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Energy Flow
POWER FOR LIFE’S PROCESSES
Producers
 Sunlight is the primary source of energy source for
life on earth.
 Plants, algae, and some bacteria harness sunlight or
chemicals to produce food.
 “Autotrophs” – make complex organic molecules
from simple inorganic compounds using energy from
the environment

Organic molecules are used to make living tissues
 Also called “Producers”
Producers
 Energy from the Sun

Photosynthesis
Using energy from sun to
make carbohydrates
 Water and carbon dioxide
 carbohydrates and
oxygen
 Primarily plants (on land)
 Algae and Cyanobacteria
(in oceans)

 Life Without Light

Chemosynthesis – making
carbohydrates using
chemical energy (no sun)

Bacteria
 Live in volcanic vents on
the ocean floor, hot
springs, and tidal
marshes
Consumers
 Organisms that obtain energy from other organisms
 Animals, fungi, and many bacteria
 “Heterotrophs” or “Consumers”
 Kinds:
 Herbivores – eat plants
 Carnivores – eat animals
 Omnivores – eat plants AND animals
 Detritivores – eat dead matter
 Decomposers – break down organic matter
Feeding Relationships
 Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction,
from the sun or inorganic compounds to autotrophs
(producers) and then to various heterotrophs
(consumers).
 Food Chains

A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating
and being eaten
 Food Webs
 Trophic Levels
Feeding Relationships
Feeding Relationships
 Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction,
from the sun or inorganic compounds to autotrophs
(producers) and then to various heterotrophs
(consumers).
 Food Chains

A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating
and being eaten
 Food Webs
 Link all food chains in an ecosystem together
 Trophic Levels
Feeding Relationships
Feeding Relationships
 Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction,
from the sun or inorganic compounds to autotrophs
(producers) and then to various heterotrophs
(consumers).
 Food Chains

A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating
and being eaten
 Food Webs
 Link all food chains in an ecosystem together
 Trophic Levels
 Each step in a food chain or food web (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
Ecological Pyramids
 A diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy
or matter contained within each trophic level in a
food chain or food web
 3 Kinds:



Energy Pyramid
Biomass Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers
Ecological Pyramids
 Energy Pyramids
 Only about 10% of the energy available within one
trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next
trophic level
 Most energy consumed is…


used for life processes and
released as heat
Ecological Pyramids
 Biomass Pyramid
 Total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
 Grams of organic matter per unit area
 Potential food available
Ecological Pyramids
 Pyramid of Numbers
 Shows numbers of individual organisms at each trophic level
 Not always “pyramid” shape