Energy Chain

Energy Chain
Energy flow is the flow of energy through living things within an ecosystem. All living
organisms can be organized into producers and consumers, and those producers and
consumers can further be organized into a food chain. Each of the levels within the food
chain is a trophic level. In order to more efficiently show the quantity of organisms at each
trophic level, these food chains are then organized into trophic pyramids. The arrows in the
food chain show that the energy flow is unidirectional, with the head of an arrow indicating
the direction of energy flow; energy is lost as heat at each step along the way.
Ecological Succession
Famous ecologist Clement defined succession as the natural process by which the same
locality becomes successively colonised by different groups or communities of plants.
Causes of Ecological Succession
The main causes of succession are:
a) Climatic Causes- Acute fluctuation affect the living beings adversely Eg: Droughtm
heavy Rainfall, Lightning
b) Topographic Causes- Topographic changes such as erosion or landslides cause
destruction of vegetation.
c) Biotic Causes: Many living agencies including man affect the vegetation. Eg:
Gazing, Cutting, deforestation, clearing.
General Process of Ecological Succession
The process of succession of one community by another of a complex type, till the
development of a stable community, is known as ecological succession. The whole series of
communities which develop in a given area is called sere. The first community is called a
pioneer community, the final community is called the climax community and the
intermediate stages are called sere stages or pioneer stages.
Food Chain
A food chain explains which organism eats another organism in the environment. The food
chain is a linear sequence of organisms where nutrients and energy is transferred from one
organism to the other. This occurs when one organism consumes another organism. It
begins with the producer organism, follows the chain and ends with the decomposer
organism. After understanding the food chain, we realise how one organism is dependent
upon another organism for survival.
A food chain refers to the order of events in an ecosystem, where one living organism eats
another organism, and later that organism is consumed by another larger organism. The flow
of nutrients and energy from one organism to another at different trophic levels forms a food
chain.
The food chain consists of four major parts, namely:
The Sun: The sun is the initial source of energy, which provides energy for everything on
the planet.
Producers: The producers in a food chain include all autotrophs such as phytoplankton,
cyanobacteria, algae, and green plants. This is the first stage in a food chain. The producers
make up the first level of a food chain. The producers utilise the energy from the sun to
make food. Producers are also known as autotrophs as they make their own food. Producers
are any plant or other organisms that produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis.
Consumers: Consumers are all organisms that are dependent on plants or other organisms
for food. This is the largest part of a food web, as it contains almost all living organisms. It
includes herbivores which are animals that eat plants, carnivores which are animals that eat
other animals, parasites that live on other organisms by harming them and lastly the
scavengers, which are animals that eat dead animals’ carcasses.
Here, herbivores are known as primary consumers and carnivores are secondary consumers.
The second trophic level includes organisms that eat producers. Therefore, primary
consumers or herbivores are organisms in the second trophic level.
Decomposers: Decomposers are organisms that get energy from dead or waste organic
material. This is the last stage in a food chain. Decomposers are an integral part of a food
chain, as they convert organic waste materials into inorganic materials, which enriches the
soil or land with nutrients.
Decomposers complete a life cycle. They help in recycling the nutrients as they provide
nutrients to soil or oceans that can be utilised by autotrophs or producers. Thus, starting a
whole new food chain.
Food Web
Several interconnected food chains form a food web. A food web is similar to a food chain
but the food web is comparatively larger than a food chain. Occasionally, a single organism
is consumed by many predators or it consumes several other organisms. Due to this, many
trophic levels get interconnected. The food chain fails to showcase the flow of energy in the
right way. But, the food web is able to show the proper representation of energy flow, as it
displays the interactions between different organisms.
Ecological Pyramid
An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation of the relationship between the different
living organisms at different trophic levels. It was given by G. Evylen Hutchinson and
Raymond Lindeman.
It can be observed that these pyramids are in the shape of actual pyramids with the base
being the broadest, which is covered by the lowest trophic level, i.e., producers. The next
level is occupied by the next trophic level, i.e., the primary consumers and so on.
All the calculations for construction of these types of ecological pyramids must take into
account all the organisms in a particular trophic level because a sample space of a few
numbers or a few species will end up giving a huge level of errors.
Importance of Ecological Pyramid

The importance of ecological pyramid can be explained in the following points:
 They show the feeding of different organisms in different ecosystems.
 It shows the efficiency of energy transfer.
 The condition of the ecosystem can be monitored, and any further damage can be
prevented.
Limitations of Ecological Pyramid
 More than one species may occupy multiple trophic levels as in case of the food web.
Thus, this system does not take into account food webs.
 The saprophytes are not considered in any of the pyramids even though they form an
important part of the various ecosystem.
 These pyramids are applicable only to simple food chains, which usually do not
occur naturally.
 These pyramids do not deliver any concept in relation to variations in season and
climate.
 They do not consider the possibility of the existence of the same species at different
levels.

Energy Chain

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Importance of Ecological Pyramid

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