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Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Spring 2018
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Question Why are food chains generally limited to three or four levels? ANSWER There is not enough energy at the top of a food chain to support another trophic level.
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Energy Flow In Ecosystems
Energy flows through an ecosystem in ONE direction From the sun or chemical compounds To autotrophs (aka producers) Then to various heterotrophs (aka consumers)
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Food Chains Food chains-
Shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem in a series of steps Shows which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten. Each organism in a food chain represents a feeding step or trophic level. The feeding step represents the transfer of matter and energy,
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Examples of a Marine Food Chain
Zooplankton Phytoplankton Fish Squid Shark
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Food webs- models that show all possible feeding relationships.
Shows relationships at each trophic level in a community. Links all food chains in an ecosystem together. Ecological pyramid- diagram that shows various amounts of energy or matter at each trophic level. There are 3 different types
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Energy Pyramid Snake 10KCal Mice 100 KCal Insects 1,000KCal
Producers 10,000 KCal
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Biomass Pyramid Human 80 grams Chickens 800 grams 8,000 grams Grain
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Pyramid of Numbers 1 Fox 26 Birds 250 Grasshoppers 3000 Grasses
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