Marine lifestyles and relationships

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1 Marine lifestyles and relationships

2 Marine Lifestyles and Enviros. Benthic organisms (benthos) live on or buried in the ocean floor (sediment) Can be sessile (attached) or mobile (moving) Pelagic organisms live in the water column (away from the bottom)

3 Pelagic Organisms Plankton: floaters/drifters (do not swim on their own) Phytoplankton plantlike, autotrophic (photosynthesis) Zooplankton animallike, heterotrophic Nekton: movers/swimmers (on their own) fishes, marine mammals

4 Marine Ecology: the study of interactions of living things with each other within the ocean. Ecosystem: the interacting biotic and abiotic factors of an environment. Biotic factors: living (ex. all living organisms in an ecosystem) Abiotic factors: non-living (ex. water, temp, sunlight, dissolved gases)

5 Ecosystem = biotic + abiotic factors

6 Energy in Ecosystems Energy in ecosystems is NOT cycled, it moves in only ONE DIRECTION. Food Chains: show the flow of energy through organisms in an ecosystem. Producer Primary consumer Top consumer

7 Producer Primary consumer Top consumer Food Chains: show the flow of energy through organisms in an ecosystem. One organism serves as the food for the next organism, and so on All food chains begin with a producer: 1. PRODUCERS: produce their own energy 2. PRIMARY CONSUMER: organism that eats producers (herbivores) 3. SECONDARY CONSUMER: organism that eats primary consumers (carnivore)

8 Energy in Ecosystems Arrows in a food chain represent the flow of energy. Arrows show that the second organism gets its energy from eating the first, and the third gets its energy from eating the second. Producers are AUTOTROPHS (make own food) Consumers are HETEROTROPHS (eat to get energy) Producer Primary consumer Top consumer

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10 Food Webs Food Web: many interconnected food chains in an ecosystem. Relationships in a food web vary depending on who is involved. Food webs show all things that one organism may eat, but also all the things it may be eaten by.

11 The penguin gets eaten by the killer whale. The plankton get eaten by the squid 11

12 The seals and fish get eaten by the killer whale. The squid, small fish and shrimp get eaten by the penguin. 12

13 Top consumers (predators) get eaten by NO ONE Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. Primary consumers eat producers (they are herbivores) Producers make their own food (are autotrophs) Decomposers break down and eat dead stuff!

14 Every organism in an ecosystem can be linked together by a food web! Including decomposers/scavengers (that eat dead stuff) like marine bacteria, starfish, crabs and shrimp! Primary consumers: eat producers! Main source of all energy! Top consumers: don t get eaten! Producers: make their own food! Secondary consumers: eat the primary consumers! Detritovore: eats dead stuff! 14

15 Marine Food Web Top Consumers Food Relationships Vocabulary Secondary Consumer Primary Consumer Producer 15

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17 Food Pyramids Organisms in a food chain can be arranged into a food pyramid. Food pyramids show the transfer of energy from producers to the top level consumers. Each level of a food pyramid is called a TROPHIC LEVEL.

18 Trophic Levels As energy moves up the pyramid to each trophic level, it is lost. Only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The most energy is at the bottom. The least energy is at the top.

19 Trophic Pyramid

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21 Biomass Pyramid Shows how many of each organism are at each trophic level.

22 Types of Eaters Producers: Makes its own food (plants, algae, some bacteria) Producers are also known as autotrophs They provide the MOST energy to an ecosystem since they get their energy directly from the sun. They are the first organism in a food chain.

23 Herbivores Herbivore: Eats producers. Also known as a primary consumers or heterotrophs (it is the first consumer in a food chain). Herbivores provide the 2 nd most amount of energy to an ecosystem (90% less energy than the producers!)

24 Carnivores Carnivores: Eat other consumers (other animals). Also known as secondary consumers (also heterotrophs) They provide the least amount of energy to an ecosystem (90% less than the herbivores!)

25 Omnivores Omnivores: Eat both producers and consumers (plants and animals)

26 Detritivores and Decomposers Detritovores: Eat dead stuff! Decomposers: Also eat dead stuff, but recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem.