Unit 3B -LL: Energy Flow Pt2

Consumers are heterotrophs.

Hetero = other & Troph = to eat, ('other eaters')​

Herbivores(plants)/Carnivores(meat)/Omnivores(both)

Producers are autotrophs.

Auto = self & Troph = to eat, ('self feeders')

10% Rule - 90% used or lost as heat, move decimal for each trophic level​

Decomposers breakdown organic matter back to soil (carbon cycle in biosphere)

​Detritivores - organic matter Decomposers - dead

Ecosystems are constantly changing.
Keystone species are organisms that keep an ecosystem in balance; if threatened, ecosystem drastically changes!

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​Keystone Species

Biodiversity is the number of organisms that an area has at a given time.
The MORE biodiverse, the MORE sustainable!
Sustainability is the ability to maintain a certain rate of coexistence between the biosphere and humans.

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​Biodiversity & Sustainability

Any organism that:

• Is NOT native to the ecosystem and cause HARM to the ecosystem

• Grows & reproduces QUICKLY

• Outcompete native species for food

• Cause carry disease

• Has NO natural predators, which disturbs energy flow
  MI Invasive Species to watch out!

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​Invasive Species

• Human activities can unintentionally spread invasive species:

• Spreading firewood

• Shipping vessels and containers

• Recreational boating

• Releasing bait, non-native plants & exotic pets

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​Transport of Invasive Species

​The word "photo" means light.

The word "synthesis" means to make.

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​So the word photosynthesis literally means, to make using light.

Producers convert sunlight energy into chemical energy (glucose).

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​Sunlight cannot reach the aphotic zone. Aphotic = without light

​There is no sunlight, so there are no plants and no photosynthesis in the aphotic zone.

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​For a long time, scientists thought this meant there was no life in the aphotic zone, until 1977...

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​Enter Robert Ballard.

He takes expeditions to the ocean floor in his submersible.

​Robert Ballard was the first scientist to discover there was life on the ocean floor. BUT, there are very different kinds of producers living in the deep ocean.

​As you watch the 2m video read the captions to learn about Hydrothermal Vents.

​There is no sunlight, so there are no plants or photosynthesis in the deep ocean.

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​The main kinds of producers are bacteria that do chemosynthesis, where they use chemicals released from the Earth to help them create sugar. See equation caption...

Anaerobes - grow without oxygen present

Acidophiles - grow best at acidic (low) pH values

Alkaliphiles - grow best at high pH values

Endoliths - lives inside rock or the pores between mineral grains

Halophiles - require high amounts of salt for growth

Methanogens - produce methane from a chemical reaction of hydrogen & carbon dioxide

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DDT was used widely and sprayed on crops as a pesticide against insects & mosquitoes, but was banned in 1972.

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​DDT

DDT levels entered food chains and remained in tissues of fish but became more concentrated in higher trophic levels, eagles & falcons.

The Bald Eagle was added to the Endangered Species List as a result of thinning eggshells caused by DDT.

The pesticide DDT is now illegal in the US BUT is still manufactured here & used around the world​!

​Biomagnification

• AVOID eating high level predators, like tuna and other large fish, with high mercury levels

• Eat a plant-based diet

• Advocate for pesticide reduction

​Let's see who our winners are and head back to the

Live Lesson Room for Chat Q&A!