Ecosystem energy pyramid flashcards

What is an energy pyramid?

A visual representation showing energy flow through trophic levels.

Producers in an ecosystem

Organisms that create their own food via photosynthesis, like plants.

Primary consumers

Herbivores that eat producers, e.g., rabbits, deer.

Secondary consumers

Carnivores that eat primary consumers, like snakes and hawks.

Tertiary consumers

Top predators that eat secondary consumers, e.g., lions.

Energy loss in trophic levels

Approximately 90% of energy is lost at each level due to metabolism.

True or false: herbivores are primary consumers.

True, because they directly consume producers.

Difference between producers and consumers

Producers make their own food; consumers rely on others for energy.

Fill in the blank: Trophic levels include producers, ______, and tertiary consumers.

primary and secondary consumers.

What is biomass?

The total mass of living matter in a trophic level.

What does energy transfer depend on?

The efficiency of energy conversion between trophic levels.

True or false: all energy is passed to the next trophic level.

False, because energy is lost as heat and through metabolic processes.

What happens to energy in an ecosystem?

It flows from producers to various levels of consumers.

Which trophic level has the most energy?

The producers, as they capture energy from the sun.

Which trophic level has the least biomass?

Tertiary consumers, due to energy loss at each level.

Example of a tertiary consumer

An owl that eats snakes, which are secondary consumers.

What is the 10% rule?

Only about 10% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level.

Fill in the blank: Energy pyramids illustrate the ______ of energy.

decrease in energy availability.