Food Webs and the Carbon Cycle

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Food Webs & The Carbon Cycle Thursday, May 20, 2010


All energy on Earth comes from the sun.

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All energy on Earth comes from the sun. Plants need light for photosynthesis. What else do they need?

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co

2

cross section of a leaf

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co

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• During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and

sunlight to create fuel-glucose and other sugars-they store as cellulose and starch. • This process forms the foundation of the biological

carbon cycle. cross section of a leaf

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Thursday, May 20, 2010


In the food chain, plants are the producers. Thursday, May 20, 2010


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Consumers are animals that cannot make their own food. First level consumers feed on producers. They are herbivores or vegetarians. Thursday, May 20, 2010


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Second level consumers feed on first level consumers.

predators; the first level consumers they eat are called prey. Second level consumers are known as

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Third level consumers feed on second level consumers. Consumers that eat both plants (producers) and animals (other consumers) are called

omnivores.

Consumers that eat only animals (other consumers) are called

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carnivores.


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Decomposers

break down waste products and dead organisms for food and release nutrients like carbon and nitrogen back into the soil. Thursday, May 20, 2010


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Scavengers and detritivores also feed on dead and decaying matter, but they leave plenty behind for the true decomposers to clean up.

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Energy flows through ecosystems from the sun, to producers, to consumers. 100

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0 Producer

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Herbivore

Carnivore 2째Carnivore


Energy flows through ecosystems from the sun, to producers, to consumers. • Only 10% of the energy stored in an organism gets transferred from one trophic level (from producer to 1°consumer to 2°consumer etc...) to the next. • Producing animal-based food is much less efficient than the harvesting of grains, vegetables, legumes, seeds and fruits.

100

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0 Producer

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Herbivore

Carnivore 2°Carnivore


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Nearly 1/2 of the total amount of water used annually in the U.S. goes to feed and provide drinking water for cattle and livestock. Thursday, May 20, 2010

It takes 16

pounds of grain to make 1 pound of beef.


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Your dinner impacts our planet. Thursday, May 20, 2010


Food Web

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Food Web

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Land + water = crops Land + water + crops = livestock


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"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances of survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein

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Thursday, May 20, 2010


What do you think?

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