Review• Write the following terms in your notes:1. Producer2. Primary Consumer3. Secondary Consumer4. Tertiary Consumer5. Herbivore6. Carnivore7. Predator8. Prey

• Look at the food chain and write down which animal/plant fits each term!

1. Producer – Flower

2. Primary Consumer – Caterpillar

3. Secondary Consumer – Frog

4. Tertiary Consumer – Snake

5. Herbivore – Caterpillar

6. Carnivore – Frog, Snake, and Owl

7. Predator – Frog, Snake, and Owl

8. Prey – Caterpillar, Frog, and Snake

Decomposers

Decomposers

• Food chains end with decomposers!

• Decomposers eat the leftovers that the scavengers leave behind!

Decomposers

• Decomposers break down plant and animal material.

• What would happen if there were no decomposers?– Waste material

would pile sky high withina few months!

– 20 ft. of flies in a month!

Decomposers

• Some decomposers are very small while others are quite large!

3 Important Types of Decomposers

1. Beautiful Bacteria

2. Fabulous Fungi

3. Incredible Insects

Beautiful Bacteria

• Bacteria are the smallest living organisms!

• They can be found in the air, water, and soil.

• There are more bacteria in a spoonful of soil than there are humans on earth!

Fabulous Fungi

• Fungi cannot produce their own food because they do not have chloroplasts.– They must get nutrients from dead matter.

• Some fungi are so small we cannot see them!

Incredible Insects

• Dung Beetles– Gain nutrients from manure of

herbivores and omnivores.

• Earthworms

– Eat scraps of fruits and plants and recycle nutrients back into the cycle.

– Their waste is full of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium!

VIDEO

Scavenger or Decomposer?

• Scavengers eat dead organisms too but decomposers break them down to put nutrients back into the soil.

What conditions do decomposers need to do their

job?• Like all living organisms, decomposers

need :

1. Warmth (Sun)

2. Air (Oxygen)

3. Water

4. Food (dead organic matter!)