energy in ecosytems

• As energy transfers from one level of the food chain to the next, only 10% of the energy is passed on through growth.
• 90% of the energy is lost as:

  • heat
  • movement
  • undigested materials
• A pyramid of numbers is a diagram that represents the number of organisms at each stage of the food chain.
• A pyramid of energy is a diagram that represents the amount of energy present at each stage of the food chain.
• A pyramid of numbers is always representative, due to the size of the organisms present.
• Pyramids of energy will be represented as true pyramids no matter the size of the organisms because energy is always lost at each stage of the food chain.