Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem Part 2
A biology student doing research collects the following information about feeding relationships in an
Antarctic ecosystem.
The Task:
•Weddell seals eat squid
⚫ killer whales eat leopard seals
squid eat krill
killer whales eat Weddell seals
diatoms are photosynthetic
leopard seals eat emperor penguins
⚫krill eat diatoms
⚫ emperor penguins eat squid
blue whales eat krill
⚫ leopard seals eat Weddell seals
Construct an energy pyramid using your food web from Part 1. (Note - An organisnτcan appear on more
than one trophic level.) Be sure to label the trophic levels - higher-order consumer, primary consumer,
producer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, quaternary consumer. Submit the final product in
class and answer the questions below in this document.
Energy Pyramid Questions:
1. How much energy is available to the community at the producer level?

The energy available at the producer level in an energy pyramid is the highest in an ecosystem due to the direct capture of solar energy by photosynthetic organisms.

Explanation:

An energy pyramid illustrates the flow of energy through trophic levels in an ecosystem. At the producer level, the available energy is the highest, as it originates from the sun and is captured by photosynthetic organisms like diatoms in this Antarctic ecosystem.

In this food web, diatoms are the primary producers, followed by krill as primary consumers, squid and Weddell seals as secondary consumers, leopard seals as tertiary consumers, and killer whales as quaternary consumers, representing different trophic levels.

Considering the 10% energy transfer rule, the energy available to the community at the producer level is the most abundant, with subsequent trophic levels receiving progressively less energy due to energy loss at each transfer.

Learn more about Energy flow in ecosystems here:

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