FROM SPECIES TO ECOSYSTEMS
Lesson in Environmental Science
ENGAGE - Activate your prior knowledge
● What is a species?
● In what ways do species connect or relate with other
species? Explain your answer.
● How does energy flow through ecosystems?
ENGAGE - Make the targets your guide
● At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
○ characterize the levels of biological organization;
○ describe trophic levels, food chains and food
webs and the energy pyramid.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Level of Organization Description
Biosphere The biosphere makes up all parts of Earth where life
exists. It includes ecosystems, communities, and
organisms, and extends from the deepest oceans to
the highest mountains.
Ecosystems Ecosystems consist of both living (biotic) and non-living
(abiotic) components in a specific area. They involve
interactions among organisms and their physical
environment.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Level of Organization Description
Community A community includes all the different species living in
a particular area. These species interact with one
another, forming complex relationships within the
community.
Population A population consists of individuals of the same
species living in a given area. Members of a
population can interbreed and share common
genetic traits.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Level of Organization Description
Organism An organism is an individual living entity, such as a
plant, animal, or microorganism. It's the fundamental
unit of life and exhibits various biological processes.
Organ System Organ systems are groups of organs working together
to perform specific functions in an organism. Examples
include the digestive system and the circulatory
system.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Level of Organization Description
Organ Organs are distinct structures composed of different
tissues, each with a specialized function. Examples are
the heart, lungs, and liver.
Tissue Tissues are groups of the same cells that work together
to perform a specific function. Muscle, nervous, and
epithelial tissues are examples.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Level of Organization Description
Cells Cells are the basic structural and functional units of
life. They carry out essential processes and contain
genetic information necessary for growth and
reproduction.
Tissue Tissues are groups of similar cells that work together to
perform a specific function. Muscle, nervous, and
epithelial tissues are examples.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Level of Organization Description
Organelles Organelles are specialized structures within cells that
perform specific tasks. Examples include the nucleus,
mitochondria, and chloroplasts.
Molecule Molecules are groups of atoms bonded together. They
can be simple, like water (H₂O), or complex, like DNA.
Atom Atoms are the smallest units of matter that retain the
properties of an element. They combine to form
molecules, which are the building blocks of all
substances.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● RECALLING THE LEVELS…
○ A population is made up of all the individuals of a
species that are present in one location at the same
time. A biological community is comprised of the
collective populations of organisms that reside within a
specific geographic region and engage in interactions
with one another. An ecological system, commonly
referred to as an ecosystem, consists of a collection of
organisms and their surrounding physical environment.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● RECALLING THE LEVELS…
○ The productivity of an
ecosystem, defined as
the quantity of biomass
generated within a
specific area over a
specific timeframe, is
widely recognized as
an essential
characteristic of
ecosystems.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● During energy exchange in ecosystems,
○ Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to
produce sugars (food) and other organic molecules
during photosynthesis.
○ Consumers use oxygen and break down sugars during
cellular respiration.
○ Plants also carry out respiration, but during the day, if
light, water, and CO2 are available, they have a net
production of O2 and carbohydrates.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● Photosynthesis is described as primary productivity
because it is the basis for almost all other growth in an
ecosystem.
● In ecology, the term "primary productivity" describes the
rate at which biomass is produced from inorganic
molecules. In this case, inorganic minerals are primarily
converted into organic biomass.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● A given ecosystem may have very high total productivity,
but if decomposers consume organic material as rapidly
as it is formed, the net primary productivity will be low.
● In ecosystems, some consumers feed on a single species,
but most consumers have multiple food sources.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● TROPHIC LEVELS
○ Trophic levels are hierarchical ecosystem levels that
depict how energy and nutrients move through
different organisms. The organism's place in the food
chain determines each level.
○ Trophic levels classify organisms based on their
positions in the energy pyramid. The primary levels
include:
■ Producers - the autotrophic organisms (plants,
algae, etc.) that capture sunlight and convert it
into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● TROPHIC LEVELS
■ Primary Consumers (First-Order Consumers) are the
herbivores that feed directly on producers for
energy and nutrients.
■ Secondary Consumers (Second-Order
Consumers)are the carnivores that feed on
herbivores or other primary consumers.
