Starter What is a trophic level? Put the following in order of energy flow and label them with the appropriate trophic level and if they are a producer or consumer.

Trophic Level: each step in a food chain or food web

Energy Pyramids Ecology

What happens to the energy in the food that you eat when it gets into your body?

I can compare the amount of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid. Objective I can compare the amount of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.

The flow of energy through an ecosystem begins with primary production

When an herbivore eats a plant, the energy in the plant tissues is used by the herbivore. But how much of that energy is transferred to the herbivore?

Ecological Pyramids Ecological Pyramid: a graphic model that shows the amount of energy or matter available in each trophic level. Each trophic level is represented by a stacked block of the pyramid The amount of energy available is depicted as the width of the block Because producers contain the most available energy their block is the widest and on the bottom Less energy/matter is available as you go up the pyramid

Ecological Pyramids Ecologists recognize three different types of ecological pyramids: Energy Pyramid Biomass Pyramid Pyramid of Numbers

Energy Pyramid Only part of the energy that is stored in one trophic level is passed on to the next level. Only about 10% of energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level – this is called the rule of 10.

Energy Pyramid The diagram shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level. Organisms use energy for life processes (movement, respiration, reproduction). The rest is lost as heat.

Biomass Pyramid Biomass: the total amount of living tissue within a trophic level. A biomass pyramid represents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem.

Biomass Pyramid The diagram shows the amount of living organic matter at each tropic level. Typically, the greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid.

Pyramid of Numbers In a pyramid of numbers, each level represents the number of individual organism consumed by the level above it.

Remember: Because there is energy loss at each step in a food chain, it takes many producers to support just a few carnivores in a community.

Energy Pyramid Dilution Lab