1. Energy Flow: Feeding Relationships
Energy flows through ecosystem in one direction from sun or organic compounds to producers (autotrophs) then to consumers (heterotrophs)
Producers? Consumers?
What do arrows show?

2. Energy Flow: Food Chains
Food Chains: series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
ProducerConsumer1Consumer2Consumer3
Producer? Consumer1,2,3?

3. Energy Flow: Food Chains

4. Energy Flow: Food Chains

5. Energy Flow: Food webs
Food Webs: Various feeding relationships in an ecosystems (multiple food chains)
Producers, consumer1’s, consumer2’s,etc.?

6. Energy Flow: Food webs

7. Energy Flow: Food webs
Trophic Level: Each step in a food chain or food web
“trophe” greek- food or nourishment
Laws of Thermodynamics:
1st Law of energy: energy cannot be created or destroyed
2nd Law of energy: no energy transfer is 100%

8. Ecological Pyramids
Ecological Pyramid- diagram shows relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web
Don’t copy: reminder
Trophic Level: Each step in a
food chain or food web
“trophe” greek- food or
nourishment
Which trophic level shows the
Most amount of food?

9. Ecological Pyramids: Energy
3 types of pyramids:
Energy Pyramid- shows relative amount of energy available at each trophic level
Don’t copy
*only 10% of energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms at next trophic level
*the more levels that exist between a producer and a top-level consumer, the less energy that remains from original amount
If 1st trophic level has 500% energy, 2nd has?

10. Ecological Pyramids: Biomass
2. Biomass Pyramid: represents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem
*Expressed in grams or organic matter per unit area
Biomass- amount of living tissue within trophic level

11. Ecological Pyramids: Pyramid of Numbers
3. Pyramid of Numbers: Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level
How many rabbits on 2nd trophic level?