Energy constantly flows, from hot to cold, heat rises, cold sinks, energy is constantly on the move. What about energy in an ecosystem? Think about yourself, if you have ever felt like you were starving to death, was it easy to do what you normally do? Like ride a bike, play a full game of basketball? Or soccer? That's why we have snacks! Energy has to flow constantly through an ecosystem for it to remain stable. What that means is, everyone needs a snack. Plants get their food from the Sun, herbivores get their food from plants and carnivores get their food from herbivores. Crunch, crunch! This pattern of energy flow is shown in a food chain. Here's an example of a simple food chain. From the Sun to the owl, each critter contributes to the energy flow. Energy and nutrients are moving to the plant, the grasshopper eats the plant and transfers energy to the shrew when the shrew munches on the grasshopper and that energy is transferred to the owl when the owl...you get the picture. Decomposers are an important part of the chain too. Remember how gross it would be if we didn't have decomposers! That must have been one bad escargot! In each type of ecosystem there is a chain of energy: The desert ecosystem: Ocean ecosystem: Where do humans rank on the food chain? Because humans have so many skills we can assist food chains and keep them healthy...or we can go to the dark side and destroy ecosystems until they are extinct. The choice is ours, what's yours?
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |