Food Webs in the Backyard and
Beyond
What is the difference between a
population, community, and
ecosystem?
• Population: a bunch of the same species living
in the same area
– Example?
• Community: a bunch of populations living in
the same area
– Example?
• Ecosystem: a community plus abiotic (nonliving) factors
Today you’re going to describe the
community in your backyard
• Go outside….
– Look, listen, and write down all the living
organisms you can find.
How could we organize species in a
food web?
By feeding relationships:
Producer: an organism, such as a plant, that
converts light energy to chemical energy.
Consumer: organisms that obtain energy by
consuming other organisms.
Decomposer: a consumer that gets its energy
from the remains and waste products of
organisms.
Keystone Species
Keystone Species