Energy Flow in Ecosystems

The Sun is the primary source of energy for ecosystems.

Consumers obtain energy by eating other organisms.

A producer is an organism that can make its own food, typically through photosynthesis, like grass and green plants.

The Grasshopper eats the largest variety of different producers.

Only about 10% of energy is passed on to the next level in a food web.

Decomposers break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants use sunlight to make food from carbon dioxide and water.

A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.

Herbivores are animals that primarily eat plants.