Key area 4 - Energy in Ecosystems

• 3 ways by which the majority of energy is lost in energy transfers from 1 level to the next in the food chain

  • Movement
  • heat
  • undigested waste material
• What happens to the energy which is not lost

  It is passed on to the next level and used for growth
• Define a pyramid of numbers

  Shows the total number of individual organisms at each level in a food chain in an ecosystem
• Define a pyramid of energy

  A diagram which shows the quantity of energy at each level of a food chain
• Why do pyramids of numbers often have an irregular shape

  they have 1 large producer like an oak tree