Energy Flow Through Living
Systems
Picture Vocabulary
Matter and Energy
Food Chain
An energy path from one organism to another showing
a linked series; feeds on the one prior to it in the series.
Food Web
Overlapping food chains with different
pathways for the flow of food energy in an
ecosystem.
Grazing Food Web
Starts with radiant energy captured by
producers (plants) through photosynthesis, and
continues with energy flow from producers to
consumers and finally to decomposers.
Detrital Food Web
Starts with chemical energy stored in organic debris
or waste from other food webs; continues energy flow
from debris directly to decomposers that break down
the organic matter, which then becomes food and
energy for large and larger consumers, and
eventually decomposers.
Producers
Organisms that transform energy from the Sun
and use carbon dioxide and water to make food.
Consumers
Organisms that feed on
other organisms in a food chain.
Herbivores
Animals that eat only plants or plant products.
Carnivores
Animals that eat other animals.
Primary Consumers
Organisms that get their energy by
feeding on producers in the food chain.
Secondary Consumers
Organisms that get their energy by feeding on
primary consumers (herbivores) in the food
chain.
Tertiary Consumers
Organisms that get their energy by
eating secondary consumers.
Decomposers
Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that
break down the remains of dead plants and animals,
without need for internal digestion.
Trophic Level
Any class of organisms occupying the same
position in a food chain, such as primary
consumers or secondary consumers.
Energy Pyramid
Shows how much energy transfers to
the next trophic level in a food chain.
Energy Pyramid
A system consisting of all of the interactions that occur
between the abiotic and biotic factors within an
environment.