WEEK 3 LESSON

Energy Flow through Ecosystems

An ecosystem is a stable, self-regulating
unit. This does not mean that an ecosystem is
unchanging the organisms within it are growing
reproducing, dying and decaying. In addition, an
ecosystem must have a continuous input of
energy to retain its stability. The only significant
source of energy for most ecosystems is sunlight.
Producers are the only organisms that are
capable of trapping solar energy through the
process of photosynthesis and making it available
to the ecosystem. The energy is stored in the form
of chemical bonds in large organic molecules
such as carbohydrates (sugars, starches), fats,
and proteins. The energy stored in the molecules
Fig. 1 Source: https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/903817/pages/5-an- of producers is transferred to other organisms
ecosystems-energy-flow when the producers are eaten.

Trophic Levels
Each step in the flow of energy through an ecosystem is known as a trophic level. Producers (plants,
algae, and phytoplankton) constitute the first trophic level, and first trophic level, and Herbivore’s constitute
the second trophic level. Carnivores that eat herbivores are the third trophic level, and carnivores at eat other
carnivores are the fourth trophic level. Omnivores, parasites, and scavengers occupy different trophic levels,
depending on what they happen to be eating at the time.
 Fig.2 Fig. 3
Source:https://slideplayer.com/slide/10493353/35/images/14/TROPHIC Source:
+LEVELS+The+various+steps+of+food+chain+where+food+or+energy https://d3jlfsfsyc6yvi.cloudfront.net/image/mw:1024/q:85/https%3A%2F%2F
+are+transferred+are+called+TROPHIC+LEVEL..jpg haygot.s3.amazonaws.com%3A443%2Fcheatsheet%2F23249.png

Food Chains and Food Webs

In practice, ecologists define the term ecological community

in two ways; one method defines the community as a set of
interacting species found in the same place and functioning
together thus enabling life to persist. Ecologists therefore
may use a practical or an operational definition, in which the
community consists an all the species found in an area,
whether or not they are known to interact. Animals in
different cages in a zoo could be called a community. One
way that individuals in a community interaction by feeding
on one another.

Fig. 4 Animals
Source:
https://katiegraschecology.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/4/9/304
90908/3850343.jpg?56
 Energy, chemical elements, and some compounds are transferred from creature to creature along food
chains.
Food chain refers to the sequence of events in an ecosystem, where one organism eats another and then
is eaten by another organism.

Fig. 5: Food Chain

Source:
https://images.squarespacecdn.com/content/v1/5aff4668e17ba3bb064fd2c7/15735163529
69-

The more complex linkages are called food webs.

Food web is a connection of multiple food chains. Food chain follows a single path whereas food web
follows multiple paths.

