What is an ecosystem? This is the unity of all living and the environment. The ecosystem exists as a whole, everything is interconnected. In this article, we consider food interactions, namely what producers, consumers, and reducers are.
Food Chain Links
Let's start with the concept of biogeocenosis. This is the relationship between different types of organisms and their inanimate environment. So, in each biogeocenosis, four links are distinguished:
- Abiotic factors. These are all manifestations of inanimate nature, which in one way or another affect living organisms. An example is light, temperature, and so on.
- The producers. What is a producer? This is primarily a plant. They synthesize organic compounds from inorganic ones, some bacteria belong to the same category.
- Consumers (or in other words, consumers). These are organisms that feed on substances created by producers.
- Reducers (these are fungi, protozoa, multicellular, bacteria). They process dead organic compounds into inorganic ones.
What is a producer?
As mentioned earlier, these are organisms that process inorganic compounds into organic ones. What are producers in biology and what place do they occupy? To begin with, these
are autotrophs, green plants. What is a producer in the food chain? This is the very first link, it all starts with it. Whatever
food chain you come up with, it always starts with a plant.
Pond ecosystem
Consider the ecosystem of the pond, namely the biotic component. What is the producer in this ecosystem? Here, their role is played by algae, large plants and bottom flora. With an abundance of these organisms, water takes on a green hue.
Primary and secondary consumers are also distinguished. The former include organisms that eat plants and their debris; the latter include predators that feed on either primary consumers or each other.
The third inhabitants of this ecosystem are saprotrophs that live everywhere, but a special accumulation is observed at the bottom, where dead organisms are abundant, the processing of which they are engaged.
Laboratory ecosystem
Scientists create special laboratory ecosystems with the goal of a more detailed study of all phenomena. Of course, bioecosystems are also enough, but they are so large that it is not possible to fully study everything in detail. An example of such a laboratory system is an aquarium.
Food Chain Examples
Whatever ecosystem we take (natural or laboratory), it is always possible to make up the food chain. To compile it correctly, you need to know that it consists of three to five links. For example, an elementary food chain of three elements: cabbage - rabbit - man. Or a more complex chain: plant - insect - frog - eagle. You can create a lot of such examples.
The examples presented above are not the only possible ones. These are examples of pasture chains, but there are decomposition chains that start with dead organisms and end with small animals.
Substance cycle
As already mentioned, in nature everything is natural and everything is interconnected. If we study all the processes in more detail, we note that there is a vicious circle that cannot be broken. Here is an example: producers from inorganic substances synthesize organic ones using the energy of the sun (this is how solar energy turns into energy of chemical compounds). Heterotrophic organisms need these organic compounds to break down, resulting in the formation of inorganic compounds, and so on.
Everything in the world is natural, the existence of our planet will be impossible if some element disappears. Energy never disappears without a trace, it passes into other states.