Levels of Organization and Energy

Producers and Consumers

The organisms who use direct sunlight to produce their food are known as the producers, the process used is commonly referred to as photosynthesis. While most producers are plants, there are certain bacteria and algae that are also producers. Some examples come in the form of the grass on the prairie, the algae in the ocean, and the cordgrass of the sea.

The organisms that consume other organisms are classified as consumers. They are unable to get their energy from the sun, so they must consume the producers to get the necessary energy for survival. There are many classes of consumers, herbivores, omnivore, and carnivores. Herbivores eat only plants, herbivores eat meat and plants, and the carnivores only eat meat.

Decomposers

Organisms that get their necessary energy from breaking down dead organisms are known as decomposers . Well known examples of these organisms are known as bacteria and fungi. They remove the stored energy from the caracas of the dead animal. They also produce very basic things such as, water and carbon dioxide. That of which is produced can be used by other living things. I guess it could be said that they are nature's recyclers.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Food chains are a diagram that could be used to show the flow of energy between animals. Simple food chains are rare, as there is almost never one source of food for an organism.

Food webs are a bit of a different tale, a food web shows detailed feeding relations between different organisms in an ecosystem. The two food webs that are primarily used are that of the land and water organisms.

Energy Pyramids

An energy pyramid is sort of the opposite of a food chain or web. An energy pyramid is a diagram used to show the loss of energy in an ecosystem. The pyramid has a small top and a large base. There is less energy available at the higher levels because only the energy that was stored by the eaten organism can be passed on to the next level of the pyramid.