Flow of Energy and Matter in Ecosystems

The food web diagram shows feeding relationships between organisms on the African Savannah. Which of the following organisms is part of the trophic level with the greatest amount of stored energy?

• Vulture

• Wildebeast

• Termite

• Red Oat Grass

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Which of the following statements is true?

• Heterotrophs produce their own food.

• Autotrophs take in nutrients from outside themselves.

• Consumers are heterotrophs.

• Consumers are autotrophs.

As energy is transferred between trophic levels, only a small fraction of the available energy is transferred. How can this observation be explained, taking into account the law of conservation of energy?

• The unused energy is lost as heat through metabolic processes.

• Organic systems do not demonstrate the conservation of energy.

• Organisms, even after death, continue to store energy in organic molecules.

• Since biomass increases at higher levels, the concentration of energy is the same.

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The diagram provided shows the amount of energy available in Watts per square meter in a typical habitat.

Which of the following is the best estimate of the energy available at the level of tertiary consumers in this habitat?

• 0.08 W/m2

• 0.01 W/m2

• 0.002 W/m2

• 0.0008 W/m2

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The diagram here is called a trophic pyramid. It shows trophic levels of a grassland habitat. The size of each trophic level represents biomass, with producers representing the largest amount of biomass.

Which of the following best explains the unique shape of the trophic pyramid?

• The higher levels of the pyramid are smaller due to human interference with those organisms.

• Decomposers work more rapidly breaking down animal tissue than plant tissue.

• The organisms on the lower level of the pyramid tend to be smaller in size.

• The higher levels of the pyramid are smaller due to the inefficiency of energy transfer.

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What are the two main processes that provide most of the energy transfer for life processes within an ecosystem? (Hint: It's also the two main processes of the carbon cycle.)

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Describe how organisms at the first trophic level in an ecosystem obtain energy.

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Why is only a small amount (approximately 10%) of energy available from one trophic level to the next in a food web?

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Scenario

A portion of a marine ecosystem is pictured.

Prompt

Write a scientific explanation detailing the transfer of energy through the ecosystem shown in this image. Include in your explanation how much energy will be transferred to each level of the pyramid if the producers have 1 million kilocalories, and explain where the rest of the energy will go.

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