Food chains, energy pyramids and the carbon cycle

BiologyEcology & EnvironmentAges 17–18

Solar energy fixed by producers is passed along a food chain through successive trophic levels; at each level most energy is lost as respiration, heat and waste, and only about 10% moves up to the next level, which is why an energy pyramid always has a wide base. Students can change the number of trophic levels, the ecological efficiency and the food chain (grassland or pond), click each level to see energy received, lost and transferred, and watch carbon cycle through photosynthesis, consumption, decomposition, respiration and fossil-fuel combustion.