ACTIVITY 4

ENERGY FLOW AND FOOD WEB

A. Energy transfer in an ecosystem

The organisms in an ecosystem interact with one another, and with the abiotic factors of
the environment, in various ways. Abiotic factors are the nonliving characteristics of the
environment. Some examples of abiotic factors include temperature and rainfall. A desert
ecosystem's abiotic factors include a small amount of rainfall, and warm daytime and cool
nighttime temperatures. A temperate forest's abiotic factors include an average amount of rainfall
and a wide temperature range.

Some of the most important interactions among species in an ecosystem community

involve feeding. All living things need food for energy. When one organism consumes another,
energy is transferred from the organism that is eaten to the organism that eats it. Most of the energy
an organism takes in is released as heat. Only about 10 percent of the energy available at one level
of a food chain transfers to the next.

A food chain is often used to describe this transfer of energy through a biological
community. Most food chains have four or five links, with each link representing a feeding step.
Organisms are placed into a food chain according to their energy source. There are five levels in a
food chain: producers, first-order consumers, second-order consumers, third-order consumers, and
decomposers.

Producers obtain energy from the Sun or from chemicals in the environment. Plants,
bacteria, and protists are examples of producers. First-order consumers, or herbivores, obtain
energy by eating producers. Rabbits, geese, and termites are examples of first-order consumers.
Second-order consumers, or carnivores, obtain energy by eating herbivores. Examples of second-
order consumers include wolves, spiders, and frogs. Third-order consumers, or top carnivores,
obtain energy by eating other carnivores. Lions, falcons, and killer whales are examples of third-
order consumers. Decomposers feed at all levels of a food chain, obtaining energy by breaking
down the decaying bodies and wastes of other organisms. Examples of decomposers include
mushrooms and molds.

In this Virtual Lab, you will examine various organisms in different ecosystems and determine
their placement in a simple food chain.

Objectives:
• Determine an organism's place in a simple food chain.
• Explain how, and in what sequence, energy is transferred through different communities
of organisms.
• Define abiotic factors and give examples of them.
Procedure:

1. Click these links to explore the different habitats; Savannah, Tundra and Woodland.
2. Explore the interactive scenes and build your own food chain by doing the Food Chain
Challenge.
3. Answer the Journal Questions.

Journal Questions:

1. Would you be likely to find a food chain containing 10 links? Why?

2. What are abiotic factors? How do abiotic factors affect organisms in an ecosystem?
3. What’s the difference between a producer and consumer? Where do producers belong in
the food chain?
4. What is a decomposer? Why are decomposers important to ecosystems?
5. Describe a food chain for a temperate forest community that contains at least four links.
Use the following organisms: grizzly bears, oak trees, mice, squirrels, deer, robins, foxes,
mushrooms, grass plants, and grasshoppers. Identify the level of each organism in the food
chain.
6. Why are there fewer top carnivores than herbivores in most land ecosystems?
7. Are people producers or consumers? Explain your answer.
8. Grizzly bears are top carnivores in some North American ecosystems. What do you think
might happen to a community of organisms if grizzly bears suddenly became extinct?

B. The Food Web

Ecosystems are a complex and delicate balancing game. The addition or removal of one species
affects many other species with which it might compete for, or provide food. In this exercise, you
will get a chance to "build your own" ecosystem, and explore the effects of these interrelationships.

Procedure:

Step 1

a. Open the simulator of The Habitable Planet

https://www.learner.org/wpcontent/interactive/envsci/ecology/index.html
b. Simulate the virtual lab and choose Food Web under the Lesson option.
c. First you'll run a less than "real-life" scenario.
d. Choose only one organism from each trophic level and make sure that the food chain
goes in a straight line from one trophic level to the next, i.e., Herbivore A eats Plant A,
Omnivore A eats Herbivore A, and the Top Predator eats Omnivore A.
e. Let Plant B survive on its own and see what happens. Predict whether each species will
survive, and whether it will increase or decrease in number, as well as whether Plant B
will survive to the end. Run it for 100 days.
 f. Record your prediction in the Data Table and then run the simulation twice and record
your data. Use X for "die out," ↑ for "increase in numbers," and ↓ for "decrease in
numbers."
g. Answer the following:

1. Was your prediction correct? How did you arrive at your prediction? What
differences were there between your prediction and the simulation?
2. What would happen to this imaginary ecosystem if the producers were to die out?
3. Did any of the species increase in number? What could account for this increase?
Which species decreased in number and what might account for this decrease?
4. Which populations would benefit the most from the presence of decomposers?

Table 1: _______________

Step 1
Plant A Plant B Herbivore A Omnivore A Top Predator
(X, , or )

Prediction

Simulation 1

Simulation 2

Step 2

a. Now try a more "real-life" scenario and experiment with what might happen in an
ecosystem that is more like a web.
b. This time click the "all on" button. The model shows who eats whom and the paths by
which energy is transferred.
c. Predict which populations will die out, increase in numbers, or decrease in numbers and
record your predictions.
d. Run the simulation twice for 100 days and record the results in your Data Table.
e. Then try to modify who eats whom in order to ensure the survival of all species and record
what was changed in your chart.
f. Finally, answer the following:

1. Was your prediction correct? How did you arrive at your prediction? What
differences were there between your prediction and the simulation?
2. Were you able to modify the parameters so that each species survived? Explain
how you decided what changes to make.
3. Which way does energy flow and how does eating an organism result in energy
transfer?
Table 2: ________________
Step 2
Plant A Plant B Plant C Herbivore A Herbivore B Herbivore C Omnivore A Omnivore B Top Predator
(X, , or )

Prediction

Simulation 1

Simulation 2

Modifications made

Step 3:

1. Make a laboratory report based on your observations and discussions.

2. Follow the guidelines on how to make lab report.