Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Photosynthesis: process of converting light energy into chemical energy

Energy enters as light, flows as nutrients through the food chains and usually leaves as heat

Nutrients can cycle through successive food chains of consumers decomposers and autotrophs

• recycled nutrients include carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus

Food chain

A food chain is a sequence of organisms, each of which feed on the previous organism

Producers are the first organisms

Consumers are the subsequent ones

Arrow = transfer of energy

Food Web

A food web showw the complexity of feeding relationships by showing interacting and interconnecting food chains and the amount of consumer there are.