1.1 Quick Notes on Biotic vs. Abiotic and Food Chain
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Biotic - means living; it was living or was part of something living
Abiotic - non-living factors
Biotic includes the Kingdoms of living things
1. Plantae - plants
2. Animalia - animals
3. Monera - bacteria
4. Fungi - mushrooms, mold, mildew
5. Protista - mostly single-celled organisms
Abiotic includes temperature, oxygen & dissolved oxygen (D.O.), nutrients (like
Nitrogen in fertilizers & feces), chemicals, minerals, rain (all precipitation), wind,
salinity, pH, etc.
FOOD CHAIN - what eats what
a human eats a cow,
a cow eats grass
The grass is the PRODUCER - it photosynthesizes to produce its own food (as
sugar called glucose)
The cow is the FIRST-LEVEL CONSUMER - it eats the producer.
The human eats the cow - he is the SECOND-LEVEL CONSUMER - he eats the
first-level consumer.
NARRAGANSETT BAY FOOD CHAIN
food chains start with ENERGY from the sun
phytoplankton ( a plant) is the PRODUCER (it photosynthesizes to produce its
own food)
zooplankton (ex, larval crab) eats the phytoplankton - it is the FIRST-LEVEL
CONSUMER
an oyster eats the zooplankton or larval crab - it is the SECOND-LEVEL
CONSUMER
a human eats the oyster - he is a THIRD-LEVEL CONSUMER.