Energy Flow Diagrams

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How does energy from the sun enter the ecosystem?
- Plants photosynthesise, converting light energy into glucose
- The glucose is then converted to organic matter
What is a producer?

Any organism capable of photosynthesis
What happens to the primary consumers?
- They are consumed by secondary consumers
- Secondary consumer are consumed by tertiary consumers etc
What is the simplest way of representing feeding relationships?

Using a food chain
Give an example of a food chain

Grass > Caterpillar > Robin > House-cat
What do the arrows in a food chain represent?

The direction the energy flows
What are ecological pyramids?

Quantitive diagrams where the width of the bars represents the amount of energy in each trophic level
What do pyramids of number display?

The number of organisms in a particular area
What do pyramids of number display?

The number of organisms in a particular area
Why are pyramids of number not always pyramid shaped

Large producers can support many consumers in some cases
What does a pyramid of Biomass display?

The dry mass of organisms in a particular area in kg/m2
What do pyramids of energy display?

The energy contained in the biomass in a particular area during a particular time (kJ/m2/year)
Why are pyramids of energy always pyramidal?

Energy is always lost between trophic levels