FLOW ENERGY IN ECOSYSTEM

Class : 1 EGC
Grup :3
Name : 1. Diah Iswandari 061740411816
2. Dicky Irawan 061740411817
3. Heru Afriansyah 061740411820
4. Miftahul Hidayati 061740411825
5. Salsyabillah Yuhsinun 061740411830

Lecturer Dra. Risnawati,M.Pd

JURUSAN CHEMICAL ENGENEERING

PROGRAM STUDI D-IV ENERGY ENGENEERING
POLITEKNIK NEGERI SRIWIJAYA
2017/2018
 A. Definition of ecosystem and energy
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving
components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a
system. These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient
cycles and energy flows.As ecosystems are defined by the network of interactions among
organisms, and between organisms and their environment,they can be of any size but usually
encompass specific, limited spaces (although some scientists say that the entire planet is an
ecosystem).Energy, water, nitrogen and soil minerals are other essential abiotic components
of an ecosystem.

Energy is defined as the capacity of a physical system to perform work. In the context of
chemistry, energy is an attribute of a substance as a consequence of its atomic, molecular or
aggregate structure. Since a chemical transformation is accompanied by a change in one or
more of these kinds of structure, it is invariably accompanied by an increase or decrease of
energy of the substances involved. Some energy is transferred between the surroundings and
the reactants of the reaction in the form of heat or light; thus the products of a reaction may
have more or less energy than the reactants.

B. Definition of flow enegry in ecosystem

In ecology, energy flow, also called the calorific flow, refers to the flow of energy through
a food chain, and is the focus of study in ecological energetics. In an ecosystem, ecologists
seek to quantify the relative importance of different component species and feeding
relationships.

Living organisms can use energy in two forms radiant and fixed energy. Radiant energy is
in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as light. Fixed energy is potential chemical
energy bound in various organic substances which can be broken down in order to release
their energy content.

Organisms that can fix radiant energy utilizing inorganic substances to produce organic
molecules are called autotrophs. Organisms that cannot obtain energy from abiotic source but
depend on energy-rich organic molecules synthesized by autotrophs are called heterotrophs.
Those which obtain energy from living organisms are called consumers and those which
obtain energy from dead organisms are called decomposers

When the light energy falls on the green surfaces of plants, a part of it is transformed into
chemical energy which is stored in various organic products in the plants. When the
herbivores consume plants as food and convert chemical energy accumulated in plant
products into kinetic energy, degradation of energy will occur through its conversion into
heat. When herbivores are consumed by carnivores of the first order (secondary consumers)
further degradation will occur. Similarly, when primary carnivores are consumed by top
carnivores, again energy will be degraded.

C. The Trophic level

The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food chain. The word
trophic derives from the Greek τροφή (trophē) referring to food or nourishment.[1] A food
chain represents a succession of organisms that eat another organism and are, in turn, eaten
themselves. The number of steps an organism is from the start of the chain is a measure of its
trophic level. Food chains start at trophic level 1 with primary producers such as plants, move
to herbivores at level 2, predators at level 3 and typically finish with carnivores or apex
predators at level 4 or 5.

The three basic ways in which organisms get food are as producers, consumers and
decomposers.

 Producers (autotrophs) are typically plants or algae. Plants and algae do not usually
eat other organisms, but pull nutrients from the soil or the ocean and manufacture
their own food using photosynthesis. For this reason, they are called primary
producers. In this way, it is energy from the sun that usually powers the base of the
food chain.[4] An exception occurs in deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems, where there
is no sunlight. Here primary producers manufacture food through a process
called chemosynthesis.
 Consumers (heterotrophs) are species that cannot manufacture their own food and
need to consume other organisms. Animals that eat primary producers (like plants) are
called herbivores. Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores, and animals
that eat both plant and other animals are called omnivores.
 Decomposers (detritivores) break down dead plant and animal material and wastes
and release it again as energy and nutrients into the ecosystem for recycling.
Decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi (mushrooms), feed on waste and dead
matter, converting it into inorganic chemicals that can be recycled as mineral nutrients
for plants to use again.

