LABORATORY ACTIVITY # 2

ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS: THE TROPHIC PYRAMIDS

INTRODUCTON

The flow of energy in ecosystems is vitally important to the living organisms on Earth. The sun is the
ultimate source of energy for all ecological systems and when solar energy strikes the Earth, it tends to be
degraded into heat energy. Accordingly, only a very small part (about 10%) of heat energy gets absorbed
by the green plants and is subsequently transformed into food energy. The food energy then flows
through a series of organisms in ecosystems (Jain, 2005).

Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction from primary producers to various consumers. Each
step in a food chain or food web is called a trophic level where relative amounts of energy or matter are
contained. The first trophic level is occupied by producers (also known as autotrophs), which use light
from the sun to drive the synthesis of food through photosynthesis. Consumers (also known as
heterotrophs) make up higher trophic levels and each consumer depends on the trophic level below for
energy consumption. Energy is transformed from one level to another, and this process always involve
energy loss in the form of heat energy that is not available to the organism (Jain, 2005; Nagelkerken et
al., 2020).

All organisms in an ecosystem can be placed on a trophic level, depending on whether they are
producers or consumers of energy within the food chain. The trophic structure is dictated by the ratio of
predator-to-prey biomass, which is important to understand the biomass distributions and energy cycling
in the ecosystems. Besides, the trophic structure and dynamics regulate many processes in the
ecosystems, such as the production of harvestable food and energy, carbon sequestration and
modulation of climate change, and nutrient uptake and control of biogeochemical cycles (Cebrian, 2015).

To understand the role of trophic pyramids with the energy flow and transformation, this activity will
determine the process of how the heat energy is transformed from producers to several consumers and
their feeding relationships.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

On the completion of this exercise, students should be able to:

1. Define food chain and food web;
2. Discuss the types of food chain and illustrate the food chain they observed operating in nature;
and
3. Explain the flow of energy in trophic levels and determine the types of ecological pyramids.

REFERENCES

Cebrian, J. (2015). Energy flows in ecosystems. Science, 349(6252), 1053-1054.

Jain, S. (2005). Green Teacher: Module I: Basics of Ecology and Life Support Systems.

Nagelkerken, I., Goldenberg, S. U., Ferreira, C. M., Ullah, H., & Connell, S. D. (2020). Trophic pyramids
reorganize when food web architecture fails to adjust to ocean change. Science, 369(6505), 829-832.

Prepared by: Angelbert D. Cortes

Department of Biological Sciences, Cavite State University
 ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Group No.: 1 Date: 7/14/21

Group Members: Dela Cruz, Vergel Course & Section: BS BIO 2-6
Delicana, Joshua Vincent
Malang, Najib
Ornido, Vheeya Flor
Unida, May Princess

A. Food Chain and Food Web:

1. Complete the table about the feeding relationships.

Relationships Description
Food Chain
Food Web

2. Draw arrows between the organisms to show how energy flows through this food chain.
Indicate whether the organism is producer, herbivore, or carnivore.

a. Explain how energy flows through the food chain illustrated above.

The illustration above is an example of aquatic ecosystem food chain. At the first tropic level,
sea weed is the primary producers which uses solar energy to produce organic material
through photosynthesis. The herbivores at the second trophic level which is the diatoms, use
the plants as food which gives them energy. At tertiary consumers, fairy fish (both eat plants
and animals) will consume diatoms, fairy fish will be consumed by tuna that is also an
omnivore and will be consumed by squid (carnivores) they only eat animals. Lastly, squid will
be consumed by shark that is an omnivore, example for this is a bonnethead shark.

b. What would happen to this food chain if the population of sharks greatly declined?

Answer here…

Prepared by: Angelbert D. Cortes

Department of Biological Sciences, Cavite State University
 3. Now it is your turn! Go outside your house and observe your surroundings. Illustrate a food
chain and food web based on the feeding relationships of organisms around you. You can
draw the illustrations in a separate sheet, take a shot of your drawings and attach the photos
in the table below. In the last row of the table, provide description of how the energy flows
among these organisms.

Food Chain

Description:
The picture depicts a system of aquatic species interlocking and how they interact with one another.
The first is algae, which acts as a producer by providing food to some species such as Tilapia. Second,
tilapia is the major consumer, consuming about half of all algae in aquatic environments; third,
snakehead fish is the secondary consumer, consuming the tilapia. The heron is the fourth consumer in
the picture, serving as a tertiary consumer who consumes the secondary consumer, making it the third
consumer. Second to last, we have the Apex in the figure, which can eat the three consumers shown in
the depiction. Finally, Bacteria is commonly employed as a decomposer of all species, both animal and
plant, including humans.

Prepared by: Angelbert D. Cortes

Department of Biological Sciences, Cavite State University
 Food
Web

Descripti
on

Answer here…

4.

Guide Questions
a. Differentiate the two major types of food chain. Are they linked? Explain.

Prepared by: Angelbert D. Cortes

Department of Biological Sciences, Cavite State University
 b. What role do decomposers play in nutrient cycling and energy flow?

Answer here…

B. TROPHIC LEVELS AND ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

1. Match the organism with its trophic level. A trophic level

(indicated below) may be used more than once. Use the
diagram to answer this section.
Trophic levels: Primary producer
First-level consumer
Second-level consumer
Third-level consumer

Organisms Trophic Levels

Algae Primary Producers
Grasshopper First-level consumer
Marsh grass Primary Producer
Marsh hawk Third-level consumer
Plankton-eating fish Second-level consumer
Ribbed mussel First-level consumer
Shrew Second-level consumer
Zooplankton First-level consumer

www.arlingtonschools.org
2. Define the following terms about ecological pyramids.

Ecological Pyramids Definition

Pyramid of biomass
Pyramid of numbers
Pyramid of energy

a. Which type of ecological pyramid best traces the flow of matter through an ecosystem?
Explain you answer.

Answer here…

b. Illustrate an energy pyramid indicating the source of energy for the food web and how it is
available to the trophic levels. Indicate the trophic levels in the pyramid.

Prepared by: Angelbert D. Cortes

Department of Biological Sciences, Cavite State University
 The energy pyramid illustrates the amount of energy available at each trophic level. Each trophic level of a
food chain loses energy. As a result, a typical energy pyramid contains a large number of producers. Each
level above becomes smaller as energy is dispersed as heat, leaving less energy available for organisms
to feed. The longer the extent of the food chain, the greater the amount of energy lost between the bottom
and top components.

Instructions for submission:

1. Write all your answers in the provided worksheet.

2. Change the file name into this format Course and Section_Group No._Activity No. 2, for
example BS BIO 2-2_Group 1_Activity No. 2
3. One member from your group must submit the word file of your activity to my email,
angelbert.cortes@cvsu.edu.ph. When you send an email, please take note the following:
a. Subject: Course and Section_Group No._Lab Act 2 for example, BS BIO 2-2_Group
1_Lab Act 2
b. Message: Please indicate the content of your message properly.
c. Note: If there are members who did not contribute to the laboratory activity, please
indicate the name in your email.
4. The copy of the exercise with results will be released before the midterm exam.

Prepared by: Angelbert D. Cortes

Department of Biological Sciences, Cavite State University