In this deck, we'll explore how energy flows through an ecosystem. You'll learn about the different feeding levels, known as trophic levels, and how to represent them in food chains and pyramids of biomass. We'll also investigate why only a small fraction of energy is passed on at each stage and how to calculate this efficiency.

All life in an ecosystem depends on organisms that can make their own food. These are called producers. Almost all producers are plants or algae, and they create their own food using energy from the sun in a process called photosynthesis. They form the starting point of every food chain.

Organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms are called consumers. There are several types. Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers. Secondary consumers are carnivores or omnivores that eat primary consumers. And tertiary consumers are those that eat secondary consumers, often sitting at the top of the food chain.