Lecture 9 Flashcards
What is a food chain ?
Transfer of food energy from green plants (producers) through a series of organisms with repeated eating and being eaten is called a food chain
What each step of the food chain is called ?
TROPHIC LEVEL
In which form the lost energy turn to ?
Heat energy and it is not available to the next trophic level
What are the types of trophic levels in a food chain ?
1)autotrophs
2)heterotrophs
3)saprptrophs
What are the autotrophs ?
They are the producers of food for all other organisms of the ecosystem.
What are the heterotrophs ?
which are generally animals feeding on other organisms.
Who are the PRIMARY CONSUMERS ?
Herbivores
Who are the SECONDARY CONSUMER ?
(secondary consumer) include the animals which feed on the herbivorous animals. (Carnivores)
Who is the TERTIARY CONSUMER ?
include the animals, which feed on the primary carnivores. For e.g., wolf, peacock, owl, etc
Who is the QUATERNARY CONSUMERS ?
Tertiary carnivores (Quaternary consumers) These are not eaten by any other animals. The larger carnivores, which cannot be preyed upon further are called top carnivores
Who are the saprotrophs?
They are also called decomposers or reducers. They break down the complex organic compounds of dead matter (of plants and animals).
Do decomposers ingest their food ?
Decomposers absorb a part of the decomposition products for their own nourishment. The remaining substances are added as minerals to the substratum (mineralization). Released minerals are reused (utilized) as nutrients by the plants (producers).
What is a foo web ?
food web is a network interconnected food chains existing in an ecosystem.
Which one is more releastic fod chain or food web ?
Food web
