3.4 Energy in ecosystems

What happens when a plant is eaten from an animal (primary consumer)

Energy is transferred from the plant to the animal

Progressing through food chain

Not all energy is transferred

Most energy is lost as

Heat

Movement

Undigested materials

Energy used is for

Growth

Repair

Pyramid of numbers

Diagram that shows the total number of organisms in a population at each stage in a food chain

Its pyramid shaped because

The energy lost at each link in the food chain limits the quantity of living matter that can be supported at the next level

Final consumer

Tends to be larger in body size than the one below and so on

Pyramid may take a different form if

The producer is a single large plant

e.g tree

Pyramid of energy

Shows the total available energy if a population at each stage in a food chain