What Do We Have More Of: Carnivores, Herbivores, Or Plants?

Energy pyramid

What do animals do with the energy they get from the food they eat?

What do we have more of: carnivores, herbivores, or plants?

______

Why? Make your hypothesis.

Examples:

AMOUNT OF ENERGY AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL

·  Start at the bottom of the pyramid to go up the food chain

·  Energy is Lost or Used as it Flows through the Trophic Levels of an Ecosystem.

·  At each Trophic Level, the Energy stored in an organism is about 1/10 that of the Level Below it. (10%).

·  Not all energy passes to the next organism. Most of the energy is being used for life processes.

Which level has the most energy?______

Which level has the most organisms?______

Which level has the least organisms?______

Which level has the least energy?______

What happens as you go up the energy pyramid?______

EXAMPLE: Make your own pyramid. Label with amounts of energy at each level. Include the types of organisms at each level.

·  Producers (Green Plants) are the largest Trophic Level found on the first level of the Trophic Pyramid

·  Primary Consumers (Herbivores) are located on the second level, Secondary Consumers (Small Carnivores) are located on the third level, and Tertiary Consumers (Large Carnivores) are located on the fourth or top level of the Trophic Pyramid.

Few Ecosystems can contain more than 4 or 5 Trophic Levels. Fewer organisms are located at the