■ Tertiary Consumers (Third-Order Consumers)are the
carnivores that feed on other carnivores, often at
the top of the food chain.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● TROPHIC LEVELS
■ Decomposers are the bacteria and fungi that
break down dead organic matter, recycling
nutrients back into the ecosystem.
● FOOD CHAIN
■ A food chain is a simplification of how energy
moves through an ecosystem. It shows how energy
can only go in one direction from one organism to
another. For example:
■ Grass (Producer) → Rabbit (Primary Consumer) →
Fox (Secondary Consumer)
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
A TROPHIC LEVEL
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EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
A TROPHIC LEVEL
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EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● FOOD WEB
■ A food web is a more precise and complete
illustration of the relationships between the sources
of food in an ecosystem. It explains how
complicated interactions between several species
may be. For instance, food webs depict the
complex balance of nature by capturing the reality
that organisms frequently have several food
sources and predators.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● In the marine food web, special producers are the tiny
microscopic plants called phytoplankton. Since the water
is the home for these special tiny plants; it is also the home
for tiny microscopic animals called zooplankton. And of
course, zooplanktons eat phytoplankton.
● A food chain shows what eats what in a particular
habitat. The arrows between each item in the chain
always point in the direction of energy flow - in other
words, from the food to the feeder.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
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EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
A FOOD WEB
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EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● A food web is formed when separate food chains are
linked together.
● The primary energy source for the majority of communities
of living things is the Sun.
● Considering that they only rely on sunshine, water, carbon
dioxide, and minerals for nutrition, plants are producers
(autotrophs).
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● A food chain's complexity is influenced by both the
number of species present and the physical features of an
ecosystem.
● Both the trophic level at which they feed and the kind of
food they consume can be used to identify an organism.
● Plants are consumed by herbivores, animal flesh is
consumed by carnivores, and both plant and animal
matter is consumed by omnivores.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● Parasites, scavengers, and decomposers remove and
recycle the dead bodies and waste products of others and
hence, are called recyclers feeding on all the trophic levels.
● Scavengers, such as vultures, clean up dead bodies of larger
animals. Detritivores, such as ants and beetles, consume
litter, debris, and manure, while decomposer organisms, such
as fungi and bacteria, complete the final breakdown and
recycling of organic materials.
● These organisms are important because their activity unleash
the nutrients in the organic compounds of dead organisms
and discarded body wastes, and are made available to
successive generations of organisms.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● The Energy Pyramid has a broad base of primary
producers and only a few individuals in the highest trophic
levels.
○ Also known as the trophic pyramid, ecological
pyramid, or Eltonian pyramid.
○ The energy pyramid is a diagram that shows how
energy moves through the various trophic levels of an
ecosystem. It highlights the effectiveness of energy
transfer within the ecosystem by showing the decline
in available energy as it rises through the levels.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
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EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● Energy Flow in Energy Pyramid
○ Energy enters the ecosystem as sunlight and is
captured by producers through photosynthesis.
○ Producers convert solar energy into chemical
energy (food) that is consumed by herbivores
(primary consumers).
○ Energy then moves to higher trophic levels as
consumers feed on other organisms.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
● Energy Loss in Energy Pyramid
○ Only a fraction of the energy from one trophic level
is transferred to the next.
○ Energy is lost primarily as heat during metabolic
processes (respiration) and through waste
production.
○ As a result, the available energy decreases as it
moves up the pyramid.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
ENERGY PYRAMID
● In a food chain, energy is lost in each step of the chain in
two forms: first by the organism producing heat and doing
work, and second, by the food that is not completely
digested or absorbed.
● As food is passed along the food chain, only about 10% of
the energy is transferred to the next level. From one level to
the next about 90% of the energy used by the previous level
is lost. This means that there has to be a lot more organisms
at the lower levels than at the upper levels. The number of
organisms at each level makes a pyramid shape and is
called a food pyramid.
EXPLORE - Explore the concepts and learn
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EXPLAIN - Construct your learning
As a group of 5 members of your choice, create 2 graphic
organizers in order to:
● characterize the levels of biological organization in
one sentence each.
● describe trophic levels, food chains and food webs
and the energy pyramid in no more than three
sentences each.
You may choose from any of these types from the following
URL: https://visme.co/blog/graphic-organizer/
Think about this:
