Tuesday April 28, 2015
LT: I can identify different types of organisms

Predators: ›Organisms that live by killing and eating other animals. Carnivores!

›Example: bears, wolves, humans

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*They can be CONSUMERS

›Keystone Predators: A few predators can control the distribution and population of large numbers of prey species.

›Example: A single mountain lion controls hundreds of deer, elk, rabbits, birds, etc. 

 

Producers: Organisms that don’t depend on other organisms for the matter and energy they need.

›They make their own food from the environment. (Sunlight, chemical reactions, etc.) But they too, need food to survive.

›Other organisms depend on them for survival.

›Ex: Trees, flowers, sea weeds

 

Consumers: 

›Organisms that cannot make their own food.

› All the animals, fungi, protists, and bacteria in the world that depend on producers or other consumers for their matter and energy.

›Can be decomposers!!!

 

 Decomposers: 

›Decomposers and scavengers break down dead plants and animals.

›They also break down the waste (poop) of other organisms.

›Decomposers are very important for any ecosystem

›Plants get essential nutrients, and without them, dead matter and waste would pile up.

›Ex: worms, flies, wasps, cockroaches

 

Omnivores: 

›Eats BOTH plants and meat.

›Some omnivores will hunt and eat their food, like carnivores eating herbivores, and other omnivores.

›Some others are scavengers, and will eat dead matter.

›Many will eat eggs from other animals.

›Omnivores eat plants, but not all kinds of plants. Omnivores can't digest some of the substances in grains or other plants that do not produce fruit. They can eat fruits and vegetables, though.

›Ex: Pigs are omnivores, so they would be just as happy eating an apple, or the worm inside the apple.

›Ex: People, bears, chickens, flies, cockroaches 

 

Carnivores: 

›Meat eater. 95 % of its diet.

›An organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements mostly from a diet of animal tissue, flesh, either through predation or scavenging.  

›Ex: dogs, foxes,, raccoons, cats

 

Herbivores: 

Plant eater, 95 % of its diet.

*An animal that mostly feeds on grass and other plants.

*Many herbivores have special digestive systems that let them digest all kinds of plants, including grasses.

›Herbivores need a lot of energy to stay alive. Many of them, like cows and sheep, eat all day long.

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› There need to be LOTS of plants in your ecosystem to support your herbivores.

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›Ex: Cows, rabbits, moose, mice, bee, worms