Food Webs, Energy Flow and Ecological Pyramids
Big idea: Energy enters most ecosystems through primary production, moves through interconnected feeding pathways, and declines between trophic levels because organisms use and dissipate much of it.
Learning goals
- primary producer
- trophic level
- food web
- ecological efficiency
- decomposer
Core concepts
primary producer
An autotroph that converts light or chemical energy into organic matter available to a food web.
trophic level
A feeding position based on how an organism obtains energy in a food chain or web.
food web
A network of connected feeding relationships that represents multiple energy pathways.
ecological efficiency
The fraction of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.
decomposer
An organism that breaks down dead organic matter and releases nutrients for reuse.