describe the relationships within an ecosystem

RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN AN ECOSYSTEM

Food relations in an ecosystem
Food is a source of energy i.e. energy in chemical form. Food in an ecosystem exists as organic matter (biomass).
Biomass is the measure of the amount of living or organic material in an organism. It considers the dry weight (minus water and other fluids in the body).
Food relations is a common form of interaction which consists of eating (consuming) and being eaten (being consumed).
Within the relation there are different modes of feeding.
The modes of feeding depend on;
The nature of food and the feeding level. Green plants (Autotrophs) make their own food using sun light energy. They incorporate water and carbon dioxide into organic material (starch). This process is known as photosynthesis.
Some of the food energy is used by the plant for its own metabolic activities e.g. respiration. Some of the energy is lost during respiration in form of heat. The lost heat energy becomes part of the abiotic environment once it enters the atmosphere.
The balance of energy in the plant is therefore available to the next trophic level made up of the herbivores (primary consumers); omnivores- lower carnivores (secondary consumers) – top carnivores (tertiary consumers) – scavengers and decomposers.
Scavengers feed on carcasses of the animal killed by the carnivores. Primary consumers, carnivores, scavengers and decomposers are heterotrphs because they cannot manufacture their own food.
Trophic levels refer to energy levels (usually in terms of food). Within an eco system, green plants are therefore referred to as producers since energy enters the system through these plants from the sun.
NB, since the consumer does not eat all parts of the plant, it means that the available energy in plants is not all utilized.