Trophic levels can be represented by numbers, starting at level 1 with plants. Further
trophic levels are numbered subsequently according to how far the organism is along the food
chain.

Level 1: Plants and algae make their own food and are called producers.

Level 2: Herbivores eat plants and are called primary consumers.

Level 3: Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.

Level 4: Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.

Level 5: Apex predators that have no predators are at the top of the food chain
 At each level, called a trophic level, about 90% of the energy is lost. What a shame. So, if a
plant captures 1000 calories of solar energy, a bug that eats the plant will only obtain 100
calories of energy. A chicken that eats the bug will only obtain 10 calories, and a human that
eats the chicken will only obtain 1 calorie of the original 1000 calories of solar energy
captured by the plant.

D. Food Chain
In the ecosystem, green plants alone are able to trap in solar energy and convert it into
chemical energy. The chemical energy is locked up in the various organic compounds, such
as carbohydrates, fats and proteins, present in the green plants. Since virtually all other living
organisms depend upon green plants for their energy, the efficiency of plants in any given
area in capturing solar energy sets the upper limit to long-term energy flow and biological
activity in the community.

The food manufactured by the green plants is utilized by themselves and also by
herbivores. Animals feed repeatedly. Herbivores fall prey to some carnivorous animals. In
this way one form of life supports the other form. Thus, food from one trophic level reaches
to the other trophic level and in this way a chain is established. This is known as food chain.
 A food chain may be defined as the transfer of energy and nutrients through a succession
of organisms through repeated process of eating and being eaten. In food chain initial link is a
green plant or producer which produces chemical energy available to consumers. 3` For
example, marsh grass is consumed by grasshopper, the grasshopper is consumed by a bird
and that bird is consumed by hawk. And hawk is consumed the bacteria.

Thus, a food chain is formed which can be written as follows:

grass → grasshopper → bird → hawk

Food chain in any ecosystem runs directly in which green plants are eaten by herbivores,
herbivores are eaten by carnivores and carnivores are eaten by top carnivores. Man forms the
terrestrial links of many food chains.

E. Food Web

Many food chains exist in an ecosystem, but as a matter of fact these food chains are not
independent. In ecosystem, one organism does not depend wholly on another. The resources
are shared specially at the beginning of the chain. The marsh plants are eaten by variety of
insects, birds, mammals and fishes and some of the animals are eaten by several predators.

Similarly, in the food chain grass → mouse → snakes → owls, sometimes mice are not
eaten by snakes but directly by owls. This type of interrelationship interlinks the individuals
of the whole community. In this way, food chains become interlinked. A complex of
interrelated food chains makes up a food web. Food web maintains the stability of the
ecosystem. The greater the number of alternative pathways the more stable is the community
of living things. Fig. 3.10. illustrates a food web in ecosystem.
 F. Pyramid of energy

This depicts not only the amount of total energy utilized by the organisms at each trophic
level of food chain but more important, the actual role of various organisms in transfer of
energy. At the producer level the total energy will be much greater than the energy at the
successive higher trophic level.

Some producer organisms may have small biomass but the total energy they assimilate and
pass on to consumers may be greater than that of organisms with much larger biomass.
Higher trophic levels are more efficient in energy utilization but much heat is lost in energy
transfer. Energy loss by respiration also progressively increases from lower to higher trophic
states .

In the energy flow process, two things become obvious. Firstly there is one way along
which energy moves i.e. unidirectional flow of energy. Energy comes in the ecosystem from
outside source i.e. sun. The energy captured by autotrophs does not go back to the sun, the
energy that passes from autotrophs to herbivores does not revert back and as it moves
progressively through the various trophic levels, it is no longer available to the previous
levels.

Thus due to unidirectional flow of energy, the system would collapse if the supply from
primary source, the sun is cut off. Secondly, there occurs a progressive decrease in energy
level at each trophic level which is accounted largely by the energy dissipated as heat in
metabolic activities.