FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEM
Autotrophs: These are organisms that do not rely on other organisms for food. These organisms include green plants and some bacteria. They play the role of the producers in the functional ecosystem.
Heterotrophs: These are organisms, mainly animals which cannot manufacture their food but depend directly or indirectly on plants. They play the role of the consumer.
Decomposers: Decomposers are fungi or bacteria that live saprophytically by feeding on dead remains of plants, animals, and organisms, leading to or breaking down of organic matter to produce soluble nutrients that are absorbed by plants.
Food Chain is a linear feeding relationship involving the transfer of energy through food from the producers to the consumers
Food Web is a complex feeding relationship amongst organisms in the same environment with two or more interrelated food chains.
Trophic level is the feeding level of each stage in a food chain or food web
Energy Flow Along Trophic Levels
The pyramid of number refers to the number of individual organisms at each trophic level which decreases progressively from the first to the last trophic level in a food chain.
The pyramid of energy refers to the amount of energy present in the living organisms at the different trophic levels of a food chain
The pyramid of biomass refers to the total mass of living matter in each trophic level which decreases progressively from the first to the last trophic level in a food chain
There are Principles that govern the trophic levels and the pyramids
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