Energy Sources & Conversions
This is the initial energy source for almost all communities.
Light
This term describes an organism at the second trophic level, like a snail that eats a plant.
Primary Consumer
This form of energy is lost from ecosystems because organisms cannot convert it into other usable forms.
Heat
This type of organism, like some bacteria, derives energy from chemical processes instead of light.
Chemoautotroph
In a food chain, arrows represent the transfer of energy and this.
Matter
The approximate percentage efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels.
10%
This is the specific molecule where light energy is converted into chemical energy during photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll
This type of diagram shows inter-related feeding relationships with multiple food sources.
A Food Web
This type of pyramid, which is never inverted, shows the amount of energy at each trophic level.
Pyramid of Energy
This is the usable form of energy released by cell respiration, with heat as a by-product.
ATP
The trophic level of a fox that eats a frog which has eaten a snail.
Tertiary Consumer (or Trophic Level 4)
Name one way chemical energy is lost from a food chain.
Cellular Respiration (as heat) / Feces / Stays Unconsumed
The process that converts light energy into chemical energy stored in carbon compounds.
Photosynthesis
Heterotrophs acquire organic compounds by means of this process.
Feeding
This group of organisms breaks down organic nutrients into inorganic components, returning them to the soil.
Saprotrophs