1. Types of Organisms

3. There are thousands of different organisms in the world. But all organisms belong to one of three groups, or types.

12. An important producers in aquatic (water) ecosystems is algae.

13. Algae is a plant that produces food so like most plants it is green.

14. Billions of tiny algae floating in water is what makes it appear to be green.

20. Consumers are animals.

21. Consumers must consume other organisms to get the energy they need.

22. Consumers must consume other organisms to get the energy they need.

23. Consumers must consume other organisms to get the energy they need.

24. Consumers must consume other organisms to get the energy they need.

25. Consumers must consume other organisms to get the energy they need.

26. The smallest consumers in aquatic (water) ecosystems are called zooplankton . Zooplankton are actually tiny. These plankton are magnified many times.

27. Plankton can look like this.

28. … ..or this

29. … ..or sometimes like this.

30. Notes: 3

34. Decomposers can be plants or animals.

35. Decomposers can be plants or animals. Decomposers get the energy they need from dead, rotting material.

36. Most decomposers are microorganisms too small to see without a microscope, like these bacteria.

37. Decomposers are all around us.

38. Decomposers are all around us. They don’t eat organisms that are still alive.

39. Decomposers only start eating when organisms die.

46. Not all decomposers are too small to see, but they are all small.

47. Mushrooms are a type of decomposer.

48. Fungi like these mushrooms are plants that decompose rotting material.

51. Adult flies aren’t decomposers.

52. But their larva (babies) are.

53. Flies are attracted to rotting things that smell bad. That’s where they like to lay their eggs.

54. Fly eggs hatch into larva are called maggots.

55. Maggots are the squirmy white bugs that you might see in a dead animal . They may seem disgusting but maggots are an important component in an ecosystem.

56. Notes: 8

65. Notes: a

74. The arrows in a food web point in the direction the energy is moving, or to put it another way, from the food to the eater.

76. The mouse eats the plant

77. The snake eats the mouse

78. The bird eats the snake

79. But what about all the arrows going to the decomposers?

80. Decomposers eat the energy from dead plants and animals, even the energy that is in consumer’s poop.

81. Decomposers recycle the nutrients into soil which gives plants some of the material they need.

82. Decomposers recycle the nutrients into soil which gives plants some of the material they need.

83. Different ecosystems have different organisms in their food webs.

87. Competition is what we call it when two or more organisms need the same resource.

88. Competition is shown in a food web when arrows point from one food source to more than one consumer.

89. Competition is shown in a food web when arrows point from one food source to more than one consumer. Four kinds of insects are competing for this plant.

90. Can you find competition in this food web?

91. Notes: a

101. What type of consumer only eats plants? Notes: 14

102. What type of consumer only eats plants? Notes: 14 Herbivore

103. What type of consumer only eats animals? Notes: 15

104. What type of consumer only eats animals? Notes: 15 Carnivore

105. What type of consumer only both plants and animals? Notes: 16

106. What type of consumer only both plants and animals? Notes: 16 Omnivore

107. What type of consumer only eats animals? Notes: 14 Herbivores

108. There is another fact about food webs that we need to understand.

109. Not all of the energy makes it to the top of the web.

110. There are many more trees than giraffes.

111. There are many more giraffes than lions.

112. This model of the food chain is called an energy pyramid .

113. A pyramid is small at the top and big at the bottom. Energy pyramid

114. Only about 1/10 of the energy move up at each level.

115. Notes: 17 How much of the energy moves up each level in a food chain?

116. Notes: 17 How much of the energy moves up each level in a food chain? 10%

152. Plankton