Organisms that get energy from eating plants Organisms that get energy and nutrient requirements from eating animal tissue Herbivores Vs. carnivores Eat plants and animals Omnivores organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms, and in doing so carry out the natural process of decomposition. decomposers More realistic path through an ecosystem made of many food chains Food Web Captures energy from the bonds of inorganic molecules such as Hydrogen Sulfide Chemoautotroph

Generally, only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. How much energy flows through the trophic levels of a food web? Why does the distribution of available energy decrease as the food web moves from primary consumers to secondary and tertiary consumers? Metabolism and other processes at each trophic level are not 100% efficient…loose energy to environment as heat. They break down carbon from decaying organisms and release the carbon as carbon dioxide. In the carbon cycle, what purpose do the bacteria serve? Simple (one) energy path through an ecosystem Food Chain Shows the decrease in the amount of available energy at each level of the food chain. Energy Pyramid