Food Chains and Food Webs

The energy within an ecosystem is transformed and transferred between organisms of the ecosystem, but is never lost. Food Webs • Food webs describe the organisms in a particular ecosystem found in interconnecting food chains using pictures or words and arrows. Food webs describe the complex patterns of energy flow in an ecosystem by modeling who consumes whom or what. Energy Pyramids • Energy pyramids is a graphical representation of the energy flow in an ecosystem. • The amount of energy that moves from one trophic level to another in an energy pyramid is not the same. • Energy availability decreases as it moves up the energy pyramid. • The most energy is available at the producer level of the pyramid. With regard to energy flow with in an ecosystem, the sun produces 100% of the energy but only 10% is used by producers during photosynthesis. • The other 90% is lost to heat in the environment. At each trophic level, only 10% of available energy from the previous level is transferred.

Hailey Rodgers ∙

Lvl 2

∙ 3y ago