Ecosystem Energy Transfer

• An energy pyramid is a diagram illustrating energy transfer within an ecosystem.
• Energy pyramids show energy levels in an ecosystem, with larger levels at the bottom indicating more energy.
• An ecosystem includes all living and non-living components in a specific area.

Trophic Levels

• Ecosystems are divided into energetic levels called trophic levels.
• Producers, at the bottom, are organisms that produce their food.
• Primary consumers eat producers.
• Secondary consumers eat primary consumers.
• Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers.
• A food chain shows predatory connections between single species.
• A food web is a complex diagram of who eats whom, formed by multiple food chains.

Purpose

• Energy pyramids demonstrate and quantify energy flow in an ecosystem.
• They show which trophic levels possess more or less energy and how it's transferred.

Energy Transfer

• Energy transfers from one trophic level to the next through predation.
• All energy in an ecosystem originates from the sun.
• Producers absorb 100% of the sun's energy, utilizing 90% for growth and reproduction, with the rest available to other organisms.
• Producers obtain 100% of the available energy from the sun, using 90% for their needs, leaving 10% for the next level.
• Primary consumers get 10% of the energy from the sun that the producers initially had.
• Secondary consumers get 10% of the energy from the primary consumers, which equates to 1% of the total available energy.
• Tertiary consumers get 10% of the energy contained in the secondary consumers, which equates to 0.1% of the total energy from the sun.
• Decomposers gather remaining energy from dead organisms, recycling nutrients back into the soil.
• This energy transfer follows the ten percent rule.
• The ten percent rule: each trophic level gets 10% of the energy from the level below it.
• Energy availability decreases when moving up through the trophic levels.
• Higher trophic levels support fewer organisms.
• A forest contains more producers like grass and trees, than tertiary consumers like hawks because producers get 100% of the solar energy, but tertiary consumers get 0.1%.

Diagram

• An energy pyramid diagram is triangle-shaped with horizontal sections.
• The largest bottom section represents the producer trophic level, containing the most energy.
• Subsequent levels decrease as you go up, representing the decrease in energy with increasing trophic level.

Deciduous Forest Example

• In a deciduous forest, green plants (grass, trees, shrubs) form the producer trophic level with 100% of the sun's energy.
• Primary consumers include herbivores like grasshoppers, deer, rabbits and other small rodents.
• Secondary consumers eat primary consumers and include foxes, snakes, and other small predators.
• Tertiary consumers at the top are top predators like hawks or wolves.

Coral Reef Example

• In a coral reef, photosynthetic algae (phytoplankton) are the producers.
• Microscopic organisms are the primary consumers.
• Small fish and crustaceans form the next level as secondary consumers.
• Top predators like sharks, dolphins, and sea snakes are the tertiary consumers and occupy the top of the pyramid.

Explore energy transfer within ecosystems using energy pyramids. Understand trophic levels, including producers, consumers, and their roles. Learn how energy moves through food chains and food webs, showcasing energy flow and predatory connections.