energy flow through an ecosystem

• What is an ecosystem?


  a characteristic community of interdependent species with abiotic factors in their habitat
• what is the source of all energy for an ecosystem


  this is light energy from the sun trapped by photosynthesis
• what is a habitat


  Place where an organism lives
• what is a community


  A group of populations living and interacting in an area.
• what type of diagram shows the flow of energy through an ecosystem


  trophic levels
• what is the name of dead particulate organic matter

  detritus
• what happens when organisms die(energy related)


  energy remains locked up as organic material
• what does the first trophic level consist of

  producers
• what are producers


  these make their own food
• why are decomposes not classed as a trophic level


  this is because they can feed from each level
• an ecosystem rarely supports more than 5 trophic levels , why


  lots of energy is lost through respiration and excretion
• what is meant by a detritivore or detritus feeders


  these are organisms that start the process of decay by breaking down organic material into smaller pieces
• What are decomposers?


  organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter