INTERACTIONS 2. Detrital food chain – it begins with a detritus.

How does energy become transferred from one Detritus is a food for soil organisms such as earthworms
organisms to another? and fungi.

Trophic level – composed of all the organisms that feed at

a particular link in a food chain.

Producers > Consumer (Herbivore) >

Consumer (Carnivore) > Consumer (Omnivore)
1st trophic level > 2nd trophiclevel >
Food Chain – single pathway of feeding relationship 3rd trophic level > 4th trophic level
between organisms.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1. Arrow symbolizes the feeding relationship
2. at the same time, it represents the energy being
transferred from one organisms to another

10% rule
Only 10% of the total amount of energy absorbed by an
organisms is readily passed to another organism. It is
because the other 90% is being used to other life processes
such as respiration, defecation, reproduction, excretion,
growth and development etch.
Food Web – various interconnecting food chains
Ecological pyramid – representation of the amount of
energy being passed from the food chain.

A pyramid has a broad base meaning

the amount of energy is high. As the
trophic level is increasing, the amount
of energy is decreasing.

Two types of food chain

1. Grazing food chain – it begins with a producer
Autotrophs – require only inorganic nutrients and outside
energy source to produce organic materials for self use or
community use.
Photoautotrophs – uses light
Chemoautotrophs – uses chemicals

Heterotrophs – need a preformed source of organic

nutrients.
Carnivore – feeds on flesh of animals
Herbivore – feeds on plants or algae
Omnivore – feeds on both plants and flesh
Decomposers – breaks down dead organic matter
Detritus – remains of dead organisms