1. Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem
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Kelp Forest Organisms
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

2. Bacteria CO2 H2O (simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules) O2
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules) O2
dead and decaying organisms
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
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3. Rockfish CO2 O2 H2O (simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules) O2
algae, plankton
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
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4. Harbor Seal
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules) O2
fish, sea urchins
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
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5. Sea Urchin CO2 H2O (simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules) O2
live or dead and decaying kelp, cyanobacteria
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
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6. Zooplankton O2
phytoplankton
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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7. California Sheephead Fish
sea urchins, lobsters, crab
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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8. Sea Otter CO2 H2O (simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
bat stars, sea urchins, rockfish, abalone
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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9. Bat Star CO2 O2 H2O (simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
kelp, dead algae, cyanobacteria
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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10. Pacific Herring
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules) O2
zooplankton
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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11. Abalone O2 CO2 H2O (complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
kelp
(complex carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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12. Acid Kelp (type of algae)
CO2
Acid Kelp (type of algae)
energy from the sun
CO2
H2O O2 O2
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
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C6H12O6
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

13. Giant Kelp (type of algae)
CO2
Giant Kelp (type of algae)
energy from the sun
CO2
H2O O2 O2
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
Image retrieved April, 2016 from
C6H12O6
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

14. Phytoplankton O2 CO2 H2O CO2 O2 H2O
energy from the sun
CO2
H2O O2 O2
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
Image retrieved April, 2016 from
C6H12O6

15. Cyanobacteria O2 CO2 H2O CO2 O2 H2O
energy from the sun
CO2
H2O O2 O2
CO2
H2O
waste
(simple carbon- and nitrogen containing molecules)
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
Image retrieved April, 2016 from
C6H12O6
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

16. Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
Ecosystem Events
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

17. CO2
Event One
Brown moths in California are killed with pesticides. California apple growers have started to find brown moths in their orchards. The brown moths feast on the apples, destroying the crop. To eliminate this moth from the orchards, farmers have decided to spray pesticides over the orchards every night for one week. Once on the trees, the pesticide kills the moths, but it is also eventually absorbed into the soil. In the soil, the pesticide reaches the groundwater, which joins with local rivers that run into the Pacific Ocean, the location of the kelp forest. In the ocean the pesticide kills phytoplankton and zooplankton.
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From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

18. CO2
Event Two
A new housing development is built along the Pacific Coast. A town on the coast of the Pacific Ocean approved building permits five years ago. After the houses were built, the land along the coast started to erode in spots, transporting fine grains of soil, or sediment, into the ocean waters. This sediment clouded small areas of coastal waters where there were kelp forests. When waters inhabited by a giant kelp ecosystem become cloudy, smaller plants on the ocean floor, such as acid kelp, do not receive enough sunlight, and they die. The sea urchins are unable to filter the sediment and die as well.
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

19. CO2
Event Three
Harbor seals are dying off. A disease sweeps through the harbor seal population, killing a majority of them. Without the seals to hunt them, the rockfish and sea urchin populations begin to grow unchecked. Although the sea otters have plenty of food, there are not enough of them to eat the extra rockfish and sea urchins. Sea otter females do not normally give birth to more than one pup a year.
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to

20. CO2
Event Four
Nitrogen compounds in runoff water cause algal blooms. Fertilizers used to treat lawns and farmland have introduced nitrogen compounds into groundwater. These nitrogen compounds travel to the ocean in the groundwater and release excess nitrogen into ocean water. Nitrogen is a key nutrient for cyanobacteria and phytoplankton, and, when there is an unusually large amount of it, cyanobacteria and phytoplankton grow rapidly. This period of rapid growth causes an algal bloom, and a mat of blue-green algae can be seen covering patches of the ocean’s surface. The mat of algae reduces the amount of sunlight that can penetrate to the depth of the ocean below.
Information for slide from Lab-aids Sample SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to
From Lab-aids SGI Ecology Activity 7: Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem. For more information or to purchase, please go to