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Energy Transfer and Food Pyramid Lab

Producers like plants capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis and provide nutrients and energy to primary consumers like herbivores. As organisms move up each trophic level from primary consumers to top predators, only about 10% of the energy is transferred between levels, forming an ecological pyramid. Decomposers then break down waste and dead organisms, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem for new producers to use.

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214 views6 pages

Energy Transfer and Food Pyramid Lab

Producers like plants capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis and provide nutrients and energy to primary consumers like herbivores. As organisms move up each trophic level from primary consumers to top predators, only about 10% of the energy is transferred between levels, forming an ecological pyramid. Decomposers then break down waste and dead organisms, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem for new producers to use.

Uploaded by

Bri Lavae
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name: Period

Date:

Lab: Food Chains and Energy in Ecosystems

All organisms need an input of energy and nutrients to live. For animals, both of these come from the
food they eat. For plants, the source of energy is the sun—they produce their own food through
photosynthesis—and their source of nutrients is the soil.

The feeding relationships between organisms forms a food chain.


Producers (plants, or autotrophs) capture the sun’s energy and
absorb nutrients from the soil to make their own food. Primary
consumers (animals, heterotrophs or herbivores) eat the plants
and capture their energy and nutrients. Secondary consumers
(animals, heterotrophs, or carnivores) eat the herbivores and
capture their energy and nutrients. Third and fourth level
consumers continue this chain by the lower level carnivores. Then
finally, decomposers breakdown waste and dead organisms,
recycling the nutrients back into the ecosystem, so they are
available for another generation of plants and animals.

When a consumer eats another organisms, only a small fraction


of the energy taken in is used for growth. About 50% of the food
is not digested or absorbed and is passed out as waste. About
40% of the energy of the food is lost from the organism as heat or
used by the organism for cellular respiration—making energy for
daily life. Only about 10% of the food eaten is used for growth
and is therefore available as energy to the next trophic level in
the food chain. This produces a pyramid of energy and a pyramid
of numbers in an ecosystem. The greatest amount of energy and
the largest population is at the base of the pyramid with the
producers. The least amount energy and the smallest population
is at the top of the pyramid in the top level consumers.
Name: Period
Date:

Procedure

1. On the accompanying sheets is a collection of organisms from a food chain.


a. Grass
b. Grasshoppers
c. Mice
d. Snakes
e. Hawks

2. You also have been provided with a food chain pyramid chart.

3. Cut out the organisms and organize them at the appropriate trophic level. Start by putt all the
grass (10,000 blades of grass) onto your ecosystem pyramid.

4. Now calculate the correct amount of each of the animals that can be supported at their trophic
level, given the following rules:
a. It takes 10,000 blades of grass to feed 1,000 grasshoppers.
b. It takes 1,000 grasshoppers to feed 100 mice.
c. It takes 100 mice to feed 10 snakes.
d. It takes 10 snakes to feed 1 hawk.

5. Glue the correct number of animals onto the food chain pyramid at their proper trophic level.

6. Record the number of organisms at each trophic level.

7. Correctly label each trophic level.


a. Producer
b. Primary consumer
c. Secondary consumer
d. Tertiary (3rd) consumer
e. Quaternary (4th) consumer

8. Answer the summary questions.


Name: Period
Date:

Summary Questions

1. In the chart below record the number of organisms at each trophic level and calculate the ratio
of predators to prey.

Trophic Level Name of organism Number of Ratio (predator:prey)


organisms
Producers

Primary 1:
Consumers
Secondary 1:
Consumers
Tertiary 1:
Consumers
Quaternary 1:
Consumers

2. Explain why none of the ratios are 1:1. In other words, why does it take more than one prey to
feed on predator?

3. What trophic level is not represented in your pyramid?

4. What energy source used by this ecosystem in not shown in the pyramid?

5. What is the energy source at the base of all food chains?

6. One day the people living in houses on the edge of this ecosystem spray a general purpose
insecticide to kill a wide range of insects on their property. The wind carries the insecticide onto
the field and it kills many of the grasshoppers. Discuss the possible effects on this ecosystem
from the loss of the grasshoppers.
Name: Period
Date:

7. Even though all of the grasshoppers weren’t killed, they all were exposed to the insecticide so
when the mice eat them, they are also ingesting pesticide.

a. How much pesticide will each mouse take in compared to each grasshopper? Explain.

b. How much pesticide will each snake take in compared to each grasshopper? Explain.

c. How much pesticide will each hawk take in compared to each grasshopper? Explain.

d. Considering your answers to the previous questions, explain what happens to


environmental poisons as you move up the food chain.

8. The grass necessary to support this ecosystem needs 10 acres to grow. But this field has been
reduced to 5 acres because a developer has built houses on the other 5 acres. Explain what the
result of this development will be on each of the trophic levels in this ecosystem.
Name: Period
Date:

Insert #

Insert trophic
level

Insert #

Insert trophic
level

Insert #

Insert trophic
level

Insert #

Insert trophic
level

Insert #

Insert trophic
level
Name: Period
Date:

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