming a food chain and food web that maintain balance among species. The food chain represents a linear energy transfer, while the food web illustrates the interconnected relationships among various organisms within the ecosystem.

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24iccm01
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Ecosystem

Is biological community of living organisms co-existing with non-


living components in same environment like air, water & soil, as well
as inter-depending and interacting with coexisting organisms
(animals and plants) as a system.
Ecosystem consists of 2 components—Abiotic and Biotic
Abiotic components of ecosystem are non-living physical parameters & chemical
phenomena, such as sunlight, temperature, precipitation or rains, air, water or
moisture or icepacks, minerals & chemistry of soil & rocks.
Biotic components of ecosystems are living or previously living organisms which
are primary producers of food, herbivores (organisms living on plant or plant-
derived materials), carnivores (those living on animals) and omnivores (organisms
that feed on products of both plants & animals).

✓ Ecosystems have several communities of organisms


✓ Ecosystem requires flow of energy to be functional
✓ Energy is derived by organisms in the form of food intake
✓ Primary source of energy comes from Sun as light
Energy and Flow of Energy or Nutrient cycle
➢ Ecosystem needs Energy & Energy Flow
➢ Three energy sources make the Ecosystem.
(i) Autotrophs or producers of energy,
(ii) Heterotrophs or consumers of energy and
(iii) Decomposers (living on non-living matter)
➢ Suffix ‘troph’ refers to nutrition or food.
A small part of glucose goes into cellulose in leaves
Ecosystems have to ensure that
(i) producers are not fully consumed;
(ii) balance between producer & consumer species
Energy, Producers and Consumers

• Source of all energy in the ecosystems is the SUN.


• This energy arrives in the form of sunlight, which is captured by
organisms called Producers. One example of producers is Plants.
• Green plants occupy the first trophic level.
• They are primary producers manufacturing their own food through
photosynthesis.
• We depend on producers for nutrition.
• Herbivores occupy second trophic level, while the third, fourth, and
fifth trophic levels are occupied by carnivores.
Food Chain and Food Web
➢ Ecosystem should ensure a balance that primary producers or Autotrophs are
not entirely consumed and wiped out of ecosystem.
➢ This is achieved by ecosystem naturally by Food Web and Food Chain.
➢ Food chain is shown with arrows, each arrow pointing from one feeding group of
species to another.

➢A single path of energy through a food web is known as a food


chain.
➢ In food webs & food chains, arrows point from an organism that is consumed to
organism that consumes it.
➢ In ecosystems, bottom of food chain consists of photosynthetic organisms, like
plants or phytoplankton, known as primary producers.
➢ Organisms that consume primary producers are herbivores--primary consumers.
Secondary consumers are carnivores that eat primary consumers, while tertiary
consumers are carnivores that eat other carnivores.
➢ Higher-level consumers feed on organisms of preceding or lower trophic levels,
up to organisms at top of food chain--called Apex consumers (eg. Man)
Feeding relationship in an ecosystem is called as food web made of Food chains
Food chain is created by ‘producers’, ‘consumers’ and ‘decomposers’
Examples of food chains :
•Plants → Deer → Lion
•Plants → Worm→ Bird → Cat
•Plants→ Grasshopper→ Frog→ Snake → Hawk
•Algae→ Planktons → Small fish → Big fish → Bird

Several food
chains
Man is an
constitute a
Apex
food web consumer
Food web is to
(i) Show feeding relationships between different species within a community
(ii) Describe species interactions and community structure, and
(iii) Understand dynamics of energy transfer in the ecosystem.
2 types of food web interact within an ecosystem:
(i) Grazing food web beginning with autotrophs
and (ii) Detrital food web
(i) (ii)

A B
Detrital food web in Aquatic (A)
& Terrestrial (B) environments
Autotrophs

Grazing food web comprising plants at bottom &


followed sequentially upward by herbivorous living beings
& then multiple levels of carnivorous animals
Terrestrial food web showing trophic levels (extreme left column) & examples of feeding or
nutrition from autotrophic producers to multiple heterotrophic consumers
Aquatic (water system) Food Web
Food chain is defined as the process of energy transfer from producer by a
series of organisms with repeated eating or being eaten.
Food web is defined as the interconnected network of food chains at
various trophic levels

Food chain is linear flow of energy and nutrients from one organism to
another. Each organism is at a particular trophic level. Primary producers
Plants are at trophic level 1 and apex predators are at higher trophic levels.
Food web can be termed as the combination of many different food chains
and the relationship between organisms.
➢ In food chain and food web, the term ‘Trophic’ relates to
nutrition or food or energy level.
➢ Heterotrophs are Consumers or Users of food, like animals
depend for food on other living organisms.
➢ Prefix ‘hetero’ means ‘other’ and suffix ‘troph’ refers to food or
nutrition.
➢ Heterotrophic describes organisms that feed on others,
including ‘producers’ or autotrophic organisms.
➢ Consumers are grouped as per food intake into three types as--
➢ herbivores,
➢ carnivores and
➢ omnivores
➢ Decomposers are minor consumers such as bacteria, fungi &
worms which act as agents for decay of dead organisms.

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