Energy Diagrams in an Ecosystem

Flow means to move Energy Flow Energy flows from producer to consumer to decomposer by matter

Food Chain A diagram that represents a possible pathway through which energy and matter flow through an ecosystem Arrows: providing energy  receiving that energy Prey  Predator berries → mice → black bear

Food Chain: Corn Grasshopper Field Mouse Hawk

Food Web: Food web represents multiple pathways through which energy and matter flow through an ecosystem.

Trophic Level Trophic Levels: the feeding positions in a food chain or web 1st level- Producers 2nd Level and up- Consumers Final level- Decomposers

Trophic Levels

Food Chain Producer (trapped sunlight & stored food) QuaternaryConsumer Tertiary consumer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Producer (trapped sunlight & stored food)

Food Web

TUESDAY

Energy Loss

Launch Grass  Grasshopper  Frog  Snake  Owl Label each organism by its trophic level What do the arrows represent? Predict the effect on Grass if snakes are removed from the population. Predict! From this food chain, which type of organism will have the greatest number of individuals? Why do you think that?

Energy Pyramids and Graphs diagrams that shows the energy level at each trophic level the higher the level, the less energy

Predation Predation is the process in which one organism (the predator) hunts and kills another organism (the prey) for food.

Producer  Consumer  Decomposer Remember In a food chain/web, the arrows represent which way the energy is flowing Prey  Predator Producer  Consumer  Decomposer

Energy is “lost” Thinking ahead Why are there more organisms at lower trophic levels (producers, primary consumers) than there are at upper trophic levels (tertiary and quaternary consumers)? Energy is “lost”

Law of Conservation of Matter Matter, the substance all things are made of, cannot be created/destroyed, although it may be rearranged in space, and changed into different types of particles

Why we say “lost” Matter cannot be created or destroyed but it can be changed If matter is changed into a form of energy that an organism can’t use, it’s said to be “lost” from an ecosystem For instance we can’t use solar or thermal energy. We need chemical energy (ATP)

(chemical energy  thermal energy) Energy Loss At EACH trophic level only 10% of chemical energy is passed on. The remaining 90% is “lost” as heat (chemical energy  thermal energy)

Energy Loss Because of this, there is only roughly enough energy in an ecosystem to make it about a tertiary level

Pyramid of Energy Heat Heat Heat Heat 0.1% Consumers 1% Consumers 100% Producers Heat decomposers feed at each level.

Energy Graph Tertiary Consumer Secondary Consumer Primary Consumer Producer