12.

3 Energy flow through ecosystem

 OBJECTIVES
Students should be able to:

a)Describe ecological pyramid in relation

to trophic levels and energy transfer
b)Calculated on energy loss
c)Explain why the food chain does not
consist more than five trophic levels
 Lesson Objective:
Explain the following terms: trophic levels, ecological
pyramid, energy transfer, energy loss

KEY TERMS:
Trophic levels
Ecological pyramid
Energy transfer
Energy loss
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Trophic levels

TROPHIC LEVEL
Each level in a food web

Trophic levels refer to the different species of organisms

at certain positions in the food chain based on their main
source of nutrition

Involves the producers & consumers

All producers belong to the first trophic level, all

herbivores belong to the second trophic level, and so on.
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Trophic levels

TROPHIC LEVEL
Tertiary consumer
Trophic level 4 Top carnivore

Secondary consumer
Trophic level 3 Carnivore

Trophic level 2 Primary consumer

Herbivore

Trophic level 1 Producer

 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Trophic levels

TROPHIC LEVEL
First trophic level
- the primary producers that support all others
- usually autotrophs ( most are photosynthetic )
Second trophic level
- the primary consumers
- heterotrophs; usually herbivores
Third trophic level
- the secondary consumers
- heterotrophs that are carnivores
Fourth trophic level
- the tertiary consumers
- carnivores or parasites
Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Trophic level
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID
Diagram that describes the feeding relationships & energy transfer
through the biotic components in a more quantitative aspect

3 types:
types
i. pyramid of numbers
ii. pyramid of biomass
iii. pyramid of energy

Pyramid of numbers
Based on the number of individuals for each trophic level
Usually, the number of producers ( at the pyramid base ) are
larger while at the top, individuals are larger-sized & the number is
smaller
Sometimes, many small consumers feed on a few larger
producers; producing an inverted pyramid of numbers
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

The graphic represents a

pyramid of numbers in an
arce of bluegrass.

Showing a progressive
decrease in the number of
organisms at each
successive level.
A pyramid of numbers

Many small consumers

feed on a few larger
producers.

Hering dead zebra

An inverted pyramid of numbers

 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

Pyramid of numbers
Advantages
a pyramid of numbers can readily be constructed
the number of organisms, especially the larger
animals, can be counted easily
Disadvantages
changes in size of the organism during its life cycle/
larval or juvenile forms are not taken into consideration.
problems of classifying/ grouping the organisms that
feed at different trophic levels
difficulty in counting small organisms that are a very
large in numbers.
a typical pyramid shape may not be produced
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

Pyramid of biomass
Based on the total dry weight of all organisms for each
trophic level
organisms are made of roughly the same organic
molecul in similar proportions.
Most biomass pyramids narrow sharply from primary
producers at the base to the carnivores at the top
But sometimes, an inverted biomass pyramid is produced
eg: biomass of phytoplankton < biomass of zooplanktons
(as the phytoplankton are smaller-sized & rapidly
consumed)
A census of the population, multiplied by the weight of the
population.
called biomass.
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

A pyramid of biomass

An inverted biomass
pyramid
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

Pyramid of biomass
Advantages
It gives better indication of the mass of organisms
and the flow of energy through different trophic levels of
a food chain than a pyramid of numbers
Disadvantages
problems encountered in determining the biomass
because it involves the killing and drying of certain
organisms
the biomass may change with time and different
organisms
ideally, dry masses should be compared. Comparison
of wet masses is inaccurate because the water content
of organisms may fluctuate.
it does not show the productivity.
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

Pyramid of energy
Size of each block is proportional to the net production
(expressed in energy units) of each trophic level
Shows the loss of energy with each transfer in a food
chain
Only ~ 10% of energy within 1 trophic level will be
transferred to the next
Can never be inverted

The most fundamental and ideal way of representing

relationships between organisms on different trophic
levels is by means of a pyramid of energy.
This has a number of advantages.
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

Pyramid of energy
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow
Ecological pyramid

Pyramid of energy
Advantages
relative importance of populations within one
ecosystem can be compared
Disadvantages
difficult to obtain energy data, requiring even more
measurements than for pyramid of biomass.
energy values for given masses of organisms are
needed. Sometimes two organisms have the same
mass but they have different amounts of energy.
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

