Energy Flow

Through an
Ecosystem
Food Chains, Food Webs,
Energy Pyramids

1
 •Begins with the
SUN
•Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight & chlorophyll 

C6H12O6 + 6O2

2
 Photosynthesis
•useChemical reaction where green plants
water & carbon dioxide to store the
sun’s energy in glucose
• ENERGY is stored in glucose
• Glucose is stored as starch in plants

3
Organisms that can
make glucose during
photosynthesis are
called PRODUCERS.
4
 Producers use
most of the
energy they make
for themselves.
5
 Producers use
cellular respiration
to supply the
energy they need
to live.
6
6O2 + C6H12O6 --> 6H2O + 6CO2 + energy

CELLULAR
RESPIRATION is
the chemical
reaction that
releases the
energy in glucose.

7
The energy that is not
used by producers can
be passed on to
organisms that cannot
make their own
energy.
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 Organisms that
cannot make their
own energy are called
CONSUMERS.
9
Consumers that eat producers
to get energy:

• Are first order (1st) or

primary consumers
• Are herbivores (plant-
eaters)

10
 Most of the
energy the
primary consumer
gets from the
producer is used
by the consumer.

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 Some of the
energy moves into
the atmosphere as
heat.

12
 Some energy in the
primary consumer is
STORED & not lost
to the atmosphere or
used by the
consumer itself.
This energy is
available for another
consumer (predator).13
A Consumer that Eats Another
Consumer for Energy:
• Is called a secondary or
2nd order consumer
• May be a carnivore or
a omnivore
• May be a predator
• May be a scavenger

14
 Most of the
energy the
secondary
consumer gets
from the primary
consumer is used
by the secondary
consumer.
15
 Some of the
energy is lost as
heat, but some
energy is and can
passed stored on
to another
consumer.

16
 A consumer that eats a
consumer that already ate a
consumer:
• Is called a 3rd order
or tertiary consumer
• May be a carnivore or
a omnivore
• May be a predator
• May be a scavenger
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Consumers that eat producers
& other consumers

Are called
omnivores
Omnivores
eat plants
and
animals
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 Consumers that hunt &
kill other consumers are
called predators.
The animals that are
hunted & killed are
called prey.

19
 Consumers that eat
other dead consumers
are called scavengers
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 The transfer of energy from
the sun to producer to primary
consumer then to higher order
consumers can be shown in a
FOOD CHAIN.

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Food Chains Show Available Energy

22
More Food Chains

23
 Another way
of showing the
transfer of
energy in an
ecosystem is
the
ENERGY
PYRAMID
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Energy Pyramids Show
•energy
Amount of available
decreases for
higher consumers
• Amount of available
energy decreases down the
food chain
• It takes a large number
of producers to support a
small number of primary
consumers
• It takes a large number
of primary consumers to
support a small number of
secondary consumers
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26
Food Webs:

• Are
interconnected
food chains
• They show the
feeding
relationships in
an ecosystem

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How Many Chains are in
this web?

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Identify the Producers, Consumers, &
Decomposers:
Count the
Food
Chains!

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