ENERGY TRANSFER

Think about how you get energy into your home…

How we get energy?

Is energy lost???

Yes, We lose energy all the time in the form of Heat

Examples: Lightbulbs or Powerlines

How is energy Transferred in nature?

Autotrophs…. get the energy from the sun and make it into biomass

Heterotrophs eat the autotrophs and other heterotrophs, which gives them energy in the form of biomass

How is energy lost in nature?Heat!! in the form of?

-Movement

-Reproduction/growth

-Waste

-Maintenance

Biomass Total living mass of organisms in an

ecosystem

TROPHIC LEVEL REVIEW…

Producers

Primary Consumers

Secondary Consumers

Tertiary Consumers

After energy loss, how much energy is transferred to the next trophic level in a food web?

10% Rule 10% of energy in one level is available for the

next level to use.

10% Rule 10% of energy in one level is available for the

next level to use. This means that 90% of energy is lost to the

environment in the form of heat after an organisms body has used it for their life processes.

John Abraham-Atlanta Falcons

So how much energy does each level get from what it eats?

PRODUCERS

1st Level Consumers

2nd Level

___% of Energy

___% of Energy

___% of Energy

___% of Energy3rd Level Consumers

Let’s look at the biomass and energy pyramid.

Biomass and Energy Pyramid

Producers produce 100% of an ecosystem’s energy.

PRODUCERS

1st Level Consumers

2nd Level

100% of Energy

___% of Energy

___% of Energy

___% of Energy3rd Level Consumers

Biomass and Energy Pyramid

If 10% gets transferred up to the next level…how much do the primary consumers get from the producers?

PRODUCERS

1st Level Consumers

2nd Level

100% of Energy

10% of Energy

___% of Energy

___% of Energy3rd Level Consumers

Biomass and Energy Pyramid

If 10% gets transferred up to the next level…how much do the secondary consumers get from the producers?

PRODUCERS

1st Level Consumers

2nd Level

100% of Energy

10% of Energy

1% of Energy

___% of Energy3rd Level Consumers

Biomass and Energy Pyramid

If 10% gets transferred up to the next level…how much do the tertiary consumers get from the producers?

PRODUCERS

1st Level Consumers

2nd Level

100% of Energy

10% of Energy

1% of Energy

.1% of Energy3rd Level Consumers

Biomass and Energy Pyramid

Are there more trophic levels?

Typically, where are they located?

PRODUCERS

1st Level Consumers

2nd Level

100% of Energy

10% of Energy

1% of Energy

.1% of Energy3rd Level Consumers

10%

Energy Movement

How much Biomass makes it from One level to the next?(Hint Divide the number above by the one below)

How much biomass will transfer to the bunny? (Change 10% into a decimal)

Grass 2000 kg

Bunny ___kg

Hawk?

10% Rule

PRODUCERS

1ST LEVEL

2ND LEVEL

3RD LEVEL

*Move decimal 1 space to left for every trophic level above producers!*

.1%

3rd Level:3 spaces to left

1%

2nd Level:2 spaces to left

10%

1st Level:1 space to left

100%

Producers:0 space to left

Available Energy for next Level

Total Energy

Algae

Brines

Birds

Coyote

125 kg

12.5 kg

1.25 kg

.125 kg

How Much Energy is There??? In a prairie, 4000 kg of grass is available to consume.

According to the 10% rule, how much energy would be available to a 2nd level consumer, a fox. What about a 1st level rabbit?

Math:

A fox weighs approximately 8 kg. How many foxes can be sustained by this amount of grass?

Time to practice!

Let’s create a pyramid showing the amount of energy that is transferred up through the trophic levels.

Could you have an ecosystem in which there lived 50kg of algae, 50 kg of brine shrimp and 50 kg of Gull?

How many kg of gulls could 50kg of algae support?