The flow of energy through organisms is one way. Energy flows from the sun to autotrophs such as corn plants, and to heterotrophs such as chicken and monitor lizard. Autotrophs capture tge energy of sunlight to produce food molecules. They are the producers. Heterotrophs which cannot make their own food obtain energy by eating or consuming plants and animals. They are the consumer. Producers and consumers interacting with each other and with the nonliving things in the area make up the ecosytem.
Food Chains
Energy moves through an ecosystem in foid chains. For example, one path of energy flow in a cornfield can be represented by this diagram.
Corn plants -chicken-monitor lizard
Corn plants convert the energy of the sun to chemical energy stored in the corn grains. When chicken eat corn grains, energy transfered to the chicken. In turns, energu flows to monitor lizards after they eat the chickens. The path of energy through a sequence of organism, each servings as food for the next, is a food chain.
Scientist assign organisms to specific feeding levels based on whether they are producers or consumers. These levels are called thropic levels. The producers are the corn plants on whom chicken and monitor lizard depends on food. Although monitor lizards do not eat corn directly, they feed on chickens which need corn grains.
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