8. What happens to most of the energy in the ecosystem?
The sun is the first souce of energy. As energy flows through the ecosystem, some of it is lost to the enviroment as heat energy which cannot be recyled.
Ultimate source of energy is the sun.
Light energy absorbed by chlorophyll in the plants is converted into chemical energy during photosynthesis.
Energy in the producers(PLANTS) is transferred from on trophic level to the next via feeding.
Flow of energy through the ecosystem is non-cyclic. Energy is released as heat as in flows through the ecosystem and this energy does not return to the same system or organisms that produced it.
Dead organisms, egested and excreted materials contain trapped chemical energy. This energy is released to the enviroment by the activity of decomposers. Decomposers use some of these energy for their own needs (absorb the energy and becomes a part of their body) and the rest is lost to the enviroment as heat energy.
Eventually, all the energy that enters the biotic part of the ecosystem is lost as heat energy.