ENERGY TRANSFER
Energy is the capacity to do work
All organisms require energy for growth, maintenance,
reproduction & locomotion
Producers use light energy ( primarily from sun ) to
synthesize energy-rich molecules;
and energy transfer occurs as consumers acquire their
organic fuels in a food chain
Energy is transferred in 1 direction
During energy transfer, conversion of energy occurs & some
will be lost as heat
ENERGY TRANSFER

The sun is the original source of energy, in the form of

light, for the food chain.
(100,000 Units of Energy)

Plants capture approximately 1% of the available light energy from

the sun for biomass production by way of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis can be described chemically as:
Light Energy + 6C02 + 6H20 = C6H1206 + 602
(1,000 Units of Energy)

Herbivores consume approximately 10% of the plant

biomass produced in a typical food chain. (100 Units
of Energy)

Carnivores capture and consume about 10% of the

energy stored by the herbivores.
(10 Units of Energy)

Figure : Model of the grazing food chain showing the movement of

energy through an ecosystem.
 Lesson Objective:
Explain energy flow

Carnivores capture and

consume about 10% of the
energy stored by the herbivores

Herbivores consume approximately

10% of plant biomass produced in a
typical food chain

Plants capture approximately 1%

Original source

Pyramid of energy
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

ENERGY TRANSFER

Estimated that in some ecosystem as much as 80% of

primary production is not eaten by primary consumers.

Instead, on death, plant material is consumed in various

ways by detrital feeders and decomposer organisms.

Food chain in which most primary production is decomposed

or consumed as detritus are termed detrital food chains.

Tropical moist forest are a noteworthy example of ecosystem

where the detrital link is more important than the grazing link.
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

Energy transfer between trophic levels is usually less than
20% efficient

This is mainly due to respiration & excretion

Energy in feces remains in ecosystem as it will be

consumed by detritivores

But energy used for respiration is lost as heat

Loss of energy is multiplied over the length of a food chain

Creation of food web or a shorter food chain can lessen

energy loss
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Less trophic levels, less energy loss

 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy transfer is inefficient

Calculate the production efficiency for caterpillar

 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

measure the efficiency of animals as energy transformers
using equation:

Production = Net secondary production x 100%

Efficiency Assimilation of primary production
production efficiency : percentage of energy stored in
assimilated food that is not used for respiration.

energy lost as undigested material in feces does not count

toward assimilation.
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

Calculate the production efficiency for caterpillar.

Production = Net secondary production x 100%
Efficiency Assimilation of primary production

Answer:

Production = 33 x 100%
Efficiency 200 100

= 33%
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

Energy loss along the food chain and the efficiency of
energy between tropic level-explanation based on an
example of energy flow in the ecosystem

The study of productivity is known as production ecology

and involves the study of energy flow through ecosystem
Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

Primary Productivity
Energy enters the biotic component of the ecosystem
through the producers and the rate at which this
energy is stored by them in the form of organic
substance which can be used as food materials is known
as primary productivity .

This is an important parameter to measure as it

determines the total energy flow through the biotic
component of the ecosystem and hence the amount
(biomass) of life which the ecosystem can support
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

GROSS PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (GPP)
The rate at which this chemical energy is stored
by plants is known as gross primary productivity

NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (NPP)

Between 20-50 % of the GPP is used by plant in the
simultaneous respiration and photorespiration,
leaving a net gain known as the net primary
productivity (NPP) which is stored in the plant
It is this energy which is potentially available to the
next trophic level

NPP = GPP Plant respiration

Figure 1 : Energy flow through a grazing food chain, such as a grazed pasture
 Lesson Objective:
Describe energy transfer

Energy loss & efficiency of energy transfer

SECONDARY PRODUCTION
Production by heterotroph is called production.
the following word equation summaries the fate of
energy consumed by the animal :

Food consumed = growth + respiration + egesta + excreta

The energy remaining in heterotrophs after losses

through egestion, excretion and respiration is
available for production ,that is growth, repair and
reproduction
 Lesson Objective:
Discuss why the food chain does not consist more
than five trophic levels

Why the number of trophic levels less than five.

Why the
the energy becomes lesser when transferred from one
trophic level to another.
energy is lost through respiration, excretion, transpiration and
death
number of
energy is lost through heat to environment
Only a small quantity of energy left in the fifth trophic level

trophic levels
it is insufficient to support the next trophic level
limiting the number of members in the higher trophic level
becoming more unstable, therefore can threaten with extend

less than five.

unstable ecosystem
The need for energy increases as the trophic level increases.