Producers in the ecosystems

 


A consumer is an organism that cannot produce its own food but needs to eat plants or animals to obtain its energy. Some examples are dogs, fish, elephants, and humans.


What is the role of a producer in an ecosystem?


A producer is a plant or algae that can produce food for itself using the energy from the sun or chemicals found in the ocean. They are important because they are the basis of life in all food chains in the ecosystem.


What are 3 examples of a producer?


Producers are plants or bacteria that can make their own food. Some examples of this are grass, trees, lichens, bushes, algae, and kelp.


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Table of Contents

Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

What is a Producer in an Ecosystem?

What is a Consumer in an Ecosystem?

What is a Decomposer in an Ecosystem?

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Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

Every person, plant, or animal needs to take in energy to live and grow. This process is going on around all the time. For example, grass grows on a prairie. It is a producer and makes its food from the sun. The grass is consumed by the rabbit, which is a consumer and needs to eat something to obtain its energy. The rabbit is then eaten by a coyote, also a consumer. When the coyote dies, it is eaten and decomposed by worms and bacteria, which are decomposers, returning its nutrients into the food chain to be used again. Many different food chains interconnect, forming complex food webs in ecosystems.


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What is a Producer in an Ecosystem?

At the base level in all food, chains are the producers. Producers are also called autotrophs. Auto means self, while troph means food. They are organisms that create their food from inorganic molecules such as water, CO2, nitrogen, and phosphate. Most producers get their energy from the sun, which they use to change the inorganic molecules into complex carbohydrates like sugars and starches, which are used for food. Producers are the base or first level in all food chains. There are many more producers in a food chain than consumers or decomposers because only 10% of the energy from each energy level is passed on to the next energy level.


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What is a Consumer in an Ecosystem?

What is a Decomposer in an Ecosystem?

Food Chain Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

Lesson Summary

Video Transcript

The Circle of Life


Imagine the circle of life that takes place on an African savanna. The grass grows and is eaten by an antelope. The antelope is caught and eaten by a cheetah. The cheetah dies, is eaten by bacteria, and nutrients are returned to the soil. These nutrients are used by the grass as it continues to grow on the savannah. Each organism has a purpose. Like this example, there is a simple pattern of energy flow through organisms in any ecosystem. What are other examples you can think of?


There are three main groups to consider when looking at the circle of life in an ecosystem. The groups are producers, consumers, and decomposers. These groups are based on how the organism obtains food. Producers, consumers, and decomposers all interrelate in food chains and food webs and are dependent on one another for survival.


Producers


Producers make their own food. They do not have to obtain energy from other organisms. They obtain their energy from the sun and make food with that energy through the process of photosynthesis. Producers may also be called autotrophs. Most producers are plants, but there are some small organisms that produce food through photosynthesis as well. Producers are at the beginning of any simple food chain. On the African savanna, examples of producers would be any of the plants that grow there.


Consumers


Consumers cannot make food. They must find food and eat it to obtain energy. Consumers may also be called heterotrophs. There are primary and secondary consumers. Primary consumers  are the next link in a simple food chain. These are the plant eaters, or herbivores. They do not eat other animals. In addition to the antelope mentioned earlier, examples of primary consumers on the African savanna would be a wild boar or a giraffe.


Secondary consumers follow primary consumers in a simple food chain. Secondary consumers eat the primary consumers. Secondary consumers can be carnivores or omnivores. Carnivores eat only meat, while omnivores eat both meat and plants. In addition to the cheetah, secondary consumers on the African savanna can include a lion who kills and eats the giraffe, or a human who kills and eats the wild boar.


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Biome Definition, Types & Examples 6:13

Levels of Ecology | Overview & Examples 6:15

Producers, Consumers & Decomposers in an Ecosystem | Overview 3:27

3:32

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 Biotic Factor | Definition, Components & Influences

Abiotic Factors in an Ecosystem | Definition & Examples 3:44

Community Ecology | Definition, Structure & Examples 5:43

Ecosystem, Habitat & Niche | Definition, Differences & Examples 10:20

Energy Flow in an Ecosystem | Food Chain & Trophic Levels 9:33

Interspecific Competition | Definition, Types & Examples 10:02

Predator & Prey | Overview, Interactions & Types 9:23

Symbiosis | Definition, Types & Examples 8:29

Populations: Density, Survivorship and Life Histories 11:53

Dispersal, Colonization, and Island Biogeography 11:01

Ecological Succession | Definition, Process & Stages 10:38

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