Resource Manual on Integrated Production and Pest ... - julitoaligaen

<strong>Resource</strong> <strong>Manual</strong> on IPPM in Rice
World Education Philippines, Inc.
3) Third order predators eat the second order predators, e.g. snake
4) Carnivores - eat mainly the animals of the third order, e.g. eagle, tiger
Human beings are considered omnivores as they can eat plants and meat.
c. Decomposers are insects and microorganisms like fungi, bacteria, and virus,
which live by eating organic matter such as fallen leaves, dead body and dung
animals. They are scavenger insects sometimes called neutrals.
B. The Relationship of the Components of the Ecosystem
Organisms are interrelated with plants and animals. One important relationship
between plants and animals is the concept of food chain.
Plant receives energy from the sun and converts it to chemical energy through the
process of photosynthesis. Similarly, plants get food from the soil. In both cases of
energy transfer, from the sun and the soil to the plant, some energy lost as heat cannot
be used to make the living matter of the plant. This is also true when animals eat
plants. Typically only about 10% of the energy is effectively transferred at each link
of the food chain. This process can be represented by what is known as the food
pyramid.
All organisms that share the same general types of food chain are said to be at the
same trophic level. Thus, green plants (producers) occupy the first trophic level,
carnivores (secondary consumers), which eat the herbivores, occupy the third trophic
level, and the top or secondary carnivores (tertiary consumers) that eat each other, and
other carnivores occupy the fourth trophic level. The classification of species into
trophic levels is based on the function, rather than the species itself. Humans are
considered to be omnivores, for they eat plants and animals.
There are many food chains in the ecosystem that are interconnected with one another
because the organisms themselves are interrelated with one another. The complex
series of many interconnected food chains is called a food web. Food webs are an
important factor in understanding the importance of maintaining plant and animal
diversity. When plant and animal species are lost, breaks can occur in the food chain
and food web.
Links of Food Chain (www.knowledgebank.irri.org/IPM/appecology/PrintDoc/AppEcology.doc)
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