Energy is transferred through ecosystems via food chains and food webs. Green plants, or producers, trap energy from the sun through photosynthesis and serve as the base of the food chain. Herbivores obtain energy by eating plants, and carnivores obtain energy by eating herbivores or other carnivores. Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, break down dead organisms and waste and release nutrients back into the soil. Energy and matter are transferred and pass between trophic levels as organisms consume other organisms in an ecosystem.

1. How is energy transferred through ecosystems Key words: Food chains Food webs Trophic levels May 29, 2009

2. Odd one out… Tundra Desert Rainforest Pond Air Fauna Water Soil Detritivore People Bacteria Decomposer

3. Food chains – flow of energy Sunlight is the main source of energy (light and heat) Sunlight is absorbed by green plants and converted by the process of photosynthesis Herbivores which eat green plants Carnivores which consume herbivores e.g. Bacteria which break down dead matter Producers Consumers Consumers Decomposers Energy is passed through the ecosystem in the food chain … .an open system

4. Place these boxes in the correct order to explain feeding in an ecosystem. Plants trap the sun’s energy in chlorophyll. Plants take in carbon dioxide through its leaves, and water through its roots. Plants use the sun’s energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose. This is called photosynthesis. Plants combine glucose with minerals from the soil to make all the things it needs to grow. The minerals plants need are called nutrients.

5. Place these boxes in the correct order to explain feeding in an ecosystem. Plants trap the sun’s energy in chlorophyll. Plants take in carbon dioxide through its leaves, and water through its roots. Plants use the sun’s energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose. This is called photosynthesis. Plants combine glucose with minerals from the soil to make all the things it needs to grow. The minerals plants need are called nutrients.

6. WOODLAND EXAMPLE Energy is passed through the ecosystem in the food chain … .an open system Consumers Consumers Consumers Producer Consumers As these die they decompose Sun

7. Copy this definition ‘ A food chain/web is the transfer of energy through an ecosystem from primary producers to consumers and decomposers’

8. 1. Autotrophs 4. Top carnivores 3. Carnivores 2. Herbivores Trophic levels are the feeding levels of the organisms in each component Available energy decreases with level The width of each bar is proportional to the amount of energy stored (biomass)

9. Trophic levels

10. Food webs Food chains are very simple Food webs represent the complexity of feeding ecosystems more accurately

11. Nutrients Plants Solar energy

12. Caterpillars Owls Beetles Spiders Moths Mice Insects Birds Rabbits Fungi Worms Weasels

13. Caterpillars Owls Beetles Spiders Moths Mice Insects Birds Rabbits Fungi Worms Weasels