Fig. 6 – Food Web

Source:
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/582992849008590848
 Ecologists group the organisms in a food web into
trophic levels. A trophic level (from the Greek word
trephein) meaning to nourish, thus the "nourishing
level") consists of all organisms in a food web that
are the same number of feeding levels away from the
original energy source. Then original source of
energy in most ecosystems is the sun. In other
cases, it is the energy in certain inorganic
compounds. Green plants, algae, and certain
bacteria produce sugars through the process of
photosynthesis, using only energy from the sun and
carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. They are called
autotrophs, from the words auto (self) and
trephein (to nourish), thus "self- nourishing," and
are grouped into the first trophic level.
Trophic level, step in a nutritive series, or food chain,
of an ecosystem. The organisms of a chain are classified into these levels on the basis of their feeding
behaviour. The first and lowest level contains the producers, green plants. The plants or their products are
consumed by the second-level organisms—the herbivores, or plant eaters. At the third level, primary
carnivores, or meat eaters, eat the herbivores; and at
Fig. 7 – Energy Pyramid
Source: the fourth level, secondary carnivores eat the primary
https://dr282zn36sxxg.cloudfront.net/datastreams/f- carnivores. These categories are not strictly defined,
d%3Ad3cf63c66c57e9e60008e078035134cfbfad98f752f13f6dc195e
179%2BIMAGE_THUMB_POSTCARD_TINY%2BIMAG as many organisms feed on several trophic levels; for
example, some carnivores also consume plant
materials or carrion and are called omnivores, and some herbivores occasionally consume animal matter. A
separate trophic level, the decomposers or transformers, consists of organisms such as bacteria and fungi
that break down dead organisms and waste materials into nutrients usable by the producers.
Energy Pyramid
An energy pyramid (sometimes called a trophic pyramid or an ecological pyramid) is a graphical
representation, showing the flow of energy at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
A pyramid of energy shows how much energy is retained in the form of new biomass at each trophic level,
while a pyramid of biomass shows how much biomass (the amount of living or organic matter present in an
organism) is present in the organisms.
The width of each bar represents the units of energy available within each trophic level; the height is always
the same. The flow of energy moves through the layers of the energy pyramid from the bottom-up, and is
gradually reduced as energy is used up by the organisms at each level
The base of the energy pyramid indicates the energy available within primary producers. Primary producers,
also known as autotrophs, are organisms which create their own food by taking their energy from non-living
sources of energy. In most cases, these are photosynthesizing plants, which use energy from the sun to
create their own nutrition in the form of simple sugars, although there are exceptions such as deep sea
organisms, which use chemical energy from hydrothermal vents. In this description we will focus on
ecosystems that take energy from the sun.
All other levels in the energy pyramid consist of heterotrophs – organisms that obtain their nutrition from
organic carbon, usually in the form of other plants and animals.
The second trophic level consists of primary consumers. These are the herbivores that feed solely on
primary producers. The third and fourth levels are made up of secondary consumers and tertiary consumers.
These are carnivores and omnivores, which can feed on any of the lower levels, although mainly consume
organisms from the trophic level directly beneath them. The top layer of the energy pyramid contains apex
predators. These are mostly carnivorous animals that have no natural predators.
Ecological Pyramid
The pyramid shape is used to represent the flow of
energy because of the way that energy is used up and
lost throughout the system.
The primary producers take in energy from the sun.
However, only around 1% of the total available sun
energy is actually absorbed into the plants (it can
move through, or bounce off, the plants); this is the
GPP or the Gross Primary Productivity. Fortunately,
such a high amount of energy is emitted from the sun,
that 1% is sufficient to support plants; in areas of high
energy input from the sun, e.g., tropical biomes, the
GPP is higher than in those areas where energy input
from the sun is low.
Plants use photosynthesis in order to convert energy
Fig. 8 – Energy Pyramid
Source: from the sun into chemical energy, which is stored as
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Ecological_
Pyramid.png organic compounds such as sugars. The plants then
carry out cell respiration in order to convert the sugars
into the useable energy molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Cell respiration is a metabolic reaction which
uses up around 60% of the plant’s energy, leaving around 40% of the GPP as the NPP, or Net Primary
Productivity. This NPP value represents 100% of the total energy units made available for the plants to use.
Energy is used up for all life processes such as respiration, movement, metabolic processes, and
reproduction. So, of the 100% total energy available to the plants, only around 10% is made into plant tissues,
while 90% is used up and is lost as heat.
At each of the subsequent trophic levels, the same amount of energy (90%) is lost as heat, while 10% is
turned into available biomatter. By the time the energy reaches the top trophic level, the apex predators will
only receive 0.01% of the primary energy! Because there is so little energy available at the highest trophic
level, food chains are typically limited to a maximum of six levels.
Throughout the entire energy pyramid, decomposers and detritivores break down the tissues and other
organic matter which has not been consumed by animals higher in the food chain. In doing so, these
organisms recycle the nutrients back into the soil, playing a vitally important role in the carbon and nitrogen
cycles.
 Laws of Thermodynamics in an Ecosystem
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem- Laws of thermodynamics describes the energy flow in an Ecosystem. 1st law
of thermodynamics- Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one step to another.
2nd law of thermodynamics- In the path of energy transformation some energy loss in the form of heat and
the entropy increases.
The word entropy finds its roots in the Greek “entropia”, which means "a turning toward" or "transformation."
The word was used to describe the measurement of disorder by the German physicist Rudolph Clausius
and appeared in English in 1868. A common example of entropy is that of ice melting in water. The resulting
change from formed to free, from ordered to disordered increases the entropy.
 1st law of thermodynamics in Ecosystem
Energy from Sun to Plant, Chlorophyll of green plants traps the light energy from sun and produce food with
the help of water, CO2 and minerals.
Energy users Producers– Green plants use light energy (sunlight) to produce food (chemical energy).
Primary consumers– Feed on herbivores and get energy from plants (Carnivores). Secondary consumers–
Feed on primary consumers and get energy form them. Tertiary consumers- Feed on secondary consumers
and get energy. Decomposers- Break down dead or decaying organism (decomposition) and get energy.
Food chain or food web support the 1st law of thermodynamics
Energy Recycling Plants or Producers 1st tropic level Energy Sun The energy house Energy Consumers 2nd
tropic level Decomposers 3rd tropic level E n e r g y Energy Soil, Air, Water with matter Heat
 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
In the path of energy transformation some energy loss in the form of heat and the entropy increases.
The Path Way of Energy Loss Not all food consumed by heterotrophs (consumers) is transformed into
biomass. At each tropic level about 90% of energy is loss to perform metabolic activities. Entropy increases.
For additional information watch the video about:
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnAKICtJIA4
Food Chains & Food Webs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCl_yDf0Qok