General Principles
Food Web
A food web is basically all of the interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.
Producers
Organisms that make their own food (Plants like grass and trees)
Primary Consumers
(Herbivores) Deer, Cow, Buffalo
Secondary Consumers
(Carnivores that eat Herbivores) Fox, crocodile
Tertiary Consumers
(carnivores that eat other carnivores) Lion, tiger
Decomposers
Break down matter (Bacteria, Fungi).
Trophic Pyramid
A trophic pyramid illustrates the energy transfer within ecosystems from one trophic level to the next
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Energy can never go from a higher trophic level to a lower trophic level. As energy is passed on to the next trophic level, only about ten percent of that energy is passed on. This is due to 90% of that energy being lost in the form of heat.
General Ecological Succession
The process by which the composition of species and habitat in an area change over time. Steadily, these communities replace each other until a climax community -like a mature forest- is reached, or until a disturbance -like a fire- occurs.
Primary Succession
The ecological succession of vegetation that occurs in passing from barren earth or water to a climax community.
Secondary Succession
Secondary succession is a process started by an event (e.g. forest fire. hurricane, harvesting, etc.) that reduces an already established ecosystem to a smaller population of species. Secondary succession occurs in preexisting soil while primary succession usually occurs in a place lacking soil.