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EC: Energy Flow Lesson

Go with The Flow

This video is a good example showing the complexity of ecosystems.

As you watch the video, think about the following questions:

  • What was the source of energy in this ecosystem?
  • Who were the producers?
  • Who are the consumers?
  • Can you create a food chain from watching this movie?

Ecological Levels

As you remember from the previous microlesson, a biome is made up of interacting ecosystems. What exactly is an ecosystem?

Ecosystem – all the living and nonliving factors found in a specific area.

Examples of ecosystems are: your backyard, Chattahoochee National Forest, Lake Lanier, or a wildlife refuge

Ecological Pyramids

Ecological Pyramids illustrate relationships between organisms in food chains. There are 3 types of pyramids:

Did you notice that each pyramid typically decreases in size moving from bottom to top (it's a pyramid, after all)? Recall that fewer and fewer organisms can be supported at higher levels of the food chain because less energy is available to them (10% rule).

Keystone Species

Some years ago, wolves were absent from Yellowstone Park. Watch this video titled "Wolves of Yellowstone" from Earth/A New Wild to study the effects of removing this top predator from the ecosystem.

Think about the following questions while watching:

  • What impacts did the wolf removal have on the ecosystem?
  • Would you consider the wolf a keystone species?

Challenge and Before You Go

Practice Time! Use the knowledge you learned from the lesson to complete the practice activities below.

    Answer Key Links to an external site.

 Before You Go - You Need To Know

The following key points are from the explore section of the lesson. You must know the following information before moving to the next lesson. This is just a summary of the key points.

  1. What is an ecosystem?
    • The living and nonliving components of an environment
  2. What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
    • A food chain is one possible feeding relationship in an environment, while a food web is all the possible feeding relationships.
  3. True or False. There is less energy available as you move through a food chain.
    • True

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