ENERGY FLOW IN
ECOSYSTEMS
chapter 3
All organisms need materials
and energy to live!
What is an
Ecosystem?
The sum of all
the living and
nonliving things
in an area and
the interactions
among them.
THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF
ORGANISMS IN AN
ECOSYSTEM: PRODUCERS,
CONSUMERS, AND
DECOMPOSERS
Within ecosystems, autotrophs are
called Producers.
Examples
include:
Plants
Some bacteria
Algae
Producers continued..
Almost all producers are
photosynthetic
Producers are organisms that
capture energy and convert it into
chemical energy stored in chemical
bonds of glucose and other simple
food molecules.
Heterotrophs are
considered to be….
CONSUMERS!
Consumers are
organisms that
obtain their energy
by eating other
organisms.
Consumers are grouped into categories
based on their feeding habits.
Primary Consumers
Rabbits, cardinals, and
white-tailed deer are
consumers that eat
producers.
Secondary Consumers
River otters, red-tailed
hawks, and great blue
herons, eat primary
consumers.
Tertiary Consumers
Eat secondary
consumers.
3RD TYPE OF ORGANISM =
DECOMPOSER
Decomposers
obtain energy
from organic
wastes, such
as fallen leaves
or dead
organisms.
THIS DIAGRAM SHOWS:
Energy
Energy
Producers
Energy
Primary
Consumers
Energy
Secondary
Consumers
Decomposers
The typical energy flow through
different organisms in an ecosystem.
This is called a “Food Chain.”
Food chains that
interconnect
through multiple
feeding
relationships make
up a……
FOOD WEB
EACH FEEDING LEVEL IN AN
ECOSYSTEM IS CALLED…..
Trophic
Level
One type of
feeding
animal not
listed to the
right is an
omnivore.
Omnivores
eat both
plants and
animals.
SCIENTISTS USE ENERGY PYRAMIDS
TO…
Show the energy loss between trophic levels in an
ecosystem.
ONLY ABOUT
10% OF THE
ENERGY FROM
ANY TROPHIC
LEVEL IS
PASSED TO
THE NEXT
LEVEL.
Organisms at each level use much of the
energy or release it into the environment
as heat.
The small amount of energy that passes
from one trophic level to the next limits
the number of organisms that can exist
at each level.
ALL THE LIVING
MATTER IN A
HABITAT,
TROPHIC
LEVEL OF
ECOSYSTEM IS
CALLED
BIOMASS.