Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)

S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM

Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. For living organisms, it is the basic force responsible
for running all the metabolic activities. The flow of energy from producer level to top consumer level is
called energy flow.
The flow of energy in an ecosystem is unidirectional. It flows from producer level to consumer level
and never in the reverse direction.
The process of energy flow involves transfer of energy from autotrophs to various components of
heterotrophs and help in maintaining bio diversity. The main source of energy in the ecosystem is sunlight.
About 80% of energy is lost during flow of energy from one trophic level to the next one.

Sun 》 Producer 》 Herbivores 》Carnivores 》 Top carnivores 》 Decomposers

It is vital to have the balance of energy and nutrients within ecosystems. Various mechanisms of
energy and nutrient transfers leading to interactions between different organisms can be understood by the
concept of Food Chain and Food Web.

FOOD CHAIN
A Food chain is a representation of flow of energy and nutrients from one organism to another within
an ecosystem. It consists of a linear sequence of organisms in which each organism is a source of food for
the next organism in the chain. A typical food chain begins with plants or other autotrophic organisms, which
are then consumed by herbivores, which are in turn eaten by carnivores, creating a chain of energy transfer.

Producer 》 Primary consumer 》 Secondary consumer 》Tertiary consumer 》Decomposer

 Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)
S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

FOOD WEB:
The food relationship between various
organisms is being depicted by linking all the
possible prey and predators of different food
level. In an ecosystem linking of feeding habit
relations will provide a food web. As organisms
often have multiple food sources and predators
within an ecosystem, Food chains can be
interconnected to form a more complex food web,
where multiple food chains intersect. This better
reflects the actual relationships and energy flow
within an ecosystem.
The word trophic derives from the Greek
referring to food or nourishment. Any organism
occupies its position in a food chain or food web
which is termed as Trophic levels. A food web
starts at trophic level 1 with primary producers
such as plants, can move to herbivores at level 2,
carnivores at level 3 or higher, and typically finish with apex predators at level 4 or 5.

Difference between food chain and food web

• In linear food chains, if one species gets affected or becomes extinct, then the species in the
subsequent trophic levels are also affected.
• But, in a food web, if one species get affected, it does not affect other tropic levels so seriously.
• There are number of options available at each trophic level.

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS:
The energy, biomass and number of
organisms gradually decreases from the
producer level to the consumer level. The total
mass of herbivores in an ecosystem will
generally be less than the total mass of plants.
Similarly the total mass of carnivores
will be less than the total mass of
herbivores.
The graphical representation of the
number, biomass and energy of various
energy levels is called the ecological
pyramid.
In any ecological pyramid the
producer forms the base and the successive
levels form the tires which can make the apex.
The ecological pyramids represent the tropic
structure and also tropic function of the
ecosystem.
 Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)
S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

WORKSHEET
1. Use the following food chain, to answer questions below.
Grass → Rabbit → Fox

a) What type of organism is the grass?

b) Which animal is a primary consumer or herbivore?

c) What would happen to the population of rabbits, if the population of foxes increased? Why?
_________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________
____________________________

2. Using the food chain mentioned below, construct an energy pyramid.

An owl eats a snake, the snake eats a squirrel, the squirrel ate a nut.

a) Which animal in the energy pyramid you created has the most amount of available energy?

___________________________________________________________

b) Which animal in the energy pyramid you created has the least amount of available energy?

_____________________________________________________________
 Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)
S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

3. Use the provided food web to answer the following:

I. Name the following

a) Producer: ___________________________________________________

b) Primary consumers: _______________________________________________

c) Secondary consumers: _____________________________________________

d) Tertiary consumers: _____________________________________________

e) Top predator: _____________________________________________

II. Construct one food chain that you see on the food web.

III. Using your food chain above, construct an energy pyramid.

 Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)
S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

4. Look at this food chain, and answer the questions.

a) What does the arrow mean in a food chain?

____

b) Name the producer in the food chain

______________________________

c) Name the third trophic level in the food chain.

_____________________________

d) Name the tertiary consumer in the food chain.

__________________________________________________________________

5. Look at these food chains. Use the food chains to help you fill in the arrows on this food web. One
has been added for you.
 Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)
S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

6. Use the food web in Question 5 to help you answer these questions.

a) Name the producer in this food web.

b) Name a consumer in this food web. __________________________

c) What eats rabbits?

d) What does a fox eat?

7. Look at this food web. Then answer the questions.

a) Name two producers in the food web.

_______________________________

_______________________________

b) Name three consumers in the food web.

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

c) Write a food chain from this food web with six trophic levels.

_________________________________________________________________________

d) Name the animals that the small fish eats.

_________________________________________________________________________

e) Name the animals that eat the small fish.

_________________________________________________________________________

f) Explain what could happen to the community if all the frogs suddenly died.
_____________________________________________________________________

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 Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Autonomous)
S.N.D.T. Women’s University

LESSON 2: FOOD CHAIN, FOOD WEB AND ENERGY PYRAMID

8. Complete the given table as per the energy levels in different ecosystems.

Trophic level Desert Biome Forest Biome Grassland Biome Pond Biome Ocean Biome

Fifth
(Quaternary
Consumer)

Fourth
(Tertiary
Consumer)

Third
(Secondary
Consumer)

Second
(Primary
Consumer)

First
(Primary
Producer)

Date: Signature: