energy flow in ecosystem

• all energy comes from the sun
• first law of thermodynamics energy cannot be destroyed or created but it can be transformed into stored energy and heat
• second of law of thermodynamics energy is lost as its transformed
• in ecosystem when energy is transformed some energy is lost as heat
• food chains shows the path of energy from one organism to the next
• energy flows from producers to consumers
• food webs shows all feeding relationships in an ecosystem
• energy pyramid shows the energy flow in a ecosystem
• a level of the energy pyramid is called a trophic level
• each trophic level represents the energy for those organisms
• energy is lost with each trophic level
• 90% is released to the environment as heat
• only 10% of energy from one level is passed to the next