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Understanding Trophic Levels: Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers, Lecture notes of Ecology and Environment

The concept of trophic levels and the roles of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary/apex consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem. It includes an activity to help learners understand how energy moves through the trophic levels.

What you will learn

  • What are the five primary classes of consumers in an ecosystem?
  • How does energy move through the trophic levels?
  • What are some examples of decomposers in a desert food web?

Typology: Lecture notes

2021/2022

Uploaded on 09/12/2022

gangesha
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Image&by :&Swiggity .Swag.YO LO.Bro& CC&BY-SA&4.0&
Trophic Training
A trophic level is a way of classifying where
an animal falls on the food web in their
environment. In other words, it describes
what type of foods a plant or animal eats and
where they fit in their environment. Today we
are looking at five primary classes of
consumer: producers, primary consumers,
secondary consumers, tertiary/apex
consumers, and decomposers. Most plants fall
in the producers category, as they
photosynthesize their own food from the
energy they get from the sun. Primary
consumers eat the plants, they are generally
herbivores like giraffes, cows, gazelle, and
similar creatures. Secondary consumers
tend to fit in the middle of their food webs,
like otters, foxes, and peccaries to name a few. Secondary consumers can be omnivores or carnivores
but are also prey for larger predators. Tertiary or apex consumers sit at the top of their food webs, and
have very few, if any, natural predators. A few examples of tertiary consumers are bald eagles,
Sumatran tigers, Mexican grey wolves, and alligators. Lastly, decomposers are animals that consume
and break down dead or dying organic materials. Vultures, cockroaches, and mushrooms are a few
examples of decomposers. Let's act out different behaviors that demonstrate how energy moves
through the trophic levels!
Time needed: 5-10 mins
What You’ll Need: All you need for this activity is your imagination!
Directions
1. First, pretend to be a mesquite tree (producer). With your feet together stretch your arms up,
and then to the sides as if you were growing branches, and absorbing energy from the sun.
2. Then the wind starts blowing, wave your branches (arms) around as if the wind is blowing. The
wind has blown some seed pods from your branches.
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Image by: Swiggity.Swag.YOLO.Bro CC BY-SA 4.

Trophic Training

A trophic level is a way of classifying where an animal falls on the food web in their environment. In other words, it describes what type of foods a plant or animal eats and where they fit in their environment. Today we are looking at five primary classes of consumer: producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary/apex consumers, and decomposers. Most plants fall in the producers category, as they photosynthesize their own food from the energy they get from the sun. Primary consumers eat the plants, they are generally herbivores like giraffes, cows, gazelle, and

similar creatures. Secondary consumers tend to fit in the middle of their food webs, like otters, foxes, and peccaries to name a few. Secondary consumers can be omnivores or carnivores but are also prey for larger predators. Tertiary or apex consumers sit at the top of their food webs, and have very few, if any, natural predators. A few examples of tertiary consumers are bald eagles, Sumatran tigers, Mexican grey wolves, and alligators. Lastly, decomposers are animals that consume and break down dead or dying organic materials. Vultures, cockroaches, and mushrooms are a few examples of decomposers. Let's act out different behaviors that demonstrate how energy moves through the trophic levels!

Time needed: 5-10 mins

What You’ll Need: All you need for this activity is your imagination!

Directions

  1. First, pretend to be a mesquite tree (producer). With your feet together stretch your arms up, and then to the sides as if you were growing branches, and absorbing energy from the sun.
  2. Then the wind starts blowing, wave your branches (arms) around as if the wind is blowing. The wind has blown some seed pods from your branches.
  1. Now, pretend to be a kangaroo rat (primary consumer), and while hopping around like a kangaroo, gather up the imaginary seedpods that fell off your tree.
  2. Spend a minute looking for a place to hide the imaginary seeds you have gathered.
  3. Now, imagine you are a rattlesnake (secondary consumer) that smelled that kangaroo rat. Get on your belly and crawl around, while flicking your tongue out to smell the kangaroo rat.
  4. When you think you are close, pull your head back, rear up, and strike at that kangaroo rat.
  5. Imagine you are a bald eagle (tertiary or apex consumer) that spots that rattlesnake. With your arms (wings) outstretched, slowly circle your rattlesnake. Then when the snake comes out in the open, swoop down and try to pluck it up with your sharp talons (toes).
  6. Imagine you are a California condor (Decomposer) with a ten-foot wingspan. With great big exaggerated flaps of your wings slowly descend to the remains of the rattlesnake that the eagle leaves behind and clean its skeleton for your meal.